McGill University’s president has rejected a law student referendum urging the faculty to boycott Israeli institutions, calling it “discriminatory” and invalid, despite majority support from those who voted — setting the stage for a legal challenge.
The vote, organized by the Law Students’ Association (LSA) — the official student body for the law faculty — is being challenged in court by a Jewish student.
It has also prompted the resignation of Jonathan Amiel, chair of the faculty’s advisory board and a donor, who cited the referendum in a letter shared Tuesday and described an “escalating pattern of hostility toward Jewish students, faculty and alumni, met with persistent inaction.”
Titled Regarding the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel to Preserve Academic Freedom, the referendum came in response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza, which it describes as a genocide. It calls on the LSA to adopt a formal boycott of Israeli academic institutions, arguing that universities — including Tel Aviv University — are tied to the state and military.
If followed through, the LSA would be required to publicly endorse the boycott and avoid institutional partnerships with Israeli universities, including exchanges and collaborations, though the proposal says the boycott would target institutions and agreements, not individual academics.
The referendum passed with about 57 per cent support, according to results shared with students on Saturday. The vote had a turnout of 67 per cent, with 437 of 649 of those eligible casting ballots.
On Tuesday, Deep Saini, McGill’s president and vice-chancellor since 2023, wrote in an email to law students that the motion falls outside the LSA’s authority and has no effect on the faculty’s academic or operational decisions.
“While this referendum was supported by a majority of those who voted, I make no assumptions about their intent. But in matters of discrimination, impact — not intent — governs,” he wrote.
