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YRDSB, Minister of Education Respond to Offensive Anti-Israel Video Included in Ontario Curriculum Resources

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center appreciates York Region District School Board (YRDSB) Director of Education Louise Sirisko and Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce for speaking out after FSWC raised concerns about a biased anti-Israel video that students were required to watch as part of an online Civics and Careers Continuing Education course. They have assured the community that the video has been reviewed and removed from the curriculum resources distributed to school boards by the Ministry of Education's e-Learning Ontario.

FSWC awaits a response to its letter to Minister Lecce that will explain how such a video ended up in the resources for the Civics and Careers curriculum and was approved by the Ministry of Education as well as what steps will be taken to prevent the distribution of such dangerous misinformation to Ontario school boards in the future.

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Return of Sailor with White Supremacist Past Sparks Protest in Navy

Four sailors at the HMCS Tecumseh Naval Reserve base in Calgary have spoken out publicly against the Royal Canadian Navy's decision to readmit Leading Seaman Boris Mihajlovic following revelations of his involvement in the neo-Nazi website Iron March and the armed branch of designated terrorist group Blood and Honour. Last week, FSWC also spoke out against his quick return to the military, writing to Canada's defence minister to express concern over this decision as well as demand an urgent investigation and that Mihajlovic be held to account.

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Ontario Tech Partners with Facebook Canada to Launch Global Network Against Hate

Ontario Tech University has partnered with Facebook Canada by launching the Global Network Against Hate as part of a joint effort to develop strategies, policies and tools to curb the rise of online hate and bigotry. Facebook will be contributing $500,000 to the program over the next five years, helping fund the university's Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism (CHBE) as they continue to research violent extremism, including how it spreads and how to stop it.

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Holocaust Survivors Urge Facebook to Remove Denial Posts

Holocaust survivors around the world are lending their voices to a campaign launched Wednesday targeting Facebook head Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to take action to remove denial of the Nazi genocide from the social media site.

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Wiley: Grime Artist Permanently Suspended from Twitter Over Antisemitic Posts

The permanent suspension of Wiley comes after a string of antisemitic tweets from the grime artist and a 48-hour walkout of thousands of Twitter users under the hashtag #NoSafeSpaceForJewHate in response to the platform's inadequate response to the antisemitism. In a statement, Twitter said, "Let us be clear: hateful conduct has absolutely no place on our service and we strongly condemn antisemitism... We are sorry we did not move faster and are continuing to assess the situation internally." Wiley was also banned from Facebook and Instagram today.

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'He Was So Happy': Holocaust Survivor Reunited with Kids for His 100th Birthday

Herman van Norden survived a genocide and a world war overseas. He led a long career in medicine, fell in love and raised a family in Canada. But after decades of lived experience, one of his most cherished moments came on a hot Vancouver July morning, during a global pandemic. It was the day he turned 100 years old — and was reunited with his children.

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Report Antisemitism and News of Concern to FSWC

If you would like to report antisemitism or news of concern to Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, please email jaime@fswc.ca.

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