During the summer, GAJE reported in our weekly update, upon a two-day inter-denominational conference in Toronto sponsored by the Simeon Initiative, a partnership of Cardus and CIJA. The conference was convened specifically to discuss the alarming rise of antisemitism in our country and how to mobilize against it.
Rabbi Jarrod Grover, senior rabbi at Beth Tikvah Synagogue, was one of the presenters at the symposium. He deftly described the increase in antisemitism as “a growing darkness in Canada”.
Rabbi Grover’s presentation was powerful. To an audience comprised almost exclusively of men and women who are teachers and exemplars of faith, he calmly, yet forcefully, drew a connection between the “decline of Christianity in this country and the broader erosion of religious life and the rise in antisemitism. The moral foundations of our society are imperiled, Rabbi Grover contends, by a spiritual crisis arising from the embrace of moral relativism in all matters pertaining to values, judgement and truth.
Rabbi Grover spoke with the conviction and the passion of the Hebrew prophets.
“A spiritual fog has settled over our land – and with it, antisemitism, a hatred as old as the Jewish people, is gaining ground.”
He warned of the all-encompassing danger such hatred poses to society, not only to its Jewish community.
“This is not only a Jewish concern. It is a crisis for anyone who cherishes the principles of justice, compassion and reverence that once animated public life in Canada. I ask you to listen today not as members of different faiths, but as heirs to a shared mission: to restore faith, truth and unity to our fractured nation.
“The stakes are high. Antisemitism is not merely one prejudice among others. It is a signal – a warning – of deeper civilizational decay. The weakening of Christianity in public life, I believe, has diminished one of the most powerful moral guardrails that has restrained antisemitism in Canadian society….The resurgence of antisemitism is not just a political problem – it is a spiritual symptom of a society adrift.”
Rabbi Grover appealed to the assembly to act in coordinated, common cause to stem and then reverse the rising tide of the hatred that flourishes in the growing darkness. He urged Christian clergy to “hear me when I say that your voices are indispensable….Without Christian institutions bearing moral witness and teaching historical memory, antisemitism encounters fewer restraints. The Jewish population in Canada is small – just over 400,000 people. We cannot stand against this rising tide alone. The decline of Christianity removes a crucial ally from the public square.”
Before he concluded his remarks, Rabbi Grover joined cause with GAJE. In an inspiring showcase of true conviction and the courage forged by deeply held, principled belief, he condemned the unfairness of Ontario’s educational funding policy. Rabbi Grover uttered the inconvenient but important truth about the ongoing funding injustice. “I want to say to all those of faith gathered here: We must be united in our demand for fairness and equity in education. Ontario’s publicly funded Catholic schools, serving 1.5 million students, receive full state support, while Jewish and other Christian schools receive none. This is not fairness. It is systemic religious inequity. If one faith’s schools are funded, then all should be. Full stop”.
Rabbi Grover then tied the call for educational funding fairness to the theme of his remarks. “Those religious schools are essential to raise a generation that understands history, cherishes freedom and reveres the divine image in every person. Let us build schools, programs and communities that teach the Holocaust, celebrate Jewish contributions and combat antisemitism with truth and memory.”
Rabbi Grover’s address was as much a rallying cry as it was a scholarly recitation. “We cannot be silent as antisemitism rises in the shadows of spiritual decay,” he intoned. And he made sure to add: “We are not powerless,”
GAJE agrees. The future has not yet been written. We commend and we thank Rabbi Grover.
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Rabbi Grover’s remarks may be read at:
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The first ten days of the Tishrei holidays ended last night. Soul searching and self-examination are still appropriate, if not even, required. But the multi-day holiday of Succot which begins next week supplements the reflection with an over-arching sense of happiness and joy. Although it is difficult to mandate human beings to feel happiness, or joy, or cheerfulness, the Torah, nevertheless, does precisely that. And so, we must try. Despite the times. Perhaps, on account of the times.
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GAJE’s legal team will appear before the Court of Appeal at 10:00 on November 21, 2025 to argue that the Divisional Court was wrong, in September 2024, to reverse Judge Papageorgiou’s decision of August 2023 that had allowed our case to proceed.
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)
October 3, 2025
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education 