March 27 was no different. With a “60 Years of Nakba” rally, organized by Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA), the scene at Vari Hall, York University’s highest-traffic area, could be described as nothing less than appalling.

Dozens of Palestinian flags and banners proclaiming “Zionism is racism” and “shame on Israel” were prominently displayed. These visual messages were accompanied by hundreds of people chanting slogans such as “death to apartheid” and “shame on the Zionists,” creating an atmosphere of intimidation for Jewish students and Israel advocates alike.

The crowd was further incited by speeches from SAIA students, as well as a CUPE representative, political science professor David McNally.  

The speeches were loaded with false facts, such as the accusation that Tel Aviv University is built on “ethnically cleansed land” and that it studies the best “methods of the torture of Palestinian children.”

McNally even urged the students to pick sides.

Unfortunately, this intolerant and hateful display is neither the first nor will be the last of its kind at York.

In an attempt to combat the one-sided rhetoric on campus, Zionist groups at York have been working to represent Jewish students.

Most recently, Hasbara Fellowships and Betar launched their “terror built this fence” campaign in order to challenge the false allegation that Israel’s security fence along its boundary with the West Bank acts as an apartheid wall.

When it comes to the large gatherings of anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic forces, York’s Zionist groups are largely outnumbered.

With hundreds of anti-Israel advocates condemning the Jewish right to self determination, some believe that Jewish students should just stay out of Vari Hall, claiming that there is no point in being there.

To them, I answer that the purpose is dignity.

We will not and cannot stay away and allow others to trample on our dignity.

In response to the rally, York’s Jewish students rallied under the campus Zionist leadership of Hasbara and Betar in a “drown out the hate” campaign.

Clearly, singing Israeli songs, playing musical instruments and chanting “stop the hate, stop the lies” to drown out the hateful and anti-Semitic claims of the anti-Israel faction does not serve to educate the campus community as to the truth about Israel.

But at least Jewish and Zionist students can walk through Vari Hall with their heads held high, instead of hanging them in shame – and that is something.

To view the Hasbara and Betar “Drown Out the Hate” film, go to YouTube and type the title in the search field.

Orna Hollander is executive director of Betar Canada.