‍

Israel Mourns 23,816 Fallen on Annual Remembrance Day

Starting tonight, Yom HaZikaron - Israel's Remembrance Day - will be marked to remember the country's 23,816 fallen soldiers and thousands of terror victims. It will be held, for the first time, without visitors at military cemeteries due to restrictions in place during the coronavirus pandemic. A siren blared across Israel on Monday evening, and a second siren will sound tomorrow morning for moments of silence in remembrance.

Read more

‍

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center invites community members to join us in commemorating Yom HaZikaron this evening. The Consulate General of Israel in Toronto will be holding an online memorial ceremony, which will be available online at 7:30 p.m. Click here to watch ceremony.

‍

Toronto Synagogue's Zoom Prayer Service Hijacked by Trolls Screaming Derogatory Slurs

Since the coronavirus outbreak, Shaarei Shomayim synagogue has been holding daily prayer services without incident, but that changed on April 19 when a group of Zoom-bombers hijacked the online service yelling antisemitic slurs. "Just like we have seen an increase in physical violent attacks on synagogues, we are now seeing an increase in online attacks, so we urge for more safety precautions to be taken during these times," said FSWC's Avi Benlolo.

Read more

‍

FSWC Releases New Study on Antisemitism in the Time of Coronavirus

Last week, FSWC released a new report titled Hate in the Time of Coronavirus: Five Themes of Antisemitic Discourse On Social Media, which profiles the explosion of antisemitism that has overwhelmed social media and explores in particular five themes in the antisemitic discourse that have emerged online in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Read report

‍

Ahead of 72nd Independence Day, Israeli Population Stands at 9.2 Million

Ahead of Israel's 72nd Independence Day, which begins tomorrow evening, the Central Bureau announced that the country's population now stands at 9.2 million, an increase of 171,000 people since last year's Independence Day. Jews account for 74% of Israel's population, followed by Arabs making up 21% of the population. Of the world's 14.7 million Jewish people, 45% reside in Israel - compared to only six percent of 11.5 million in 1948.

Read more

‍

Israel Reopens Some Businesses and Considers Resuming School Year

Following weeks of closures, Israel allowed some businesses, including shops with street access, to reopen on Sunday and said it was considering letting children return to school as part of trial efforts to ease coronavirus restrictions and help the country's struggling economy.

Read more

‍

A Message from Ariel Waks, FSWC Campaign Associate

In times like these, we are flooded with images of negativity - death counts on the rise, friends and family separated for what now has been months and normal life as we know it has come to a halt. While a coping mechanism could be to concentrate on what we can do now to help this current situation, we have to be cautious not to forget about our future.

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center is of course doing what we can amidst the coronavirus, supporting other organizations and helping Holocaust survivors in our community. We are adapting, hosting seminars on Zoom and taking on as many initiatives as possible from the safety of our own homes. However, we look forward to a time when our Tour for Humanity bus can run again and we can impact thousands of students like we have done every year. We hope that soon we can congregate together, in events small and much larger like our Spirit of Hope Benefit, and we can reach the masses about the issues facing the Jewish community, not just in Toronto, but globally.

Antisemitism is a virus that will continue to spread, unless we educate as many people as possible. We are sympathetic that you cannot support at your usual level, but every dollar counts. A small contribution can impact this organization in a major way. Help us help you protect our future as a people, and we can continue to work together and stay strong.

Support the work of FSWC today

‍

‍

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.