Jack Gegenberg
Overview
Gegenberg has demonized Israel and is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.He is a professor of Mathematics at the University of New Brunswick (UNB).
Demonizing Israel
In January 2009, Gegenberg participated in a panel discussion where the panelists reportedly “all expressed the view that the siege on the Gaza strip is morally wrong and has to stop.”
According to a report chronicling the event, Gegenberg stated [p. 2-3]: “...what Israel has in mind is becoming increasingly clear, to force thousands upon thousands of people away from Gaza, possibly into Egypt, and leave it to the international community to deal with these people.”
Supporting BDS
On July 29, 2014, Gegenberg signed an open letter to members of the Canadian government condemning their support for Israel and accusing Israel of “Indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on civilian life and infrastructure in Gaza.”Gegenberg also signed a statement, authored by “Jewish Canadians Concerned about Suppression of Criticism of Israel.” Signatories of the petition specifically sought to defend “those organizing Israel Apartheid Week or supporting an academic boycott of Israel.”
On July 22, 2014, Gegenberg signed a petition titled “Jews Say: End the War on Gaza — No Aid to Apartheid Israel!”
The petition charged Israel with “more than a century of Zionist colonialism, dispossession, ethnic cleaning, racism, and genocide” and claimed that “Israel uses resistance to such policies as an excuse to terrorize and collectively punish the indigenous population for its very existence.”
Gegenberg also signed a petition, authored by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), in support of “those organizing Israel Apartheid Week or supporting an academic boycott of Israel.”
In January 2010, Gegenberg was a featured speaker at a vigil “to mark the anniversary of Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip.”
According to an article chronicling the event, “Gegenberg, argued that the international community must put pressure on Israel by taking part in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.”
On September 9, 2009, Gegenberg signed a petition, titled “Toronto Declaration: No Celebration of Occupation,” which condemned the Toronto International Film Festival for cooperating with “the Israeli propaganda machine.”
Gegenberg also signed the “Petition to Stop Canada Pension Plan Investments in Apartheid Israel.”
BDS
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by Omar Barghouti in 2005 to challenge “international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.” BDS is an allegedly “Palestinian-led movement,” although leading BDS activists have admitted [00:01:01] this is not true.
One of the demands of BDS includes [point 3] what is generally known as the “right of return,” a demand discredited as a way to eliminate Israel. Barghouti said the “right of return” is a means to “end Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.”
Barghouti has said that BDS “aims to turn Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.”
In his activism, Barghouti has also said [00:05:55] regarding Israel: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No…rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”
The movement has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations and received a public endorsement from Hamas in 2017.
BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.
The movement’s most notable achievement has been the infiltration of university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments and student groups, backed by their own anti-Israel members and affiliates, have proposed resolutions on some form of boycott of, or divestment from, Israel and Israeli-affiliated entities.
Boycott resolutions, although non-binding, have been passed by student governments on numerous North American campuses.
BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus. On one campus, when the student government debated a BDS resolution, reports emerged of violent threats against those opposing it.
Social Media and Weblinks
- Status:
- Professor
- University:
- New-Brunswick
- Organizations:
- BDS
- Related Profiles:
- Last Modified:
- 05/04/2026
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