by Mathilda Heller
A shocking report commissioned by the Canadian government reveals that nearly one in six antisemitic incidents in Ontario schools are linked to teachers or school-sanctioned activities.
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Nearly one in six antisemitic incidents in Toronto schools are initiated or approved by a teacher or occur in a school-sanctioned activity, a shocking new Canadian government report revealed on Monday.
The office of the Special Envoy for Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism commissioned the report, which details the endemic antisemitism in Ontario's K-12 Schools.
Part of the reason for the report is that many of the reports of antisemitism in K-12 education have been based on anecdotal reports or are undocumented, and thus, the federal government wished to collate all reports into the survey to obtain a clearer picture of the situation.
The report is based on a survey of 599 Jewish parents and their reports of 781 antisemitic incidents in Ontario K-12 schools. Antisemitic incidents are defined as those that parents and their children consider antisemitic. At least 10% of Ontario’s approximately 30,000 Jewish school-age children experienced the antisemitic incidents detailed in the report.
It found that there is a significant disjuncture between the desire of Ontario schools to ensure that all students feel respected, included, and valued, and the treatment of their Jewish students.
The findings of the report
The report found that 40% of antisemitic incidents involved Nazi salutes, assertions that Hitler should have finished the job, and other Nazi and/or Hitler-related content. Surprisingly, fewer than 60% of antisemitic incidents refer to Israel or the Israel-Hamas war.The report noted that this was striking, as more were expected to be related to the Israel-Hamas war, while in reality, more than 40% of responses involve Holocaust denial, assertions of excessive Jewish wealth or power, or blanket condemnation of Jews.
However, among the anti-Israel responses, more than 14% held Jewish school children personally responsible for aspects of the Israel-Hamas war. The report gives an example of a 9th-grade boy who, in September 2024, was accused by a classmate of being a “terrorist, rapist, and baby killer.
About 30% of incidents involved physical antisemitism, either assault (6.2%), vandalism (14.9%), or aggressive hand gestures such as throat slitting motions (10%). Spoken harassment, such as insults, expressions of hatred, and incitement to violence, was the second most common.
The majority of antisemitic incidents took place in English public schools (over two-thirds), and nearly one-fifth were directed at Jewish private schools. Fourteen percent of incidents occurred in French, Catholic, and non-Jewish private schools.
Also shockingly, nearly three-quarters of antisemitic incidents took place in the Toronto District School Board, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, and the York Region District School Board.
In terms of response to antisemitic incidents, 49% of antisemitic incidents reported to school authorities were not investigated, and in 9% of cases, school authorities denied the incident was antisemitic or recommended that the victim be removed from the school permanently or attend school virtually.
In less than a third of the cases did the school punish the perpetrator or provide counselling for the targeted child.
As a result of the incidents, 16% of parents moved their children to another school - the majority to Jewish schools.
Nearly 82% of reported incidents took place in metropolitan Toronto (61%) and metropolitan Ottawa (21%), Ontario’s major Jewish population centres
Responses to the report
Following the publication of the report, Josh Landau, Director of Government Relations at Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) said "This federal report makes one thing clear: the status quo for Ontario Jewish students is unsustainable and unacceptable."
“It's no coincidence that Toronto and Ottawa-Carleton school boards—two of the boards the Ford Government placed under supervision—are also some of the most hostile environments for Jewish students and teachers."
He called for the provincial government to accelerate the implementation of the recently delayed expanded mandatory Holocaust curriculum to address the troubling lack of understanding and ongoing dehumanization of Jews.
He also urged the government to mandate that school boards adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.
“The government must act to implement robust, system-wide reforms that will ensure schools are safe and inclusive for all students, including those targeted because of their Jewish identity.”
Mathilda Heller
Source: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-861103
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