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Toronto (July 14, 2025) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is alarmed by the findings of a just-released federal report that shines a light on the growing crisis of antisemitism in Ontario schools.

The report, commissioned by the Office of Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, outlines the results of a survey of 599 Jewish parents, who reported 781 antisemitic incidents in K-12 schools that occurred between October 2023 and January 2025. The majority of incidents took place in public schools in Toronto, followed by Ottawa and York Region.

The report highlights the troubling nature of these incidents: 60 per cent involved negative attitudes toward Israel – including slurs equating Zionism with Nazism and Jewish students being called “baby killers.” The remaining 40 per cent targeted Jews directly, with Holocaust denial, conspiracies about Jewish control and vile hateful statements such as “Hitler should have finished the job,” “F*** you Jews” and “Jews are vermin.”

Equally disconcerting, while about 27 per cent of incidents resulted in some form of disciplinary action, nearly half (49 per cent) were reportedly not investigated by school authorities.

"This report exposes an appalling reality that far too many Jewish students face antisemitism and harassment on a regular basis, and worse yet, many schools are failing to take the necessary steps to protect them,” said FSWC President and CEO Michael Levitt. “These latest revelations are a searing indictment of what we’ve been hearing anecdotally for some time now. While the Ontario government and some school boards are making an effort to bring antisemitism training and Holocaust education to staff and students, our education system must do more to root out antisemitism and hold perpetrators accountable. There must be a genuine commitment by schools and school boards to ensure every student, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, feels welcome and safe.”