September 4, 2024
VANCOUVER – B’nai Brith Canada is appalled that a University of British Columbia (UBC) fence was defaced Wednesday with the severed head of a pig.
“This morbid act should outrage all Canadians,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy. “There is no justification for this hateful display, designed to intimidate and harass the Jewish community and members of law enforcement.”
A social-media account associated with the self-styled People’s University for Gaza at UBC celebrated the vandalism. “Pigs OFF campus!” the post said, invoking a trope commonly used to vilify police. “Pigs OFF every land, from Turtle Island to Palestine… UBC will not know peace until we get Palestine back, piece by piece.”
The statement ended with a declaration that protesters would “shut [UBC] down,” recalling language used last year before the installation of an anti-Israel encampment on the university’s property.
In recent years, the motif of a pig or swine has been used to demonize law enforcement. But the heads of pigs – animals which cannot be consumed under traditional Jewish law – have been prominent features of recent antisemitic acts, including one in Ukraine targeting a monument to a Hassidic Rabbi.
Derogatory zoomorphic comparisons between Jews and swine have a long history. The most notorious example is that of the Nazis, who depicted Jews as Judensau (“Jew’s Sow”) in their antisemitic propaganda.
This incident in B.C. comes less than a month after B’nai Brith wrote to universities, including UBC, demanding they take proactive steps to prevent such heinous disruptions.
“B’nai Brith will continue to monitor developments at UBC and other universities,” Robertson said. “We will not stand idly by and tolerate such hateful acts. We hope that whoever is responsible for this latest incident is identified and held accountable for their abhorrent behaviour. Our campuses must remain safe spaces for all students.”
