When a Toronto cafe posted 'No Zionists allowed' and Jewish students at Canadian universities faced discrimination, Brooke Goldstein did not issue a press release. She filed lawsuits, aiming to make Jew-hatred legally costly.
Goldstein is the executive director and founder of The Lawfare Project, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of the Jewish people through legal action. Since 2010, the project has pursued over 150 legal actions in 14 countries, leveraging an 800-strong legal network to provide more than US$13 million worth of pro bono legal services.
Canadian Victories and Ongoing Cases
Among its Canadian victories is a December 2023 ruling against Foodbenders, a now-closed Toronto restaurant, which was ordered to pay damages to television personality Shai Deluca for defaming him with antisemitic Instagram posts. Ongoing cases include efforts to protect Jewish students, such as a proposed CAD$77-million class action against McMaster University and a $1-million suit against Toronto's OCAD University, in partnership with Diamond & Diamond Lawyers and RE-LAW LLP.
End Jew-Hatred and Upcoming Book
Goldstein, a Toronto native now based in Miami, is also the founder of End Jew-Hatred, a civil rights organization active across 40 universities. Her forthcoming book, End Jew Hatred: A Manual for Mobilization, due in August, aims to demonstrate how to effect change through grassroots mobilization and legal activism.
Interview Insights: Campus Radicalization
In an interview with the National Post, Goldstein discussed troubling trends on campuses, including radicalization fueled by foreign funding. She highlighted a case against Carnegie Mellon University, which she described as the third-largest recipient of funds from Qatar, alleging that Qatar has funded anti-Americanism and DEI programs that correlate with increased hatred and discrimination against Jewish students.
Goldstein noted similar narratives on Canadian campuses, including appeasement and justification of terrorism, pro-Islamist narratives denying the October 7 rapes, accusations of colonization, and the BDS movement. She emphasized the need to identify the source of this radicalization, pointing to systemic indoctrination and propaganda from administrations.
Protected Speech vs. Harassment
Goldstein clarified the line between protected speech and actionable harassment. While holding a sign saying 'I hate Jews, I love Hamas' is protected speech, blocking a student from entering a classroom, creating a hostile environment that frightens Jewish students, or singling them out in class crosses into action. She cited incidents at Cooper Union where students were locked in a library with pro-Hamas protesters banging on windows and chanting genocidal slogans, calling it harassment rather than free speech.
