Like many parents in our community, I was outraged by what I saw at last night’s Toronto District School Board (TDSB) deliberations on widespread antisemitism in the city’s public school system.

For months, Jewish community members and organizations, including Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC), have participated in TDSB consultations to develop a much-needed updated strategy. We’ve long been greatly disturbed by and spoken out against frequent bullying, harassment and prejudice against Jewish students—including growing anti-Zionism—in our schools. This toxic environment for Jewish students reveals a vicious hatred that no community should experience. The report on the consultations reflects these highly negative experiences and proposes recommendations to safeguard Jews within the TDSB, which is why we spoke in support of it.

And yet, last night, much to our dismay, we saw strident anti-Zionist individuals fight tooth and nail to stop the Board from taking action against antisemitism. Viciously anti-Israel speakers, one after the other, used the issue of the Hamas-Israel war as a thinly veiled excuse to rationalize and justify antisemitism in our schools. Their dangerous message was clear: Jewish students are fair game for abuse and worse, because of events in the Middle East.

Ironically, they showed the TDSB the real face of antisemitism and the harm it inflicts on students and staff. Last night's venomous charade caused real harm. And if the Board votes down the report, the impact will be lasting, signaling to our community that we can't trust the TDSB to safeguard the wellbeing of Jewish students.

As part of a united coalition including UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the Toronto Holocaust Museum, and Allies for a Strong Canada, FSWC is urging the TDSB to vote tonight to accept the report on the consultations, without further delay.

To that end, we need as many people as possible to voice that same message. To support Jewish students and staff, send an email to TDSB trustees. Your message to trustees can be short and straight to the point, along the lines of the following: “This evening, please do the right thing and vote to accept the report and its recommendations to fight antisemitism. And ignore those who deny and diminish the hate our kids are experiencing in Toronto schools.”

Copy and paste these email addresses and send a message to all trustees:
Alexandra.LulkaRotman@tdsb.on.ca;Alexis.Dawson@tdsb.on.ca;Anu.Sriskandarajah@tdsb.on.ca;Dan.MacLean@tdsb.on.ca;Debbie.King@tdsb.on.ca;Deborah.Williams@tdsb.on.ca;Dennis.Hastings@tdsb.on.ca;Farzana.Rajwani@tdsb.on.ca;James.Li@tdsb.on.ca;Liban.Hassan@tdsb.on.ca;Malika.Ghous@tdsb.on.ca;Manna.Wong@tdsb.on.ca;Matias.deDovitiis@tdsb.on.ca;Michelle.Aarts@tdsb.on.ca;Neethan.Shan@tdsb.on.ca;Patrick.Nunziata@tdsb.on.ca;Sara.Ehrhardt@tdsb.on.ca;Shelley.Laskin@tdsb.on.ca;Weidong.Pei@tdsb.on.ca;Yalini.Rajakulasingam@tdsb.on.ca;Zakir.Patel@tdsb.on.ca

Thank you. With your help, we can encourage the TDSB to do what’s needed to ensure our schools are free from anti-Jewish hate, bias and discrimination.

Sincerely,

Michael Levitt
President & CEO