BREAKING: The Lawfare Project and RE-LAW LLP file lawsuit against the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) University

The Lawfare Project, together with RE-LAW LLP, commenced a lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on behalf of Samantha Kline, a Jewish student, against the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) University. The lawsuit alleges that Samantha was subjected to ongoing anti-Jewish discrimination at OCAD that deprived her of the opportunity to engage in a successful learning environment. The lawsuit was first covered by CBC News.

The complaint details an alleged ongoing pattern of vitriol directed at Samantha, where she was subjected to threatening slurs, taunts, chants, and other intimidating rhetoric while at OCAD. It further alleges that, following the October 7th terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel and the tremendous increase in Jew-hatred at OCAD, the school failed to take adequate measures to protect Samantha and other Jewish students on campus. The complaint also highlights examples that show that students were consistently met with written expressions of violence, including “from the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free,” and “Jews deserve everything that is happening to them.” They were subjected to discrimination, intimidation and harassment, and Samantha was expressly threatened with violence.

“Jewish students across Canada continue to endure a barrage of antisemitic discrimination while simply trying to pursue an education,” said Brooke Goldstein, founder and Executive Director of The Lawfare Project. “The allegations laid out in our complaint show that OCAD created a hostile learning environment and failed to protect Samantha following the October 7th attacks against Israel and the subsequent increase in Jew-hatred across Canada.”

“All students, including Jewish students, should at a minimum be able to walk on campus without fear, hate, discrimination, intimidation, and harassment,” said David Elmaleh, Partner at RE-LAW LLP, and lead counsel on behalf of Samantha. “We are proud to work with The Lawfare Project, which has a proven track record of ensuring justice for the Jewish community. We applaud Samantha’s courage and look forward to representing her interests in this important case.”