Shoah Commemoration at Vanier College

"I was scheduled to participate and speak at a commemoration of the Shoah, the Holocaust."

"It was very disappointing that Vanier decided to cancel the commemoration in fear, I was told, of demonstrations and problems with agitators outside the college."

"When fear rules your decisions rather than conviction of what is right, that’s dangerous."

"We live in a very fractured world now, and I think that we have to remember our history. I think that an educational institution such as Vanier has an obligation to educate their students and help them see each other as human beings."

"My talk was really going to be about our responsibilities as human beings, about the importance of remembrance, and how if education is the only tool, are we using it to the best of its possibilities."

"If we don’t learn from our history, then we’re condemned to repeat it and we’re well on the way to repetition."

"I would hope that Vanier reconsiders this decision, if not for this year, then for next year, and allow students to learn from it."

Eva Kuper, 85, Holocaust survivor, volunteer, Montreal Holocaust Museum

Eva Kuper, seen at the Montreal Holocaust Museum in 2017, was scheduled to speak at Vanier College about surviving the Holocaust. Last week she learned Vanier called off the ceremony. Photo by Pierre Obendrauf /Montreal Gazette

"While the College was not the target of a specific threat, in light of the current geopolitical context and information provided by our security team, we elected to review the event’s scheduling and format to err on the side of caution."

"[We are] currently reviewing the format of [the] annual Holocaust commemoration ceremony. [An] important event [that] holds a significant place in our institutional history [as it] brings together a number of external guest and dignitaries, students, staff and members of the general public."

"We are working to develop an alternative that honours the significance of this historical event that aligns with our values of education, remembrance and community well-being."

Vanier College, Saint Laurent, Montreal 

SAINT LAURENT, Q.C. - Vanier College on March 24, 2026. Terry Newman/National Post

 

Vanier College in the Saint Laurent borough of Montreal issued a statement on Wednesday to the effect that its 34th Symposium on the Holocaust and Genocide is continuing as planned, but the commemorative event was postponed. This abrupt announcement took everyone involved by surprise, not the least the invited guests as well as the presenters. What had been a mainstay for decades has seen the 35th version of the Holocaust commemoration cancelled, evidently due to concerns over the perceived issue of its attracting a violent backlash from pro-Palestinian contingents that have been marching for over two years against the existence of the state of Israel, while intimidating the Montreal Jewish community in a replay of the very scenarios leading up to the Holocaust throughout the Third Reich.

 

Speeches scheduled for the commemoration of that signal event of historical horror, from Christian Wagner, consul general of Germany, Eliaz Luf, consul general of Israel, Eva Kuper, a Holocaust survivor, and two Vanier students, summarily cancelled. Memorial prayers and a candle-lighting ceremony, planned for the the event would obviously also not take place. During the college's 34th Annual Symposium on the Holocaust and Genocide, 17 allied events were scheduled between March 23 to 27.

 

An event meant to honour the memory of 6 million Jews who were murdered during World War II by a Fascist totalitarian government cancelled as the organizers cowered in fear that hateful mobs that call for another Holocaust might disrupt the proceedings, and conceivably overwhelm the security guards posted at the institute  for all events to maintain order and civility. For events such as this, however, where a whiff of Jew-hate raises its threatening spectre of violence and the possibility of a riot and injuries or even worse, tender souls shrivel in fear.

 

In contrast to the heightened trepidation and an enlarged number of security personnel for any event featuring a speaker in support of Israel, there are also anti-Zionist Palestine presentations, such as occurred at an International Women's Week event at Vanier College. Where there was a notable absence of security guards in numbers that might dissuade psychopathic reaction from disaffected outsiders. All those disaffected outsiders, in effect, were in attendance at the event. 

 

 

 

"[The situation has been a] misunderstanding, [the broader Holocaust symposium has gone ahead.."

"The Holocaust symposium has been unfolding this week as planned, with over 15 talks on different themes pertaining to the Holocaust and Jewish history."

"Most of those decisions are made by the executive team, composed of all the directors of all the departments, including the department responsible for the security. [The decision applied only to the commemorative portion of the event]."

"That came with parameters that we felt, given the geopolitical situation, were not optimal for us to ensure safety and security. We felt it would be best for us to explore alternatives to be able to hold it under safer parameters."

"I do understand that the misunderstanding that took place could have been very disturbing… and I’m sincerely sorry about that misunderstanding."

Benoit Morin, director general, Vanier College

 

"[This is a] disgraceful act of capitulation."

"When a Holocaust commemoration is deemed a ‘security risk,’ that is not a reason to cancel the event, it is proof that something has gone deeply wrong."

"One of the last living witnesses to history was ready to share her testimony, and an institution of higher learning decided that it was safer to cancel her than to stand behind her."

Jewish Community Council of Montreal