WINNIPEG – A PhD thesis proposal at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Education has raised significant concern after adopting what it describes as a “decolonial or de-Zionizing approach,” prompting criticism from Jewish advocacy groups who argue the framework delegitimizes the Jewish right to self-determination in their historic homeland.
According to Honest Reporting Canada, the proposal by PhD candidate Fadi Ennab characterizes Zionism as a colonial structure and calls for a methodology to “de-Zionize” educational spaces. Critics say the language mirrors contemporary political campaigns that challenge the legitimacy of Israel as the world’s only Jewish state.
The examining committee for the proposal includes Jeannie Kerr, Merli Tamtik, and Lori Wilkinson, with Lilian Pozzer serving as the department chair.
In a public statement, Honest Reporting Canada said the proposal reflects a troubling shift in some Canadian academic spaces. “This nonsense is what qualifies for the Faculty of Education,” the organization wrote, adding that framing Jewish indigeneity as colonial erases established historical, legal, and cultural evidence documenting the Jewish connection to the land of Israel.
Israeli and Jewish history scholars widely affirm that the Jewish people are an Indigenous Middle Eastern nation with an unbroken presence in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria for thousands of years. The modern State of Israel was recognized by the United Nations in 1947, and Jewish self-determination is grounded in international law, including the League of Nations Mandate and multiple recognitions by UN member states.
Jewish community leaders in Winnipeg expressed concern that academic frameworks using terms like “de-Zionizing” risk importing political activism into scholarship. They note that such language has increasingly appeared in campaigns targeting Jewish faculty, Jewish students, and programs connected to Israel.
“There is a difference between legitimate academic critique and frameworks that explicitly deny one people’s right to national self-determination,” said a community representative familiar with the case. “De-Zionizing as a concept is not neutral. It is rooted in activist literature that seeks to dismantle the Jewish state entirely.”
Advocacy organizations also warned that such approaches can contribute to a climate of hostility for Jewish students, particularly as incidents of campus antisemitism rise across Canada. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs reports an escalation in discriminatory incidents targeting Jewish students since October 2023, including harassment, exclusionary political tests, and calls to dismantle Jewish identity structures on campus.
Academic experts note that the term “decolonization,” when applied to the Israeli Jewish experience, is often based on narratives that omit the expulsion of nearly one million Jews from Middle Eastern and North African countries between 1948 and the 1970s. Many refugees from Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, and Egypt were resettled in Israel, where they became part of the country’s demographic majority.
Critics argue that ignoring this history while depicting the Jewish presence in Israel as foreign or colonial undermines scholarly integrity. They stress that the Jewish people are the only nation to have re-established sovereignty in their ancestral homeland after millennia of displacement.
The University of Manitoba has not publicly commented on the concerns raised regarding the thesis proposal. As of publication, no official statement has been issued addressing whether the proposal aligns with academic standards for objectivity, scholarly rigor, or responsible treatment of Indigenous and historical claims.
Observers say the broader issue extends beyond a single student or committee. Canadian universities have seen increasing pressures to adopt ideological frameworks that merge activism with scholarship, particularly in faculties of education and social sciences. Jewish organizations warn that these pressures disproportionately affect Jewish students and academics who identify with or teach about Israel.
The situation continues to unfold, and community members say they will closely monitor developments.
