Six prominent Canadian universities are facing a series of proposed class action lawsuits alleging that Jewish students are not safe on campus.

The list includes Queen's University, York University, Concordia University, Toronto Metropolitan University, and the University of British Columbia. Diamond and Diamond, a personal injury law firm based in Toronto, has also listed several of its student unions.

McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and its student union are the latest to face legal action. The statement of claim, dated January 3, alleges that "McMaster University has, for more than a decade, been a home to systemic discrimination, harassment, hatred, anti-Semitism, violent rhetoric, and actual or threatened physical harm among the student body."

Since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023, Canadian universities have increasingly hosted a growing number of protests. In November, a brawl broke out between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students in the halls of Concordia University in Montreal.

Sandra Zeiskind, a lawyer at Diamond and Diamond, told CTV News: "You should not be allowed to bring a Hamas flag to the university," "These are fundamental human rights principles."

She added that some Jewish students at McMaster University said they "are scared to go to school, and afraid to wear anything that shows the fact that they are Jewish."

The lawsuits were launched with the support of the Lawfare Project, an American non-profit organization that funds legal actions to protect the civil and human rights of Jewish communities.

Both McMaster and its student union declined CTV News' request for an interview. In a statement via email, a university spokesperson wrote that "promoting a safe and inclusive environment for all members of the McMaster community has always and remains a critical priority for the university, which condemns all forms of hatred."

Despite this lawsuit, Professor Eva Lon, a McMaster University professor, faced severe criticism in October for calling for the deportation of pro-Palestinian demonstrators following a protest in New York City.

Canada has a long history of protests at universities, an act of freedom of expression and opinion that deserves protection "within clear limits," according to Glenn Jones, a higher education professor at the University of Toronto.

Jones said: "Universities are places of inquiry." "They are designed to be spaces for enlightened issues and different ideas with the notion of challenging traditional beliefs and current ideas."

Zeiskind explained that she does not object to freedom of expression in universities, saying: "You can disagree with Israel, and you can say that there should be a ceasefire, these are things equivalent to free speech, but you cannot say that we need to kill Jews."

Zeiskind added that her firm anticipates filing more class action lawsuits against additional Canadian post-secondary educational institutions in the coming weeks and months.

None of the current class action claims have been certified by the courts.