UBC investigating instructor following leaked audio of anti-Israel rant

A UBC instructor is facing backlash following the release of a 12-minute audio file from a lecture she gave on Sept. 18.

The recording was taken during a Global Issues in Social Justice class, in which Dr. Litsa Chatzivasileiou went on a lengthy rant against Israel’s role in the current Middle East conflict with Hamas.

“This is a form of ethnic cleansing,” said Chatzivasileiou in the recording.

“That is called ‘unchilding’ and ‘reproductive genocide’ – you kill the women. You kill the mothers. You kill the children.”

Chatzivasileiou also claimed Israel’s war was motivated by profits.

“It’s very simple. It’s because the arms corporations are making tons of money from genocide,” said Chatzivasileiou. “So the profit, we can’t stop it, we can’t stop the profit. We can’t stop the money. So feed them bombs.”

She ended the lecture by encouraging students to support anti-Israel causes.

“Any chance you find – whether to donate, join people who ask for divestment from UBC, from all of these military companies and institutions – any chance that you get, participate,” she said.

CTV News was also sent screenshots showing communication between the instructor and her students, in which Chatzivasileiou invited students to attend pro-Palestinian rallies and sign a petition to declare the Israeli Defence Force a terrorist organization.

Calls for action

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) is calling for UBC to take serious action.

“This professor should not be teaching and should be separated from her role at UBC,” said Nico Slobinsky with CIJA.

“University and college campuses should be places where students, academics, and staff feel safe and welcome. And when I heard the audio and I heard the professor, I mean, the immediate reaction was the professor failed in providing that kind of environment.”

The Jewish Academic Alliance of B.C. (JAABC), which includes members from UBC, also released a statement regarding the leaked audio.

“We believe that the classroom is a place that should foster critical thinking and that should allow students freely to come to their own conclusions and express themselves and to be heard by others without embarrassment or fear,” the statement reads. “Where faculty fail to do that, it is essential that the university enforce its own standards and ideals, and we call upon UBC to do so.”

The person who recorded the audio did not want to appear in this story for fear of their safety on campus.

Ohad Gavrieli, executive director of Hillel House, says he’s noticed a major spike in reports of antisemitic incidents at UBC.

“Prior to Oct. 7, 2023, we would get a few incidents, a few reports here and there, but now we’re seeing, in some weeks, it’s on a daily basis,” said Gavrieli.

Hillel House, described as a Jewish home away from home on campus, now has a full-time security guard at the door as a precaution.

UBC response

CTV News reached out to UBC for an on-camera interview, but the university declined the request. Instead, Matthew Ramsey with UBC media relations sent the following statement.

“The university is aware of concerns regarding Dr. Litsa Chatzivasileiou’s lecture and is looking into the matter in accordance with our policies and procedures. Due to employee privacy law, we are unable to comment further.”

CTV News has learned that Chatzivasileiou is still teaching. CTV News reached out to Chatzivasileiou for comment, but did not receive a response.