February 7, 2024
TORONTO – B’nai Brith has written to several universities across Canada to urge them to cancel events featuring a speaker who publicly endorsed Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel.
Sami Hamdi, a British political commentator, was invited by the Canadian Muslim Political Affairs Council (CMPAC) to be the keynote speaker for the organization’s “Palestine Solidarity and Advocacy” campus tour across the country. Hamdi is scheduled to speak this week at Western University, Carleton University, the University of Toronto Mississauga Campus, and McGill University.
Hamdi is not an accredited academic, and in remarks at a London, U.K., mosque on Oct. 18, 2023, the pundit openly celebrated Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. Among other things, he urged listeners to “celebrate the victory” of the mass slaughter during which terrorists killed about 1,200 innocent persons, raped women and girls, and abducted hundreds of civilians to Gaza. He also spoke of feeling a sense of “euphoria” after learning about the attacks.
“Anyone who celebrates and is elated by the idea of terrorists butchering civilians and raping women and girls should not be permitted to influence our students,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy. “We cannot imagine his appearances producing anything of academic value, and based on his past statements, there is the danger that his remarks will contribute to the incitement of hatred against Jewish students.
“Such views cannot be condoned in the name of academic freedom. In the interest of student safety and wellbeing, we are urging these universities to intervene and cancel his appearance.”
