Ottawa U’s Special Adviser on Anti-Semitism Apologizes, Resigns After Posts Praising Pager Explosions in Lebanon

People gather outside a hospital in Baalbek in east Lebanon after communication devices exploded for a second day in Hezbollah strongholds in the country, on Sept. 18, 2024. Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images

The University of Ottawa’s special adviser on anti-Semitism resigned following criticism for posts he made on social media praising a wave of deadly pager explosions in Lebanon.

Thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon detonated simultaneously on Sept. 17, killing 12 people and injuring thousands. The following day, a second wave of attacks killed at least 20 people and wounded 450 others when walkie-talkies and other equipment used by Hezbollah exploded in multiple parts of Lebanon.

Israel has not commented upon nor taken credit for the device attacks. In a statement, Hezbollah said it holds Israel “fully responsible” for the attacks.

The University of Ottawa’s special advisor on anti-Semitism, Artur Wilczynski, said in a Sept.17 post on platform X that the apparent targeting of Hezbollah operatives was “brilliant,” and “struck a major blow against a terror group that has fired thousands of rockets against civilians, all while the useless UN mission in Lebanon stands by.”

Following backlash on social media, Wilczynski followed up on the post the next day and said there had been a misunderstanding of his usage of the word “brilliant.” He said the loss of innocent lives needed to be avoided, but as a retired national security leader, he was referring to the “complexity & sophistication of an operation.”

In another post on Sept. 19, Wilczynski said he believes in “accountability” and acknowledged his previous posts had “caused harm” and affected his “ability to help combat antisemitism at U of Ottawa.”

“My intent in sharing is irrelevant when it is clear many were hurt by them. I apologize. I resigned as Special Advisor on Antisemitism,” he said.

Wilczynski responded to one X user that the resignation was “completely my decision,” while he told another that he had not deleted the post because “I don’t believe in re-writing history. I did write it and it should be part of the record. It’s called transparency.”

As the special adviser on anti-Semitism, Wilczynski’s role was to provide “guidance and advice on addressing systemic and specific cases of antisemitism” including by studying the issue and advising the university’s senior leadership on strategies to combat it.

Before taking on the role in June, Wilczynski had spent 30 years as a senior official in a number of federal departments and agencies, while also playing roles as the ambassador to Norway and Head of Delegation to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance from 2016 to 2018.