Anyone who tries to help bring Jewish education to Jewish children is actually helping to try to secure a Jewish future. This is a “large” proposition and has the ring of overstatement. But it is true at every level of examination, starting with its elemental core that a Jewish future requires Jewish education.
The nature and extent of one’s embrace of Judaism, of course, will determine the nature and extent of the life that is lived Jewishly – meaningfully Jewishly. And so, to live and to lead a meaningfully Jewish life, one must choose the Jewish education that fits best.
The perpetually rewarding truth of Jewish education is that – when it works and clicks in for the individual – it begins a journey of lifelong learning. One never arrives at the destination, for the destination has no final stop. One is always searching, stopping, digging, and then moving forward on the never-ending path of discovery, faith, history, peoplehood and connection.
When the education works and clicks in, it also fortifies. Knowledge, understanding and awareness help foster the inner strength required of all individuals to help them withstand life’s inevitable buffeting and jostling from adversaries and foes. And as we all know, when our children leave the more sheltering environment of their homes for the wider demographic mix of university or college, the buffeting begins in earnest. And it takes a great deal of inner strength and self-assurance, especially these days to stand against the shameless bullying of the anti-Israel zealot.
Since October 7, to our ongoing disbelief and anger, we have seen manifestations of hatred toward Israel and toward Jews that we had never thought to see again, except perhaps in historical documentaries and film newsreels of last century’s wars. Campuses have become the epicentre of the struggle to save law-abiding, democratic society from the thugs who undermine it from the ramparts of their battle to bring down Israel.
The Abraham Global Peace Initiative (AGPI) recently published a report on the state of antisemitism at Canadian universities. Entitled, The Canadian Universities Antisemitism Report 2024, it was co-authored by Neil Orlowsky, PhD, Director of Education, The Abraham Global Peace Initiative; Danielle Legerman, Education Consultant, York University and Karen Cheung, Education Consultant, York University.
The report “delves into the alarming rise of antisemitism on Canadian university campuses, shedding light on multifaceted challenges faced by Jewish students and faculty. The surge is particularly notable in the context of debates surrounding anti-Zionism, free speech protections for professors, student union activities, the role of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) departments, and the pervasive sense of insecurity experienced by Jewish members of the campus community.”
The authors provide a grade to Canadian universities based upon a uniformly applied set of criteria. The three universities assessed as the worst from the point of view of the pervasiveness of an atmosphere of antisemitism on campus and for not providing safe learning space for all of the students were: Concordia University, University of Toronto, and York University. The report is available at:
https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/fbc9d4fc-0bc8-4e11-acb8-d9ddd12b9bc0/AGPI Campus Report 2024.pdf
The AGPI report appeared merely days before Hillel International CEO Adam Lehman told an Knesset committee at a meeting in Jerusalem between Israeli parliamentarians and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, that the 44 physical antisemitic attacks on campuses to date since Oct. 7 are more than in the past 10 years combined. Lehman described the situation “as truly a catastrophe” and noted that the total number of antisemitic incidents on campuses since Oct. 7 has surpassed 1,000.
According to a new survey by Benenson Strategy Group on behalf of Hillel International, 56% of the 300 Jewish college students who were polled said they have been directly affected by antisemitism on campus since Oct. 7, with roughly a third — 32% — saying they have experienced antisemitic violence or acts of hate. In addition, 37% have said they felt the need to hide their Jewish identity on campus and 7% said they have considered transferring or leaving their school because of the climate for Jewish students. The survey has a 5% margin of error.
This recently compiled empirical data confirms what we have seen on the news, what we read in our various news sources and what we know in our hearts. Alarm is an appropriate emotional reaction to the situation our children face on university campuses today. The aggression, name-calling, accusations, confrontations and protests aimed at them will hit hard. But summoning upon their inner strengths, deeply rooted by their respective Jewish educations, will help them withstand and even push back through the maelstrom of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hatred.
And that is why GAJE is trying to help make Jewish education affordable to all Jewish families in Ontario that seek it for their children: to help families plant deep Jewish roots in our children.
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If you wish to contribute to GAJE’s lawsuit for fairness in educational funding, please click here.
For further information, please contact Israel Mida at: imida1818@gmail.com
Charitable receipts for donations for income tax purposes will be issued by Mizrachi Canada. Your donations will be used for the sole purpose of underwriting the costs of the lawsuit.
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Shabbat shalom
Am Yisrael Chai
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)
February 23, 2024
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education 