Toronto (February 22, 2022) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is calling for emergency action from the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) following news of students performing the Nazi salute in front of a Jewish teacher at a Toronto school.  

According to a letter sent to parents from the principal of Valley Park Middle School in Toronto, several antisemitic incidents took place at the school last Thursday, including antisemitic graffiti and, most disturbingly, three students giving the “Hitler salute” in front of their teacher and classmates.  

FSWC has since spoken with the teacher, who remains deeply traumatized by the incident that took place inside her Grade 8 classroom. According to the teacher, two students stood up on a filing cabinet and performed the Nazi salute, after which a third student shouted “Heil Hitler” from his desk.

These incidents occurred a few weeks after swastika graffiti was discovered at the same school, the TDSB confirmed.    

This also comes two weeks after FSWC learned of students performing the Nazi salute and depicting the swastika in front of classmates at another TDSB school in North York. Shortly after, news of a teacher being placed on home assignment after comparing COVID-19 vaccine mandates to the yellow Stars of David Jewish people were forced to wear during the Holocaust came to light.    

FSWC has been in communication with senior TDSB officials and is urging immediate intervention by the Board to address the escalation in antisemitic incidents and level of seriousness of these incidents at Toronto schools.    

“This wave of antisemitism at TDSB schools that we are seeing is unprecedented in terms of both number of incidents and their escalating gravity. This most recent incident involving a Jewish teacher is particularly horrifying,” said Michael Levitt, FSWC President and CEO. “Antisemitism has reached epidemic proportions at TDSB, and it is time for the Board to recognize this as the crisis that it is. It is unfathomable and shocking that, in 2022, a Jewish teacher is faced with Nazi salutes and a ‘Heil Hitler’ chant in her classroom. Clearly, something is broken in Toronto’s public school system and requires immediate attention.”  

“We are calling for an emergency intervention by the Board to address this wave of antisemitism that we see playing out within the student body, which will proactively address the hateful stereotypes and misinformation that exist and send a strong message that Jew-hatred will simply not be tolerated within our schools,” Levitt added.    

In his letter to parents, Valley Park MS Principal George Bartzis states that, during the first week of March, students and staff will be listening to first-hand testimonies from Holocaust survivors and their descendants, hosted by Carrying Holocaust Testimony. The teacher involved in the incident told FSWC she is appreciative of the principal's responsiveness, and his clear and immediate reaction at the time of the incident.

FSWC continues to deliver its educational workshops at schools across Toronto and beyond, teaching students about the Holocaust and its lessons, and has offered the TDSB training opportunities for staff, which would include Holocaust education and tools to confront antisemitism in classrooms. Last summer, FSWC delivered several training sessions to teachers in Toronto and across Ontario through its partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Education.      

Last month, the Ontario government announced funding for FSWC and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) to further combat antisemitism in schools. FSWC is currently developing an Antisemitism Classroom Toolkit (ACT), a collection of bilingual resources and programs that will introduce students to the topic of antisemitism, historical and contemporary, and ways to recognize and address it. This will include workshops and webinars for students and parents.

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