According to an article that appeared in The CJN last week, Jewish students comprise three and a half percent of the population at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), with 8,359 Jewish students enrolled out of a student population of 238,000. Since “October 7”, however, there are increasing reports the learning environment at TDSB schools has not been very welcoming to their Jewish students.
In that same article, Jewish parents were reportedly outraged at the TDSB for adopting a census survey about ethnic and cultural affiliation that excludes Jewish identity from any of the named categories. The survey was sent to families in accordance with the Ministry of Education directive that compels schools every two years “to assess bullying, harassment, safety, well-being and belonging” for students in K – 12.
In addition, Jewish parents were especially angered by the fact that the only example of bullying that was listed in the survey related to a potential incident of harassment aimed at a Muslim student for wearing a hijab or for praying. The possibility of a Jewish child being harassed for publicly identifying as a Jew did not appear on the survey, even though statistics indicate that the highest number of incidents of racism based upon creed or belief in the general population and at the TDSB are aimed at Jews.
Some Jewish parents have made their disappointment and anger known to the TDSB through an automated letter campaign directed to several TDSB trustees.
“Jewish students deserve to be acknowledged, protected, and heard—not erased,” parents wrote in the letter. “This survey was meant to foster belonging. Instead, it sends a devastating message: that Jewish identity and Jewish pain do not count.”
Aaron Kucharczuk, a Jewish father of three TDSB students, told The CJN that the exclusion aligns with what he described as the TDSB’s broader failure to address antisemitism meaningfully. He pointed to persistent misunderstandings of Jewish identity within the board. “They fail to recognize Judaism as an ethno-religion, alienating many who identify culturally rather than religiously,” he explained. “The board’s inability to capture this nuance reinforces exclusion. They don’t seem to understand or even attempt to understand the complexity of Jewish identity.”
As reported by The CJN, the letter sent to the trustees calls for explicit reforms to the language and content of the census survey: inclusion of “Jewish” in both religious and ethnic identity categories, examples reflecting Jewish experiences in questions about religious bullying, and ensuring the option to complete the survey anonymously. “A tool intended to address bullying and bias cannot itself marginalize a vulnerable community,” concludes the community letter. “Excluding a minority that experiences more hate crimes than any other religious group in Canada is not equity—it’s abandonment.”
The parents of the Jewish children who responded to the TDSB’s continued ambivalence towards its Jewish students are to be commended. We must unyieldingly point to the blind eye being turned to manifestations of antisemitism aimed at Jews. We must hold to account the individuals, elected to positions of responsibility, who prefer not to see and not to act, when they are called upon to protect Jewish children too from racism, harassment, bullying or hatred.
The CJN story can be reached at: https://thecjn.ca/news/toronto-school-board-census-angers-parents-for-erasing-jewish-identity/
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GAJE expects to be before the Court of Appeal in the Fall, arguing for the right to a hearing on the merits of our application for fair educational funding in Ontario. When we learn the date of the hearing, we will share it with our readers.
If you wish to contribute to GAJE’s lawsuit, please click here. Charitable receipts for donations for income tax purposes will be issued by Mizrachi Canada. Your donations will be used for the sole purpose of helping to underwrite the costs of the lawsuit. For further information, please contact Israel Mida at: imida1818@gmail.com
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Shabbat shalom. Am Yisrael Chai
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)
May 23, 2025
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education 