SHERBROOKE – Hours after the student addressed the media on Monday, Université de Sherbrooke said it dissociated itself from his public declarations and reaffirmed that an internal review is underway. The university warned that the investigation could lead to the student’s exclusion from the medical program, depending on its findings.
At a news conference, the student confirmed he served as the moderator of a Discord server that was overwhelmed last year by antisemitic, misogynistic, and racist posts. He maintained he did not author the slurs that have been attributed to the channel and said he was speaking to set the record straight. The student also issued a press statement, and his lawyers addressed media questions.
University officials criticized the decision to speak to the media while the review is active. In a public statement issued Monday evening, the institution said it strongly condemns discrimination and reiterated that it is handling the matter through established administrative procedures. The statement said the university had recently reopened an investigation and that it will follow due process.
The university denounced the fact that Ahmad Mousattat and his lawyer decided to address the news media and to openly discuss the allegations of antisemitism against him pending an internal investigation. In a lengthy news release issued Monday evening, the university warned for the first time that its investigation could lead to Mousattat’s exclusion from the program.
The controversy stems from an earlier, wider exposure of a public Discord forum known as Med serveur, which contained thousands of posts, including hate-filled content and violent rhetoric. That forum became the subject of complaints and coverage this spring after screenshots and accounts of abusive messages circulated among students, physicians, and advocacy groups. The channel’s removal and subsequent reporting prompted complaints to authorities and calls for action from Jewish physicians and other organizations.
Doctors Against Racism and Antisemitism and other medical and Jewish groups have publicly condemned the presence of hateful material on the forum and urged universities and licensing bodies to act. One advocacy group issued a formal press release calling on the university to suspend the student’s admission pending a transparent review. Those groups said that students who promote or permit extremist content are incompatible with the ethical standards expected in medicine.
The student’s defense has emphasized procedural and evidentiary questions. A press release attributed to the student and circulated on newswire services framed his media appearance as an effort to rebut what he described as false allegations and to explain the context. His lawyer argued that screenshots and attributions require scrutiny. Critics counter that moderation carries responsibility and that permitting hateful content to circulate is itself grave.
The matter has already produced sanctions in related forums. Quebec’s lieutenant-governor’s office revoked an honorary youth medal previously awarded to the student amid the earlier revelations. The journalistic reporting that first flagged the channel and named a moderator set off inquiries by college officials, professional groups, and political figures concerned about public safety and professional standards.
Université de Sherbrooke faces competing pressures. On one side are calls from medical professionals and community organizations for swift, transparent action to protect patients and public trust. On the other side are procedural safeguards that require fair investigation and adjudication before academic penalties are imposed. The university said it will follow its disciplinary protocols and will provide support to those affected while the review proceeds.
Observers say the case underscores a broader challenge for medical schools and professional regulators: how to screen for and respond to online extremism among applicants and how to balance public safety with due process. Jewish medical groups have urged universities to adopt explicit policies and stronger vetting to ensure future doctors adhere to ethical obligations toward all patients.
The university did not provide a public timetable for the investigation. Officials declined to comment further pending the completion of the review or to discuss potential disciplinary measures in detail. The student’s camp said he will continue to contest any allegations and to cooperate with inquiries.
This article is based on verified information from the Montreal Gazette, the university dissociation notice, the student press release, the Doctors Against Racism and Antisemitism press release, and Journal de Montréal.
A Canadian columnist wrote how during a post-10/7 concert at Vancouver’s Hollywood Theatre, “a band member said something about a free Palestine. This, according to attendee Hanah Van Borek, led to a few shouts from the audience: ‘F— the Jews!’ It was clearly audible in her area of the crowd, a person who was with her confirms, but nobody around them shut this down. There were some cheers of support, though. ‘My whole body went into shock,’ says Ms. Van Borek, who is Jewish.
“Ms. Van Borek left the venue and explained why to security staff. She says a worker encouraged her to go back inside and reassured her she was safe. ‘Nobody will be able to tell that you’re Jewish,’ he said, according to Ms. Van Borek. (Oy.) She did return to the show, but Ms. Van Borek was — and is — rattled. She supports the band’s right to make political statements. It was the shouts from this group — and the silence around them — that were alarming.”
[The essay, posted October 26, 2023, by The Globe and Mail, was written by Marsha Lederman.]
Likely due to not having Jewish heritage thus experience, I never expected the level of anti-Semitic assaults in the West since the shocking 10/7 Hamas attack against Israel. It’s plainly blatantly wrong for them to be mistreated and even terrorized, let alone suffering it supposedly for what is committed overseas. And it should be needless to say that Western-world Palestinians and Muslims similarly must not be collectively blamed and attacked for the acts of Hamas violence in Israel or Islamic extremist attacks outside the Middle East.
Immediately after the 10/7 attack, great insensitivity was publicly shown by some crazy-angry pro-Palestinian activists towards the many who were freshly mourning the Israeli victims, especially when considering that many or most young Israelis and Jews elsewhere likely were not accustomed to such relatively large-scale carnage committed against Israel.
Additionally concerning about all of the highly publicized two-way partisan exchanges of verbal fury is: what will young non-Israeli Jewish, and Palestinian, children living abroad think and feel if/when they hear such misdirected vile hatred towards their fundamental identity? Scary is the real possibility that such public outpour of blind hatred may lead some young children to feel very misplaced shame in their heritage.
… In the past but apparently now more than ever, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has seen undeniably widespread partisanship via Internet and news commentary. The politics of polarization outside of Israel and even the Middle East, perhaps in part for its own sake, has gotten quite disturbing. Within social media especially, the angry and thoughtless two-dimensional views have been especially amplified, including the majority posted by non-Jews and non-Palestinians.
It all arouses a spectator-sport effect or mentality, with many contemptible trolls residing well outside the region yet actively supporting the ‘side’ [via politicized commentary posts] that they hate less. I anticipate many actually kept/keep track of the bloody match by checking the day’s-end death-toll score, however extremely lopsided those numbers.