By Elchanan Poupko
The Canadian government has released a bombshell report on antisemitism in Ontario schools, commissioned by Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism. The findings are nothing short of horrifying. The report was led and authored by Professor Robert Brym of the Department of Sociology and the SD Clark Chair in Sociology at the University of Toronto. The disturbing findings of the report highlight rampant antisemitism in schools, with teachers and administrators bearing a great deal of the responsibility for this epidemic of hate.
Based on a survey of 599 Jewish parents, the report documented a staggering 781 antisemitic incidents. It is likely that many more incidents have gone unreported. The report estimates that at least 10 percent of Ontario’s 30,000 Jewish school-age children have been directly affected by antisemitism, with the majority of incidents occurring since October 7, 2023.
While antisemites often claim their hatred is “just anti-Zionism,” the report found that 40 percent of the incidents involved Nazi salutes, Holocaust denial, and appalling statements such as “Hitler should have finished the job.”
Though some may wish to blame these disturbing findings solely on students, the numbers paint a far more troubling picture. Teachers and school administrators appear to be playing a significant role in fostering hostile environments for Jewish children. Sixteen percent of reported antisemitic incidents involved either teachers or school-sanctioned activities—an alarming statistic, but not surprising to those familiar with the involvement of some Ontario educators in anti-Israel activism.
The impact on children has been devastating. Many Jewish students have responded by hiding their identities, removing Stars of David, avoiding Hebrew-language items, and refraining from reporting incidents out of fear of retaliation. Twenty-seven percent of students expressed fear about returning to school and concern over social isolation.
Although some may try to attribute this rise in hatred to social media or general bullying, the report clearly shows that Ontario’s schools, administrators, and teachers bear substantial responsibility for this crisis. Forty-nine percent of antisemitic incidents were never investigated, and eight percent were dismissed as “not antisemitic.” In some cases, schools responded by turning on the victims, recommending that Jewish students transfer to another school or attend classes virtually, rather than addressing the perpetrators’ actions.
Only 27 percent of incidents led to a positive outcome. Alarmingly, 32 percent of schools took no action even a full month after being informed of an incident. Perhaps most disturbing of all is the report’s finding that nearly one in six antisemitic incidents were initiated or approved by a teacher or occurred during a school-sanctioned activity.
In a statement to Wingate News, Rabbi Steven Wernick, senior rabbi of Beth Tzedec Congregation in Toronto, Canada’s largest synagogue, said the following: “All Canadians need to treat antisemitism in our public schools not as a Jewish problem, but as a Canadian crisis. When hate is tolerated in our classrooms, it erodes the very foundation of our democracy. Our sages taught, ‘Sinat ḥinam—baseless hatred—destroyed the Second Temple’ (Talmud, Yoma 9b). History teaches us again and again: hate left unchallenged destroys societies from within. The IHRA definition of antisemitism is not just a guide—it’s a moral tool to help educators and policymakers recognize and stop the spread of hate before it metastasizes. Public education is where we teach our children what kind of society we want to live in. If schools are not safe for Jewish students, they are not safe for anyone.”
