BRITISH COLUMBIA - A Canadian college has promised to rescind any restriction on applicants from Israel, following intervention by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the Canadian affiliate of the World Jewish Congress.
Israeli civil engineering student Stav Daron told Israeli media this week that the executive director of the Island School of Building Arts (ISBA) in British Columbia, Patricia Rokosh, had informed him that she refused to consider any Israeli applications "due to the conflict and illegal settlement activity in the region."
CIJA Pacific Region Director, Nico Slobinsky immediately wrote to ISBA to express his deep concern. “If this is indeed the case, we would like you to inform us of how and by whom was this decision made? It appears that ISBA is actively discriminating against Israeli nationals based on their place of origin, ancestry, and/or religion," Slobinsky wrote.
Rokosh responded to CIJA’s intervention with the message: “After significant thought and listening to all interested parties, ISBA has decided to rescind any restriction placed on accepting students from Israel and apologize for any inconvenience. ISBA remains acceptant to all and will continue to do so without restrictions.”
CIJA CEO Shimon Fogel said following ISBA’s response: “This incident has seized and unified our community, and we note that other community organizations engaged and took action parallel to our efforts. While we are pleased that swift intervention has led to a positive outcome, this incident is emblematic of the dangers of BDS. I won’t mince words: this was a disgusting and shameful attempt to ban an Israeli simply for being Israeli. We cannot and will not let such blatant discrimination go unchallenged.”