Canadian Professor Says University Fired Him for Social Media Defense of Israel

A non-Jewish Canadian professor said he lost his position at the University of Guelph-Humber after posting a defense of Israel on social media in November 2023. Paul Finlayson told Fox News Digital that he responded to a LinkedIn message from an overseas educator who he said was calling for the eradication of Israel.

The original post and comments were later deleted. Finlayson wrote that using the phrase "from the River to the Sea" amounted to supporting Nazis and stated he stood with Israel against those who he said wanted dead Jews. He added that standing with Palestine meant standing with Hitler and criticized the celebration of individuals involved in the Oct.

7 attacks that killed 1,400 people and took 250 hostages. The National Post quoted the response in a December 2023 article. Finlayson said students at the school saw the post before it was deleted, which led to an outcry. On Nov. 27, 2023, while he met with a student, an administrator waited outside his office and then presented him with a suspension letter.

The letter, which Finlayson provided, cited "inappropriate online comments" and placed him on leave pending an investigation. It barred contact with departmental staff, students or other university members. The professor said he had been well-liked by students and ranked highly in the business department.

He had formulated courses and written textbooks, but said rumors destroyed his academic reputation. "My trial has been by defamation, and it continues by defamation," Finlayson said of the situation he described as Kafkaesque.

Finlayson said his union, OPSEU Local 562, refused to represent him. The union did not respond to a request for comment. The university fired him in July 2025. The termination letter stated that after a formal complaint of discrimination and harassment, an investigator found his conduct violated the Ontario Human Rights Code and Humber’s Human Rights and Harassment Policy.