Antisemitic, Anti-Black Graffiti Found at Three Newmarket Schools

Over the past two days, antisemitic and anti-Black graffiti was found at three Newmarket schools. According to a letter from the York Region District School Board’s Associate Director of Education, Cecil Roach, “images of a swastika and the N-word were etched in bathroom stalls” in two secondary schools and “a swastika was drawn on an interior door” in an elementary school. York Region police and the schools are conducting investigations, and FSWC has reached out to the schools to offer its education programs.

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Is Ukraine the New Normal of the 21st Century?

"There was one comment Simon Wiesenthal would repeat on more than one occasion that we didn’t fully comprehend: 'The only difference between Nazism and Communism was in theory,'" write Rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. "Today’s terrifying headlines and images of war validate Simon Wiesenthal’s warning. As we pray for the future of the Ukrainian people, the world must also confront the ugly truth: If Ukraine wasn’t safe, neither is any other nation."

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Jewish Profs at U of T Stand Up Against Antisemitic Diatribe Targeting Irwin Cotler

FSWC stands in solidarity with the more than 300 Jewish University of Toronto faculty members who have signed an open letter to the Temerty Faculty of Medicine denouncing an outrageous antisemitic diatribe by 45 other faculty members against Irwin Cotler, Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism.

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U of T to Withhold Funds from Student Union Over BDS Support

FSWC welcomes the University of Toronto’s decision to withhold funds from the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) over its financial support for the antisemitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. According to a U of T press release, the university will be withholding $10,918 in student fees from the GSU, the amount that would have been allocated to the BDS caucus.

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Police Investigating Antisemitic and Homophobic Graffiti on Toronto Church

Toronto police are investigating after antisemitic and homophobic graffiti was discovered on Metropolitan United Church in Toronto, one of the most prominent churches in the city. “These events are too common in our city,” Toronto Police Chief James Ramer said. “We have increased our patrols in areas where incidents are taking place.”

"We agree with Chief James Ramer of the Toronto Police Service - antisemitism and hate incidents have become too common in Toronto," FSWC stated in an online post. "Upsetting that one of the most prominent churches in the city was vandalized. Thank you to the TPS for its determined efforts to keep our communities safe."

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School Board Failed Student Troubled by Antisemitic Peer, Tribunal Finds

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board breached Ontario's human rights code by failing to properly address a student's ongoing concerns following threatening encounters with an antisemitic peer, the province's human rights tribunal has found.

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Putin’s Tyranny Is Well Known and Long Ignored

"The world shouldn’t have needed Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine to realize the dangerous depravity of Vladimir Putin," writes FSWC President and CEO Michael Levitt in his latest column in the Toronto Star. "Since returning to power as his country’s president 10 years ago, he’s provided ample evidence — trampling human rights, forsaking democratic norms, occupying foreign territory and rewriting history."

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Herzog Advances Israel-Turkey Ties in Meeting with Erdogan

President Isaac Herzog became the first Israeli leader to visit Turkey in over a decade on Wednesday, marking a thaw in relations between the countries.

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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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