'I (heart) Hamas' stickers at UBC have resulted in threats against racialized students

A number of stickers proclaiming support for Hamas appeared on campus at the University of British Columbia last week, resulting in threats against racialized students associated with a campus advocacy group. 

The stickers, which featured the words "I (heart) Hamas - UBC Social Justice Centre," seemed to imply that members of the group that is dedicated to research, outreach and action on social justice issues had posted them.  

As first reported by student publication The Ubyssey, Hillel BC, a Jewish student organization, posted on its Instagram account earlier this week that it had learned an independent contractor had participated in distributing the "offensive" stickers around campus. In its Instagram statement on Nov. 20, Hillel BC said it had "terminated its relationship with the contractor."

In emails to CBC News, Hillel BC executive director Rob Philipp declined to answer questions about the contractor and how long they had been employed by Hillel. He said the organization noticed the stickers on Nov. 17. 

"This incident has nothing to do with Hillel BC," Philipp wrote. "When Hillel found out about the activity it terminated its relationship with the independent contractor who was doing some unrelated part time work for us."

A spokesperson for the UBC SJC, who CBC News has agreed not to name because they fear for their safety, shared screenshots of threats students have faced as a result of being linked to the stickers. 

These range from emails and comments calling SJC students "Jew hating scumbags," to attempts to locate where the students live.

"We were afraid for ourselves, as well as other marginalized students in the space, that someone would try to come and physically attack us because that's the hate that was being spread on social media," the SJC spokesperson said. 

In a statement on the SJC Instagram account, the group denied any involvement with the stickers.

"We have never, and would never, promote or condone such messages," the SJC statement read. "They do not reflect our values and we are deeply concerned that these messages will fuel an already incendiary environment and jeopardize student safety."

According to a university spokesperson, the stickers were seen at various locations on campus, including outside two buildings and on lamp posts.

Professor who shared photo of sticker apologized

Soon after the stickers appeared, UBC professor Vadim Marmer shared a photo of one on Instagram, tagged the SJC, and expressed his disgust with the organization.

Marmer has since taken down his post and in a public apology on Instagram, said he joins the SJC in calling for an investigation into the incident.

But the image of the sticker Marmer posted had already been shared by others on social media. 

This includes the executive director of the BC Conservative Party and an advisor at Israel Policy Forum, who expressed their concerns for Jewish students on campus in the wake of "student groups expressing love toward a genocidal terrorist organization." 

Other high-profile individuals deleted similar posts on X, formerly known as Twitter after the SJC informed them about the origins of the stickers through a statement posted to social media. 

SJC calls for investigation

According to a statement from UBC, "the stickers have exposed UBC Social Justice Centre members to vitriol and malice, which is unacceptable."

UBC spokesperson Kurt Heinrich told CBC News in an email that the university has "taken quick action to have the stickers removed" and said UBC would continue to monitor the situation on campus with additional security patrols.

He also said the university "has reported the online posts we were made aware of directly to the RCMP." 

The university RCMP detachment has not responded to a CBC News request for comment in time for publication.

According to the SJC spokesperson, neither UBC nor Hillel reached out to the SJC in light of the incident. 

"We expect a thorough investigation into the connections between this independent contractor and Hillel BC and we expect the university to work with us to make this environment safer and to safeguard the academic freedom of racialized students on campus," the SJC spokesperson said.