Sharing your experience of antisemitism

People may be feeling fatigued by being asked to share their experiences of this past year yet again.

We thank you for taking the time to make your submission. The information you provide will be helpful in making our report and recommendations.

Before submitting your email, please read and sign this consent form and return it by email. It provides information about what participating in this process means. 

Guiding questions for your email

Please use the following questions as a guideline when composing your email to us. You are free to address any or all of the questions as you see fit. Focusing on your own experiences, direct observations, and feelings (i.e., not on what you have heard from others or hearsay):

1. Please describe the experience of being Jewish on campus, or, more widely, in University life. If you are not Jewish, what is your perception of how Jews are experiencing university life these days?
2. Please tell us about any situation in which you experienced or witnessed what you consider to be antisemitism/Jew-hatred/racism against Jews at Concordia? This can include a range of experiences, from something direct and aggressive to subtle sentiments, stereotypes, or bias, and so forth. 
   You may wish to address the following in your answer:
   
   1. If yes, can you describe what happened in detail? 
   2. What made these experiences antisemitic for you?
   3. Has there been any intensification since October 7, 2023?
   4. How have these experiences (or perceptions) of being Jewish or of racism against Jews impacted your activities as a student/staff member/professor?
3. How do you feel about expressing your Jewish identity openly at Concordia? (If relevant.) If you are not Jewish, what is your perception of how Jewish Concordians are feeling about being openly Jewish? 
4. Have you ever avoided coming to campus? Why or why not? Are there specific areas on campus where you feel more vulnerable because of your Judaism (or where you observe Jews feeling more vulnerable)? Are there specific areas where you (or those you observe) feel safer? Are there specific times, days or other specific contexts when you (or those you observe) feel more or less vulnerable?
5. When you imagine a safe campus, what does it look like? What does “safety” mean to you in the context of your university life?
6. To what extent has antisemitism ever been discussed by your department or unit and what form has this discussion taken?
7. How have experiences of or concerns about antisemitism been handled by the university? You may wish to address the following in your answer:
   
   1. Who have you turned to for support or to discuss if antisemitism has arisen
   2. If you have taken any concrete actions, please describe them.
   3. Are you aware of any policies, resources, or supports for Jewish students/staff/faculty facing antisemitism? What are they? How effective do you think these supports are/have been?
   4. How confident are you that your contributions today will make a difference in addressing antisemitism at Concordia? Why do you feel this way?
8. What would you like to see done to improve the situation of Jewish members of the Concordia community? What concrete measures would you like Concordia to take? What would help you thrive on campus?
9. Is there anything that we didn’t ask about that you would also like to tell us?

We thank you for your participation and input.