Concordia hires external security firm founded by ex-Israeli soldier
The university spent over $30,000 on external security
From Sept. 30 to Nov. 22, 2024, Concordia University spent $33,683 on external security hires.
On four different occasions, the university spent the money to hire the external company Perceptage International for a total of 14 days of work.
What is Perceptage International?
The security consulting firm Perceptage International was founded in 2008 by Adam Cohen, an ex-Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldier, the national director of community security for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), and the director of community security for Federation CJA. Activists have heavily criticized all three companies for “anti-Palestinian practices.”
Perceptage itself has been accused of hiring ex-IDF soldiers and having ties to the Israeli government.
In a now-deleted section of their website, Perceptage listed a total of nine security agents using only initials or pseudonyms and highlighted each member’s training, where all nine agents had completed an “Israeli Close Protection Course.” Currently, agent details are not available on the Perceptage website.
Students have also raised concerns about Perceptage’s connection with the security consulting company Moshav Security Consultants, a central division of Perceptage. Moshav is managed by Eyal Feldman, a reserve major in the Israeli army and a former special advisor to Israel’s Ministry of Defense. At the time of publication, Moshav’s website is unavailable.
Perceptage declined The Link’s request for an interview.
According to Concordia deputy spokesperson Julie Fortier, the university has had no contact with Moshav. Fortier also claimed that all Perceptage agents hired by the university were Canadian armed forces veterans.
Hiring of Perceptage
According to records acquired by The Link, the university hired the security company for 14 days during the Fall 2024 semester. The number of agents varied from day to day, from two to eight per shift.
Agents were asked to wear beige pants or jeans, a black polo with no logos and a vest. Concordia provided the agents with velcro patches with the Concordia Safety and Prevention Services (CSPS) logo.
The university hired the largest number of agents during the student strikes for Palestine, on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22. On those days, a total of eight agents were stationed across the campus per day, costing the university a total of $12,141. The agents' duties were described as “crowd control and special intervention.”
The second largest number of agents hired was from the period of Sept. 30 to Oct.11, 2024, where four agents were stationed per day, costing the university over $20,235. Concordia hired the agents for “crowd control and special intervention” in anticipation of protests on Oct. 7.
The only occasion where the university hired the company for an event not in direct relation to a Palestine demonstration was for a farewell event for Chancellor Jonathan Wener, hosted in the Eaton Centre on Nov. 6. Wener was Concordia’s chancellor since 2015.
Interactions with security during protests
Perceptage agents have been accused of physically assaulting students while stationed at pro-Palestine demonstrations. According to a video posted on Solidarity for Palestine's Honour and Resistance (SPHR)’s Instagram page on Nov. 22, during the student strikes for Palestine, Perceptage and other CSPS officers were seen aggressively pushing students away from picketing actions and into the stairway of the Henry F. Hall building, all the while, students shouted: “Don’t touch them, don’t shove them, these are Concordia students.”
According to Fortier, “CSPS intervened after receiving a complaint when a group of protestors attempted to block access to a class where students had not voted to strike and wanted to attend class.”
“CSPS intervened to prevent an escalation between students,” Fortier said.
Student criticism and concern
Students have criticized Concordia’s decision to hire Perceptage. According to ex-SPHR general coordinator and current Palestinian Youth Movement member Zeyad Abisaab, he feels the decision to hire Perceptage highlights the lack of care for student safety.
“The main function of security is to provide safety and a sense of security to students,” Abisaab said. He believes that if you were to ask students how they feel around unknown mercenaries, students would not feel safe.
Concordia Student Union (CSU) external affairs and mobilization coordinator Danna Ballantyne believes that the hiring of Perceptage was a way for Concordia to silence Palestinian voices on campus.
“I think the university throws around the word ‘apolitical,’” Ballantyne said. “None of their actions show that from the emails that they send the student body, to the force that they use against us, to where they put their money.”
According to Fortier, the university makes security-related decisions to ensure the safety of the community.
“CSPS can hire other agents to support them depending on security needs for some events,” Fortier said. “This was the case last fall after aggressive behaviour, assault and vandalism occurred during recent demonstrations and as we knew larger demonstrations would take place.”
Ballantyne disagrees. She thinks that the university only considers events violent when they disrupt those in power. She continued by saying that Concordia did not publically consider it violent when the SPVM attacked Palestinian students on campus.
“What we see is psychological warfare against students,” Ballantyne said. “At the end of the day, by consistently pinning a certain demographic of students as violent, as assaulters, as agitators, you’re enabling violence against them, whether it be at the hands of security or whether it be at the hands of other students.”
Moving forward, Abisaab thinks the university should release the names of the security guards who assaulted students and commit to never hiring Perceptage agents again.
“The students of Concordia reject Perceptage being on campus,” Abisaab said. “The university needs to commit to never hiring them again and prohibiting them on campus.”
With files from Dana Hachwa
This article originally appeared in Volume 45, Issue 7, published January 14, 2025.
