Arnie Aberman will return his honorary UofT degree over the school’s handling of antisemitism

The CJN Daily with Ellin Bessner

Dr. Arnie Aberman received his honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Toronto in June 2015. He is one of more than 1,500 people who have received honorary degrees from UofT since the school began the tradition in 1850, but Aberman believes he is the first and only person to give it back—as his symbolic form of protest against rising antisemitism on campus and his anger at how his former employer is failing to keep students safe, be they Jews or non-Jews. Aberman actually has three other honorary PhDs from other universities, plus an Order of Canada for his contributions to the medical field. But UofT’s award was special, because it came after an illustrious career in which Aberman held just about every top post at the institution’s medical school over the past 30 years: chair of medicine, dean of medicine and chief of medicine at hospitals in Toronto, including Mount Sinai, Sunnybrook, Princess Margaret, Toronto General and Toronto Western. But the retired physician, 80, no longer wants anything to do with UofT's degree, after he watched the pro-Palestine encampment remain up for two months on campus—just steps away from the medical building. Aberman has now informed UofT’s president of his intention to return the honorary degree in the coming days. Aberman joins this episode of The CJN Daily to explain his decision and what he hopes will happen next.

What we talked about

• Read more on U of T Jewish doctors boycotting their university in protest of the school’s handling of rising antisemitism and anti-Israel actions on campus, in The CJN.
• Learn why an Ontario court ordered the U of T encampment dismantled on July 2, 2024, in on July 2, 2024, in The CJN.
• Hear why UBC medical professor Dr. Ted Rosenberg quit after 30 years because of his university’s handling of antisemitism after Oct. 7, in The CJN.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Dov Beck-Levine

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