The chair of the McGill Law Faculty Advisory Board resigned following a student referendum endorsing an academic boycott of Israeli educational institutions.
Jonathan Amiel, who was also a course lecturer, told the McGill Dean that he was no longer willing or able to participate in his formal roles or willing to fundraise on behalf of the faculty.
He announced he is also withdrawing all current and future pledges and donations to the law faculty and the university.
Amiel’s decision followed the school’s Law Students’ Association voting to endorse an academic boycott of Israeli institutions, which Amiel said is “not an isolated event” but “reflects a broader and sustained failure of institutional leadership.”
“Over the past two and a half years, I have observed an escalating pattern of hostility toward Jewish students, faculty, and alumni met with persistent inaction,” he wrote in his resignation letter, which he shared on his LinkedIn.
“An institution once defined by intellectual rigor and principled debate has, in too many instances, become an environment where being Jewish, identifying as a Zionist, or maintaining any association with the State of Israel carried professional and personal risk.”
Amiel said that conduct that contravenes university policy – including glorification of violence and legitimization of extremism – has been allowed to continue without meaningful consequence.
While he said he does not doubt the personal integrity of McGill’s leadership, he lamented the lack of action or decisive leadership.
“It is particularly concerning that, at a time when Jewish communities face heightened vulnerability, the Law Faculty has not provided a constructive or unifying response,” he continued.
Amiel said his decision to resign was difficult, given he has spent 30 years believing that McGill shaped his professional life and personal discipline.
He expressed hope that his resignation would stand as a meaningful contribution to the university by promoting it to reflect on its approach to the Jewish community. Amiel is from a Jewish family.
Center for Israeli Jewish Affairs 'deeply concerned' with McGill student governance
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said it is “deeply concerned by the ongoing developments within student governance at the McGill University Faculty of Law.”
“What we are witnessing is not a matter of routine governance or transparency, but a clear and troubling attempt to hijack student institutions in order to advance a narrow, pro-BDS and anti-Israel agenda,” it said, adding that “The resignation of Jonathan Amiel further underscores the seriousness of the situation.”
McGill has seen significant numbers of pro-Palestine demonstrations since October 7.
In February 2025, vandals smashed windows at five McGill University buildings, disrupting classes and exams in what the administration said was an attempt to pressure the institution into adopting Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions policies.
Students, faculty, and staff were panicked by the “truly terrifying experience” after around 40 vandals used stones, bricks, and hammers to destroy windows.