At its openly visible core, the fight against antisemitism, here and abroad, is a fight to protect and preserve civil, law-abiding society. Antisemitism – hatred of Jews – does not and cannot co-exist with decency and respect for human rights.
Being demonstrably and proudly Jewish, as GAJE has often written, is one way to stand against antisemitism in its many, ugly manifestations. Helping members of our community “be” Jewish – through the affordable availability of Jewish education, is the essence of GAJE’s mission.
But our mission also encompasses the Jewish and overall wellbeing of children in our community who attend the public school system. For that reason, GAJE has written about the bullying and the intimidation of Jewish students in public schools.
B’nai Brith Canada (BBC) has identified antisemitism specifically within elementary and secondary schools, in a seven-point plan for tackling antisemitism that the organization released this week.
“Antisemitism is increasingly being normalized within the education sector, from elementary to secondary schools. Whether through biased curricula, antisemitic rhetoric from educators, or the presence of antisemitic groups and symbols, Jewish students and educators are facing a hostile environment that undermines the principles of inclusivity, diversity, and safety within Canada’s education system.”
BBC provides an action of five specific steps to proactively confront and ultimately eliminate antisemitism in the schools. Those steps deal with: (a) the need for clear guidelines, (b) curriculum reform, (c) teacher training, (d) student support and (e) accountability.
BBC’s document is a compelling and comprehensive roadmap for community officials for stemming and eliminating hatred of Jews. The section that prescribes how to confront antisemitism within our schools is particularly compelling. Of course, it is germane to GAJE’s mission of helping Jews “be” Jewish. We urge GAJE supporters to read the entire seven-point proposal and especially the section outlining a course of action for our public schools.
See: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S-ZHYaVQbYT2QSzgcNmkJcg2ym11M27K/view
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On September 10, a three-member panel of the Divisional Court agreed with the Province of Ontario that GAJE’s lawsuit for fairness in educational funding should be dismissed. On September 25, GAJE filed a Notice of Motion seeking leave to appeal the court’s decision.
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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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Chag samayach. Shabbat shalom. Am Yisrael Chai
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)
October 23, 2024
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education 