Toronto [Canada], November 25 : The Canadian chapter of the Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA) and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) held an engaging session on the rising challenges of antisemitism and Hinduphobia in universities and academic settings at Victoria College at University of Toronto on Sunday.
The session featured speakers from the US who shared their research on antisemitism and Hinduphobia and provided actionable insights on effectively engaging university administrators to dispel these forms of hatred.
Speaking to ANI during the session, one of the speakers, Joel Finkelstein, emphasized the importance of Jewish-Hindu cooperation and collaboration, stating that such partnerships are essential in societies that prioritize reasoned conversation and the dignity of human life. According to Finkelstein, these shared principles provide a foundation for mutual protection and concern, pointing at various organizations working together to oppose efforts to suppress human dignity and ideas that demonstrate the need for cooperation between communities.
He noted that these efforts often arise from violent and narcissistic forces that target vulnerable groups. He stressed that protecting these communities requires active involvement from individuals dedicated to defending human rights.
"I would say that Jewish-Hindu cooperation and collaboration are crucial because where you have civilizations and where you have ideas that aren't based on conquering other people, that believe in reasoned conversation and the dignity of human life, then you obviously have a fruitful and common ground for mutual protection and mutual concern. And that's being made clear by all the organizations that are working hand in hand to suppress human dignity and to suppress ideas narcissistically, often violently," Finkelstein said.
"The interest of protecting vulnerable communities has to happen not just on people generally; it has to happen with people specifically. If you don't have people who are willing to work to protect those rights, then you don't have rights to protect," he added.
Meanwhile, Prasiddha Sudhakar, the other speaker for the session, while speaking to ANI, stated the need for Hindus to form alliances with various communities, particularly in efforts to counter extremism. She emphasized that such partnerships are vital in addressing shared challenges and combating the growing threats posed by extremism in today's digital age.
Sudhakar pointed out that social media has amplified the spread of misinformation and cyber threats, making it crucial for different communities to come together, stressing the importance of educating others about these shared challenges, especially as extremism can negatively impact all communities, particularly minority groups.
"I think it's very important for Hindus to come together and build allyship with all communities across the board. And I think this is really important, especially when we want to take stances against extremism in particular. And in this day and age of social media, this makes it all the more important because we know the serious impacts of cyber social threats and also misinformation. So it's really important for all of us to come together and be able to better educate other communities to better understand shared challenges and also to counter extremism because they do have real-world implications that can harm all communities across the board, especially minority communities and minoritized groups," she said.
The session was held on the topic of "Hinduphobia and Antisemitism: Examining Patterns and Building Alliances."