The antisemitism report that erases a century of Jewish debate

2026/08/14 2 Comments

From the minority Independent Jewish Voices perspective:

…But beneath the report’s stark figures and shocking examples of antisemitism lies a partisan move. The report treats opposition to Zionism as evidence of antisemitism, a move that provides institutions grounds for disciplining scholars for what they teach and for policing students over how they protest. 

We write as members of the Jewish Faculty Network, a group of Jewish Canadian academics who share a commitment to social justice. This includes criticism of, and opposition to, Zionism. 

The report defines “anti-Zionism” as a movement that calls for the “erasure” or “annihilation” of Israel. This is incorrect, and it attempts to turn a legitimate political position into a synonym for hatred before a single survey question is even asked.

Anti-Zionism is a 100-year-old, well-documented current of Jewish thought that has never called for erasing or annihilating anyone. Reform Judaism’s 19th-century founders argued that Jews were a religious community, not a nation awaiting a state. A few decades later, the Jewish Labour Bund, a mass socialist movement across Eastern Europe, built a political program based on doikayt, the idea that Jewish safety comes from equal rights where Jews already live, not from a state somewhere else. Some Hasidic communities have opposed Jewish sovereignty on religious grounds for over a century. …

Yves Winter is an associate professor of political science at McGill University. Noah Brender is a faculty member in the humanities department at Dawson College. Danielle Bobker is a professor of English at Concordia University. Michael Blum is a professor in the École des arts visuels et médiatiques at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Source: The antisemitism report that erases a century of Jewish debate

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Geist: Denial, Hate, and Silence: The Three Responses to Overwhelming Evidence of Canada’s Campus Antisemitism Crisis

2026/08/13 Leave a comment

Valid:

…The first response is denial, with some groups claiming the survey is unrepresentative, its methodology flawed, and that it conflates Jewish identity with Zionism. The objections do not withstand scrutiny. The survey’s community-recruited, non-probability approach is the standard methodology for researching discrimination against small, hard-to-reach populations. Indeed, it served as the methodology for surveys on 2SLGBTQ youth, urban Indigenous health studies, anti-Asian racism data, and trans communities. Governments have used the resulting data for policy development and few demanded probability samples before treating that research as a basis for action. Moreover, while relying on the IHRA definition is precisely what a study backed by a government that has itself adopted that definition should do, the findings do not depend on definitions. Set aside every Israel and Zionism-related item in the survey and the data still shows 56% of Jewish students witnessing discriminatory treatment of Jews as Jews, 54% witnessing intimidation or threats, 22% witnessing physical violence, and 45% regularly encountering Holocaust denial. No definition is required to classify “Hitler should have finished you off”, “the Holocaust did not really happen”, or “Jews, Jews, you cannot hide.” Critics themselves concede that the report documents “unmistakable antisemitism,” but are left to quibble at the edges by debating definitions rather than confronting what the data shows.

The second response is hate. Once again, my posts about the survey attracted replies on my social media that read like a live enactment of the report’s findings, validating a national dataset in real time. The survey found that 45% of Jewish students regularly encounter Holocaust denial or distortion; the replies included the claim that the Holocaust is “fake, just exaggerated slop to position yourselves as victims.” The survey found that more than 70% of Jewish students report harm to their mental health; the replies mocked that finding with comments about “mental illnesses suffered by Ashkenazi jews” lying “in the genes.” The survey documented students hiding their identity and considering leaving their universities; the replies suggested Jewish students “should transfer to Tel Aviv” and dismissed them as “professional victims.”

The most important response, however, was the non-response or silence from those who must act. One week after a government-backed report found that 70% of Jewish students believe their universities do not take antisemitism seriously, I could find no responses from university presidents, Universities Canada or other organizations. Political leaders have been little better: Culture Minister Marc Miller called the findings “alarming”, but a broader response or sense of urgency from governments has been missing. The Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion, which serves as the government’s replacement for the Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism (who commissioned the CASE report), continues to signal that it is not a serious effort to combat antisemitism. At the report’s release, Council member and former senator Marc Gold read the Minister’s statement, declined to respond to criticism of the government’s approach, and described the council’s progress as: “we’re getting to know each other and we are providing input into a work plan.” The house is on fire and they are getting to know each other.

Simply put, silence is not neutral, as it confirms students’ worst fears and risks making them even more skeptical about reporting their experiences. The NECA recommendations released alongside the report provide a ready-made starting point, beginning with enforcing the policies universities already have. With the fall term just weeks away, no university leader can claim to be unaware of what returning Jewish students face.

The report’s findings were overwhelming, and so is what the past week has revealed. The deniers cannot bring themselves to accept what the data shows, the haters keep demonstrating it, and the institutions with the power to act have said nothing at all. It is time for a fourth response: action.

Source: Denial, Hate, and Silence: The Three Responses to Overwhelming Evidence of Canada’s Campus Antisemitism Crisis

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ICYMI: Une action collective accusant l’Université McGill d’avoir toléré de l’antisémitisme autorisée

2026/08/11 Leave a comment

When institutions fail, court challenges expected:

La Cour supérieure du Québec vient de donner le feu vert à une action collective intentée contre l’Université McGill. La poursuite allègue que, depuis l’attaque du Hamas en Israël le 7 octobre 2023, les étudiants juifs y ont subi du harcèlement de toutes sortes et qu’il régnait sur son campus montréalais un climat toxique et insécurisant.

Selon la demande en justice, l’Université a failli à ses obligations de protéger ses étudiants juifs et de leur assurer un environnement propice à leur éducation. Il est donc réclamé en leur nom une réduction de leurs droits de scolarité ainsi que cinq millions de dollars en dommages punitifs.

Selon la décision rendue cette semaine par la juge Dominique Poulin, cette action collective mérite d’être entendue.

Les faits allégués dans la procédure — plus particulièrement ceux concernant les discours antisémites et antisionistes tenus sur le campus universitaire — sont préoccupants et permettent de montrer que l’action a des chances de succès au terme d’un procès, écrit la magistrate.

La réplique musclée d’Israël aux événements d’octobre 2023 et ses bombardements sans relâche sur la bande de Gaza ont mené à de nombreuses manifestations en 2023 et en 2024 sur le campus de l’Université McGill, ainsi qu’à l’installation d’un campement propalestinien….

Source: Une action collective accusant l’Université McGill d’avoir toléré de l’antisémitisme autorisée

The Superior Court of Quebec has just given the green light to a class action brought against McGill University. The lawsuit alleges that, since the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, Jewish students have suffered harassment of all kinds and that a toxic and insecure climate reigned on its Montreal campus.

According to the lawsuit, the University has failed in its obligations to protect its Jewish students and provide them with an environment conducive to their education. It is therefore claimed on their behalf a reduction in their tuition fees as well as five million dollars in punitive damages.

According to the decision rendered this week by Judge Dominique Poulin, this class action deserves to be heard.

The facts alleged in the proceedings – especially those concerning anti-Semitic and anti-Sionist speeches held on the university campus – are worrying and show that the action has a chance of success at the end of a trial, writes the magistrate.

Israel’s muscular response to the events of October 2023 and its relentless bombing of the Gaza Strip led to numerous demonstrations in 2023 and 2024 on the McGill University campus, as well as the installation of a pro-Palestinian camp….

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ICYMI – Geist: Canada’s Campus Antisemitism Crisis: National Survey Finds Antisemitism Nearly Everywhere and University Responses Nowhere

2026/08/11 Leave a comment

Understandably, this report has received considerable coverage and commentary. One of the better commentaries IMO:

…The report itself stops short of formal recommendations, concluding instead that academic leadership must take greater responsibility and that the findings should be used immediately by leadership in higher education institutions to examine their policies and practices. The recommendations came separately from the Network of Engaged Canadian Academics (NECA), a non-partisan group of more than 400 Jewish and non-Jewish academics from 54 institutions of which I am a member, which released ten recommendations alongside the report. The list will sound familiar to anyone who has followed this issue: applying existing policies to protect students targeted for any aspect of their Jewish identity including Zionism, institutional neutrality policies that apply across the institution, adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism together with the Canadian Handbook, a centralized and transparent incident reporting system with annual campus climate assessments, and a special advisor on antisemitism on every campus.

What has been missing is not knowledge of what to do, but the will to do it. Indeed, the release carries its own illustration of the problem: the survey was commissioned by former Special Envoy Deborah Lyons before the government eliminated her role, leaving the government to release the most comprehensive evidence yet of a systemic antisemitism problem on campus just months after creating a leadership void that has yet to be filled and a new anti-hate council that has yet to act.

I have been an academic for nearly 30 years, working in an environment where inclusion and safe spaces for all students to be their best were unquestioned priorities. Backed by a supportive University president, dean, and advisor on antisemitism, I still believe that to be the case. But this survey confirms that the vast majority of Jewish students encounter antisemitism on campus. If this were any other group — 95% of Indigenous students reporting discrimination or 70% of BIPOC students reporting mental health harm — this would be viewed as a major crisis requiring immediate action. But when 95% of Jewish students report encountering antisemitism, 70% report harm to their mental health, a majority hide their identity, and students report threats of violence and Holocaust denial, the response from some quarters is to ignore or take issue with the survey data.

The bottom line is that hundreds of Jewish students from campuses across the country report antisemitic conduct on campus that is stunning in scope and harm. Every university president in Canada should be investigating how much of the data reflects their own campus experience and committing to change through the NECA recommendations. Every faculty member should be examining whether the discriminatory conduct occurs in their class. And every faculty and student union should be working to fully protect their Jewish members. Years of willingness to tolerate or excuse the antisemitic reality – a Jewish exception – suggests this is unlikely to happen. But now no one can say they didn’t know what was happening.

Source: Canada’s Campus Antisemitism Crisis: National Survey Finds Antisemitism Nearly Everywhere and University Responses Nowhere

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Khan: We need solidarity in the face of Islamophobia

2026/08/10 Leave a comment

As we do in the face of antisemitism and other forms of hate:

…Local communities can play a key role in strengthening social cohesion. This was demonstrated by the good people of Clarington, who came together at a town hall to support the harassed Muslim family, and stand firmly against fear-mongering. 

Human connection is a powerful currency in this more isolated digital age, as we can learn we share much in common. Our hearts, like this land, are expansive enough to offer comfort and solidarity in the face of hatred. The Clarington approach can serve as a blueprint for strengthening communities across Canada against Islamophobia, antisemitism, and hate in general.

Source: We need solidarity in the face of Islamophobia

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Globe editorial: Thoughts and prayers, Canadian style

2026/08/07 2 Comments

Valid critique. Time to stop using “thoughts and prayers” language with any such incident, no matter the issue or group:

…So how to turn back this growing tide of hatred? As we have argued before, that effort has to begin with understanding, and speaking, the truth: Antizionism is fuelling the rise in antisemitism. The rejection of Israel, of its very right to exist, has become the growth medium for the contagion of antisemitism. The test of courage for any political leader is whether they are willing to speak this truth. Prime Minister Mark Carney failed that test in June, even as he tried to provide comfort to the Jewish-Canadian community.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has failed even more spectacularly. In fairness, Ms. Chow has spoken out against anti-Israel protests being staged in the heart of the Jewish-Canadian neighbourhood near Bathurst and Sheppard in north Toronto. And, of course, she has offered her thoughts and prayers, Canadian style, in condemnation of incidents such as the attack on Kiva’s.

But Ms. Chow has, through her actions, shown where her sympathies lie. The mayor refused to attend a flag-raising ceremony for Israel’s national day in May, 2024, saying such an event was “divisive.” She also declined to take part in the annual Walk for Israel in June of this year.

Yet, the mayor had no problem with blurting out “Free Palestine” – the rallying slogan of those antizionist rallies – during the Pride Parade in late June. 

The mayor’s office did not respond when asked last week why the flag-raising event was divisive, but reciting the Free Palestine slogan is not a problem. Ms. Chow owes Torontonians, particularly Jewish Torontonians, an explanation.

Does she, for instance, support the right of Israel to exist? Or is she in line with the hate-infused catechism (recited most weeks near Bathurst and Sheppard) that deems Israel a pariah state?

Until she does clarify, her thoughts and prayers will ring hollow.

Source: Thoughts and prayers, Canadian style

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A tight-knit Toronto hospital unit cared for the dying. Then, a war thousands of miles away tore them apart

2026/08/03 Leave a comment

No winners in this:

…Unsubstantiated claims, then an unsettling development

The investigation into the complaints by Algu and the two doctors who attended the January meeting found they were unsubstantiated. There was no evidence that the meeting was an effort to silence voices advocating for Palestinians, nor was there evidence that they were working in a poisoned environment, the investigation report said.

It also concluded that Algu’s two colleagues were not rehired at a time when there was a funding crunch as well as overstaffing. Shearer previously noted it was a norm at the centre to overstaff.

She also said their bias claims were tainted by discussions they had among themselves after they filed their complaints. Algu’s lawyer told the investigator during the probe that the complainants’ views “should not be discounted simply because they talked about a very difficult workplace situation with one another.”

A day later, the result of the environment assessment came in.

It found Sinai Health leadership did not effectively manage the challenges relating to the expression of views around Israel-Palestine because the leaders had adopted a “softer, compassionate approach” and did not clearly and decisively communicate expectations and boundaries during a complex geopolitical situation, Sinai Health told palliative care staff in a memo.

The investigator also said the point of the assessment was not to make factual findings about any particular individual. But the report went on to focus on Algu, whom the investigator concluded appeared to have a “disproportionately negative impact” on the workplace culture.

Algu said she felt baffled: Was her advocacy an issue for the hospital or was it not?

…The assessment cited “many” unnamed colleagues, defined as at least eight people, as saying Algu’s social media advocacy was “irresponsible” and “offensive,” and not respectful of patient care or safety.

There was a perception that Algu used work time for personal advocacy and solicited colleagues for political causes, those interviewees said.

But no specifics were offered. The assessment did not cite any specific tweet or act of advocacy as an example of wrongdoing, Algu said, it relied on perceptions and feelings. Her complaint, on the other hand, offered specific emails to support her allegations of a poisoned work environment. As for advocating during work, she said she used to sometimes tweet during breaks like other physicians, but she stopped even those sometime in early 2024.

“I did go to a small number of protests on work days but would take vacation days for that.” she said. She also did not identify herself as a Sinai employee in any of her public advocacy, Algu said.

She said did not even know her conduct was being investigated as part of the workplace environment assessment until the final report was given to her.

Labour and Employment lawyer Jackie Esmonde, who represented Algu, declined to comment on the Sinai situation, but said that, in general, it was “extremely unusual and procedurally unfair for a workplace investigation to make negative findings against an employee without giving the opportunity to both know about the allegations and respond.”

The documents the Star reviewed contained no examples in support of the findings. Sinai Health did not offer any details when asked about the specific concerns related to Algu.

“We don’t share details or comment about our employees, physicians, scientists, learners or volunteers,” the Sinai spokesperson said. “Our highest priority is to ensure accessible and safe care for all.”

Investigator Gillian Shearer declined to comment, citing lawyer-client confidentiality. She said, “I conducted the investigation fairly and considered all the available relevant evidence.” Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt declined to comment.

Before she was given details of the investigations, Algu was told Sinai had dismissed her complaint about Hershl Berman’s tweet.

Posts on X did not count as workplace conduct in this case, Osler concluded, because the communications were unrelated to Sinai Health and did not become workplace conduct simply because Algu and Berman were both colleagues.

Berman had posted “a picture of my face, my social profile, my tweet, and called me a racist,” Algu said, noting that Sinai had considered his social media as being outside of the workplace. “Yet, somehow my social media was considered workplace,” she said. She also said that she never referenced patients in her social media, while Berman did, yet she was the one called out by the workplace investigator for not considering patient safety.

Concerns over Berman’s social media resurfaced this year during an election to choose the next president of the Ontario Medical Association (OMA). Berman was one of five candidates to lead the prominent advocacy group for a one-year term.

“What is at issue here is not disagreement; it is conduct,” more than 150 doctors told the OMA in a letter in February. Algu, who was by then not a part of Sinai, also signed it. “Publicly branding colleagues as antisemitic, hateful, or aligned with Hamas/extremist groups without due process or evidence crosses from discourse into harassment, intimidation, and reputational attack,” the letter said.

The OMA hired an external evaluator to review the candidates’ social media. While the evaluator found no grounds to exclude Berman from the race, his posts — from late 2024 through December 2025 — were flagged as having used “language frequently characterized by a confrontational and combative tone.” No other candidates’ social media was flagged.

After another candidate soundly won the race, Berman told the National Post his religion was a factor in the treatment he received.

Candidates for OMA presidents and board directors have been subject to social media checks since 2021, and the screening is standard during an election, the OMA told the Star. The vetting “is not focused on personal opinions or positions but on interactions that could impact eligibility to hold office,” a spokesperson said….

Source: A tight-knit Toronto hospital unit cared for the dying. Then, a war thousands of miles away tore them apart

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Urback: Hate absolutely has its place in Canada. It has been normalized, ignored and excused

2026/07/30 Leave a comment

Unfortunately correct, particularly for the Jewish community but not limited to it:

…We know that hate has its place in Canada not simply because these acts have occurred, but because nothing meaningful is being done about them. The Prime Minister won’t name the problem. Law enforcement, Crown prosecutors and politicians all blame each other for failing to take action. Ottawa’s response is to assemble an advisory council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion, and to throw money at Jewish institutions to beef up their security. That is as clear an admission as anything that hate indeed has its place in Canada: We know the hate is here, but instead of tackling it, we’ll give you money to insulate yourselves from it. 

This is Canada’s new normal. A bakery’s windows are smashed, and we sigh and move on. Buildings are shot at, and we click our tongues. Many Jews are now actively exploring emigration to places where hate is less readily excused or ignored, unlike in Canada, where politicians insist “this is not who we are” while pretending not to recognize what this country has become. 

A day after the attacks on Kiva’s Bakery, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller, who will also chair the Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion, wrote on X that “Antisemitism has no place in our communities, and it is an attack on the values of inclusion and respect that define our country.” But that view is precisely the problem. Antisemitism absolutely has a well-established place in our communities now; a weekend trip to Bathurst and Sheppard will confirm that. The more pertinent question before the government now is if it intends to actually do something about it, or simply offer money for bulletproof glass and continue deluding itself with the notion that hate has not been normalized in Canada.

Source: Hate absolutely has its place in Canada. It has been normalized, ignored and excused

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ICYMI Lederman: Antisemitic Messi conspiracy theories constitute unsportsmanlike conduct

2026/07/24 Leave a comment

Sigh:

….It’s one thing to lose your mind over a soccer tournament – healthy, even, to immerse yourself in sports and take a breather from the horrors of the world. But this lunacy is evidence of a world infected by antisemitism: where even a good news story – the astonishing prowess of a once-in-a-lifetime player – gets squished into a crazed antisemitic conspiracy theory. Even though the guy is not even Jewish.

“Football unites the world,” the FIFA motto goes.

Not quite, reality has responded. 

After an Israeli politician complained about Mr. Lamal hoisting the Palestinian flag last spring, claiming that this fostered hatred, Spain’s Prime Minister countered that those who consider waving a national flag to be hatred had either “lost their minds or have been blinded by ignominy.” 

There’s a lot of that going around. 

It is impossible, especially in this climate, to hold a sports tournament in a vacuum, completely divorced from the politics of the day. But this – using the World Cup to spread antisemitic conspiracy theories and in the process, demean its greatest player – is so messed up. A beautiful game used for such an ugly purpose.

Source: Antisemitic Messi conspiracy theories constitute unsportsmanlike conduct

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Coren | It can be healthy to debate Israel and Palestine but on the ground little will change

2026/07/21 Leave a comment

Good discussion regarding the Church of England’s reference to genocide:

…In a highly controversial vote, they encouraged congregations to read and engage with “Moment of Truth: Faith in a Time of Genocide,” a report by Palestinian Christians that accuses Israel of genocide and describes the country as a “colonial enterprise.” In other words, the report wasn’t adopted as church policy but accepted as a “heartfelt expression of the lived experience of Palestinian Christians.”

The country’s chief rabbi described the decision as “shameful” and a “sad day for Jewish-Christian relations” and numerous Anglicans have complained that the language used is unnecessarily provocative, one-sided, and taken directly out of a Marxist playbook.

That’s harsh because Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally and fellow bishops have repeatedly and passionately condemned antisemitism, and during the debate she spoke of “the pain and trauma of the appalling 7 October attacks” that remains, “a daily reality for Jewish people in Israel and around the world.”

While Palestinians certainly and understandably feel as if they’re constant victims of colonialism, Zionism itself was an ideology produced by desperation rather than a policy based on exploitation. The 1290 expulsion from England was one of many throughout Europe, accompanied by mass slaughter, terror, discrimination, and eventually the Holocaust. Jews in Arab countries were expelled from where they’d lived for centuries between 1948 and the 1970s. Where else could all of these people go apart from to a land where they have proven historic and genetic links?

As for genocide, we often hear that scholars of the subject believe that the Gaza campaign and the general Israeli approach to Palestine is indeed genocidal. Actually, there’s a profound division among experts. While Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians is often unjust and the military campaign in Gaza appallingly costly, does Israel seriously want to murder every single Palestinian wherever they live?

The most infamous example of genocide was the Nazi attempt to eliminate the Jews as a people and expunge them from human consciousness. It was industrial mass slaughter and had nothing to do with national security or territorial expansion. Surely, we can criticize Israeli actions without employing such language.

Perhaps if the Israel-Palestine issue had been more thoroughly and openly discussed in the past, and if churches had had the courage to do so, the narrative would now be more considered, but some of those currently so outraged by the synod decision were in the past the fiercest opponents of any sort of dissent. Yes, it’s true that Israel is treated differently than other countries by its opponents, but also by its supporters. Double standards do have that tendency.

The fuss over all this will continue for a while but on the ground in Israel and Palestine it will change little. Those at the synod were good people rather than a performative street mob and genuinely do seek peace and progress. They also look to a Jewish Messiah who told his followers to shock the world with their ideas and guaranteed them that it wouldn’t be easy. He preached all this largely to a Jewish people living in a Jewish land, and the irony of it all should be obvious.

Something has to change but language matters very much indeed.

Source: Opinion | It can be healthy to debate Israel and Palestine but on the ground little will change

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