CSU rejects motion for Israel and Jewish solidarity fund ad hoc committee

The union also approved motions for the pedestrianization of Mackay St. and salary bonuses for CSU executives

NewsSean Richard — Published May 22, 2026 0 minutes

Councillor Anastasia Zorchinsky proposed the motion, which served to grant 32 bursaries of $500 each to Israeli and Jewish undergraduate students with cultural ties to Israel based on financial need. The motion functioned similarly to the Palestine and Lebanese solidarity fund ad-hoc committee that was approved during the last RCM in April. 

According to Zorchinsky, she proposed the motion so that other cultural groups could also have a solidarity fund.

“I thought it would be a great idea to have other groups represented and [it’s] only fair to have this fund as well,” Zorchinsky said. “The motion is very similar to the Lebanon fund.” 

CSU external affairs and mobilization coordinator Danna Ballantyne questioned Zorchinsky on the reasons behind the motion.

“The Lebanon solidarity fund, the Palestine solidarity fund, [and] the Iran solidarity fund were presented in response to a very clear financial need within communities,” Ballantyne said. 

She also stated that there were logistical issues with Zorchinsky’s motion, such as the Academic Initiatives budget line being empty, the Winter 2026 semester having concluded, and a lack of logistical capacity to distribute funds before the current CSU mandate ends. 

The Academic Initiatives budget line allocated the full $16,000 to the Lebanon and Palestine solidarity fund last month, leaving no money for the proposed new fund. The Winter 2026 semester ended on April 30, 2026, meaning that students who would want to apply for the new fund would have to do so during the next fall semester. 

“A lot of students whose families have been displaced, because of the war, have suffered a lot because their parents couldn’t go to work in Israel,” Zorchinsky said in response, claiming to know some students whose families are in this position.

The motion did not pass, with a majority of councillors voting against it in a roll call. 

Further council business

The union also approved a 10 per cent salary bonus for the outgoing councillors, which included in the CSU’s budget and would amount to $42,002, split among the executives, according to the CSU’s 2025-2026 operations budget. 

According to section 14.1.5 of the CSU finance & operations policy, council can vote to give a 10 per cent salary bonus to each outgoing executive during the RCM in May. 

The executives each wrote personal bonus motivations based on their own performance reviews, using different criteria to assess how successful they felt they had fulfilled the requirements of their respective roles. These motivations were then presented to the council.

The motion passed by a 9-6 vote in favour of it.

The union also passed a motion approving the CSU’s orientation team to close Mackay St. between Sherbrooke St. and De Maisonneuve Blvd. for a duration of four days from Sept. 8 to Sept. 11, 2026. 

According to the document that includes the motion, the closure would include orientation activities to encourage students to participate in or join campus groups. 

The motion passed with the councillors voting in favour by roll call. 

The RCM was adjourned shortly before 9:00 p.m.