Somar Abuaziza has made dozens of social media posts appearing to support Hamas, its leadership and the October 7 attacks
“Lived a hero and died a hero,” York University student Somar Abuaziza wrote on Instagram following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last October.
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Abuaziza has made dozens of social media posts appearing to support Hamas, its leadership and the October 7 attacks, which led to the deaths of over 1,000 Israelis and the abduction of hundreds of civilians. Her Instagram account was turned private following National Post requests for comment by email, direct message and phone.
“It is deeply concerning that someone with a history of publicly supporting terrorism and celebrating the massacre of innocent Israelis — such as Somar Abuaziza — could be elected president of the York Federation of Students,” Michelle Stock, Ontario vice-president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), told National Post in a statement.
It is deeply concerning that someone with a history of publicly supporting terrorism and celebrating the massacre of innocent Israelis — such as Somar Abuaziza — could be elected president of the York Federation of Students
“While York University has acknowledged the threats posed by YFS — taking legal action after the union posted a disturbing message celebrating the October 7 attacks — Abuaziza’s position on the student union shows that existing policies are inadequate to prevent those promoting hate and sowing division from exerting their influence on campus. Canadian universities and governments must work together to implement stronger measures that ensure the safety and well-being of all on campus.”
Abuaziza, who did not respond to requests for comment, has disputed such characterizations of her views, demanding the university dismiss “all claims against me as they are not only harmful, but rooted in anti-Palestinian racism.”
“My social media posts are critical of the government actions and conduct of the state of Israel. This is distinct from targeting members of the Jewish community. Statements against Zionism are not inherently antisemitic. Opposition to Zionism is a legitimate political opinion shared by people across diverse groups,” she said in a three-page letter responding to a recent student complaint.
“This complaint is rooted in racism and is a clear attempt to intimidate a loud and proud Palestinian student fighting for the liberation of her people against Zionism and violent colonialism,” she wrote.
The university, which has previously reprimanded Abuaziza for her statements, said following her election as YFS president it will enforce its policies as necessary.
My social media posts are critical of the government actions and conduct of the state of Israel. This is distinct from targeting members of the Jewish community
“York will continue to take actions that uphold our community’s shared values. Should any new information be brought to the university, we will take actions according to established polices and procedures,” university deputy spokesperson Yanni Dagonas told the National Post via email.
As of last Tuesday, Abuaziza had pinned an entire series of social media posts to the top of her Instagram profile labelled “07.10.23” chronicling her thoughts in real time as atrocities unfolded across communities in southern Israel.
Her first image of that day was a clip of Palestinian terrorists within an Israeli community, followed quickly by a photo of an Israeli woman seemingly taken hostage, captioned: “Buyers of pajamas for the captive soldier” in Arabic, above which she added six laughing emojis. “October 7th 2023,” she wrote later, alongside a Palestinian flag and a peace sign emoji.
Abuaziza continued posting throughout the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, promoting the views of anti-Israel influencers seeking to recast the atrocities as an admirable military victory, while dismissing emerging reports of civilian massacres, the perpetration of widespread sexual assaults by Palestinian militants and the death of Shani Louk, a woman murdered at the Nova Music Festival.
“It needs to be understood that there’s no such thing as innocent civilians under the context of settler colonialism,” one video she shared says. “Do not let western media call this terrorism. This is DECOLONIZATION,” says a screenshot she shared.
Throughout the coming 16 months, Abuaziza weighed in on virtually every major inflection point of the conflict. Three days after the invasion, Abuaziza posted pictures of herself at a rally in downtown Toronto, a keffiyeh and COVID mask obscuring her face.
Following Sinwar’s death in October 2024, she echoed, verbatim, the announcement by Hamas glorifying their leader on her Instagram account.
“We remain faithful to your pledge,” Abuaziza wrote on Instagram, matching word-for-word the group’s statement shared on Telegram. “May Allah have mercy on you and grant you the highest place in paradise with the prophets,” it continues. “And it is a jihad of victory or martyrdom.”
The following month, violence erupted in Amsterdam as Israeli soccer fans were beaten and chased through the streets by mostly Arab men, some rejoicing on social media of participating in a “Jew hunt.”
Abuaziza screenshotted an X user’s message: “Shoutout to the Moroccans in Amsterdam, I cant wait for the Isntrealis to meet the Algerians in Paris.”
It sends a dangerous message that such hatred is acceptable within York’s academic community
Alyssa Gampel, a Jewish university employee who serves as York’s associate director for alumni engagement, attended the event. It “left me frightened and shaking, as she (Abuaziza) repeatedly said that the only solution at York University is to ‘burn the whole place down,’” she told the Post in an email.
Neither the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies nor the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, which sponsored the event, responded to the Post’s inquiry as to whether they were aware of Abuaziza’s comments dismissing accounts of sexual assaults perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists on October 7.
Last November, Lotan Wider, an Israeli-Canadian student on campus, submitted a complaint to the university alleging Abuaziza’s public statements violated the Code of Student Rights & Responsibilities, specifically guidelines on workplace violence prevention, human rights and disruptive or harassing behaviour.
“When a student openly celebrates terrorist attacks and poses with weapons while praising violence against Jews, it sends a dangerous message that such hatred is acceptable within York’s academic community,” the communications undergraduate wrote in his complaint shared with the Post.
Others raised concerns as well.
“We have raised our outrage with university leadership, and are again calling on them to see the symbol of a gun for what it is — a glorification of terrorism and a call for violence,” Hillel Ontario’s chief advancement officer Jay Solomon told the Post via email. “Such a blatant display of extremist imagery only reinforces the toxic environment that has been allowed to fester within the YFS for decades.”
Wider originally requested in his complaint that York expel Azbuaziza to send a clear message to everyone, particularly Jews on campus, that such behaviour would not be tolerated. In late January, an adjudicator from the school’s Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion ruled in his favour, reprimanding Abuaziza for her failure to “uphold an atmosphere of civility, honesty, equity and respect for others which values the inherent diversity in our community,” according to emails shared with the Post.
The adjudicator told Wider the “sanction in this matter is an educative requirement subject to a fine if not completed,” appending a list elaborating on potential sanctions: “educative requirements, such as community service, reflective essay or research on a specified topic.”
The communications student called it a “slap on the wrist” in an interview with National Post.
“The outcome of these discussions is confidential, and the University will not comment further on the specifics,” York’s Dagonas told the Post in a written statement.
Dagonas added that York previously condemned the Hamas attacks and affirmed its “unequivocal condemnation of all forms of discrimination and hate, including antisemitism, anti-Palestinian racism, and Islamophobia.” Dagonas declined to comment on what the university deems anti-Palestinian racism, given the adjudicator’s rejection of Abuaziza’s defence directly citing the term.
Allied Voice for Israel (AVI) founder Daniel Koren told the Post in an email that the university’s response is a looming “stain on York’s reputation.” Wider is an AVI campus ambassador. “York must intervene and enforce its policies,” Koren added.
Several Jewish students and faculty who spoke with the Post were dejected by the ruling.
“I think it’s particularly scary and harrowing that York University allows an individual who has expressed support for terrorist organizations to even be allowed on campus. The fact that she can become a student leader makes me feel extremely unsafe,” Elianna Perlmutter, a film production student on campus, told the Post in an email.
Freshman psychology student Lihee Golomb called York’s response to antisemitism “inconsistent and inadequate,” in an email to the Post, insisting that “the administration has failed to take strong, decisive action to ensure our safety and well-being.”
Golomb specifically pointed to Abuaziza’s leadership of YFS as a primary reason “I do not feel physically safe on campus,” and said the union failed to listen to Jewish student concerns. Stephanie Kotler, a third-year human rights and equity studies student, told the Post in an email that while YFS “may listen to the concerns” of Jewish students, “they do not take any action upon said concerns.”
Kotler was one of five students who expressed little or no confidence in the university’s ability to protect Jews on campus. Many said they were socially ostracized because of their Jewish identities.
“I have classmates that I used to be friends with, completely isolate (me) from the class and class engagement, resulting in my own academic education becoming impeded because of my religion,” Kotler told the Post. “I was simply existing as a Jewish individual and that was grounds enough for my classmates to isolate and bully me.”
Gampel commended the university’s swift dismantling of the encampment, calling “York’s administration better than most.” Still, the long-time university employee was unequivocal that she did not feel safe on campus. She said she now hides her Star of David necklace “when walking through places like Vari Hall” the main campus building where several anti-Israel demonstrations have been held.
“It is impossible to describe to anyone who is not Jewish what it has felt like to be on campus since Oct 7, 2023,” she wrote. Seeing academics and student leaders “on social media justifying rape, it sends me on an emotional rollercoaster that makes it almost impossible to function, let alone work.”
Her daughter was recently accepted to York for the coming school year, but Gampel said they are still weighing their options.
“The safety and culture for Jewish students will be a large part of her decision on which university to attend,” she wrote.
“Abuaziza is celebrating acts of terrorist violence — violence meant to murder innocent civilians — on one of the most painful days for Jews over the past eighteen months” Hillel Ontario said.