A strong case can be made for the proposition that the four most important words of modern Jewish history are: “We have not yet lost our hope.” (“Od loh avdah tikvateinu.”) Those words are not merely a roadside instruction for GAJE. They are the driving force that inspires our efforts to bring end the discrimination in educational funding in Ontario. They need to be because the wheels of justice are turning exceedingly slowly.

A brief summary of the timeline of the GAJE lawsuit tells the story.

In February 2025, three years will have elapsed since GAJE brought an application in court to compel the Government of Ontario to act fairly, without preference to only one religion, in its educational funding. Yet even today, even after almost three years, we are still not even in the “batter’s box” able to swing at the government’s legal pitches on the merits of our case.

The government responded to our February 2022 application by attempting to have it thrown out of court. In August 2023, one and a half years later, Judge Eugenia Papageorgiou rendered a 46-page decision that refused to agree with the government. She decided that GAJE’s case is worthy of proceeding to a full airing because it raises important legal, constitutional and societal issues.

Rather than accept Judge Papageorgiou’s decision, the government persisted in trying to have GAJE’s application tossed out of court. Queen’s Park was (and is) unwilling to allow a comprehensive legal discussion to bring forward the best possible educational funding policy for Ontarians for this day and age.

On September 10 of this year, a three-member panel of the Divisional Court agreed with the Province of Ontario. Our case was dismissed. Now, GAJE must receive the permission of the Court of Appeal to set aside the Divisional Court’s ruling.

GAJE brought a motion for leave to appeal. Our legal team filed our legal factum at the end of October. We now await the response of the government. After it is filed in the next weeks, we will await hearing whether the Court of Appeal will have granted us leave to appeal the Divisional Court’s decision that dismissed our case.

GAJE believes that the case is strong. It follows legal precedent. We also believe that the case is important for the people of Ontario. It raises matters of wide general interest and public policy importance.

As our legal team asserts, the issues in GAJE’s case “involve legal concepts of constitutional interpretation, as well as the scope of freedom of religion and the right to be treated equally before and under the law.”

Is equal treatment in education a meaningful value in Ontario in 2024? GAJE asserts that it must be.

If it is, should the Constitution of Canada not acknowledge it?  Should the Constitution of Canada not operate in a manner consistent with that value, in a manner that demonstrates the full embrace of equality for everyone?

How can it be appropriate that a constitutional provision enacted in 1867 specifically to protect minority education rights in Ontario and in Quebec, is now being wielded by the Government of Ontario to deny minority educational rights in 2024? It is not.

Does the fact that Quebec abandoned the constitutional provision some years ago, not cast Ontario’s obstinate refusal to end the discrimination in educational funding in an inexplicably unjust and unkind light? It does.

Our fervent hope is that the Court of Appeal will agree with GAJE to grant us the right to appear in the batter’s box, in a subsequent hearing, to argue the case on its merits.

Though the wheels turn exceedingly slowly, we have not lost hope. Nor will we ever.

•••

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.

•••

Shabbat shalom. Am Yisrael Chai

Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)

November 15, 2024

The Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism

Now in its second year, the campaign against Israel and Jews continues on the streets and public spaces of Canada. But Jews and increasingly, non-Jewish champions of civil, democratic society are fighting back. This is not only a source of inspiration for our community but it also represents a substantive deployment of forces for democracy. We know – enlightened society knows – that antisemitism is dangerous to Jews, of course, and also to everyone who values freedom and humanity.

 The Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism (ALCCA) is at the vanguard of those champions. This week ALCCA advised that the Government of Canada has just released The Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism.

The handbook is intended to guide anti-racism policies and codes of conduct at schools and universities, to educate and to inform those who design DEI programs in and outside government agencies, and promote greater understanding regarding antisemitism in law enforcement circles across the country. It was developed in partnership with the Office of the Special Envoy for Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, Deborah Lyons.

In the communication from the ALCCA, Alliance chair, Mark Sandler, elaborated upon the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism itself and upon the significance of the federal government’s handbook.

GAJE reproduces Sandler’s correspondence (below). It is an excellent mini-primer for GAJE supporters about the IHRA document and how the handbook can benefit the fight against antisemitism, i.e., the fight to protect and preserve democratic values.

•••

“The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) is an intergovernmental organization with 35 Member Countries and 9 Observer Countries that was founded in 1998 by former Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson to address issues related to the Holocaust and genocide of the Roma. The IHRA definition is the most authoritative and comprehensive definition in the world today. It has been adopted by 42 other countries, and many others, including Canadian provinces, cities, towns and townships listed in the handbook.

Key moments:

• In 2019, the Government of Canada adopted the non-legally binding IHRA definition as part of its anti-racism strategy.
• In 2021, the Government committed itself to “continue to enhance the adoption and implementation of the working definition.”
• In 2022, the Government undertook that it would develop and publish this handbook. The Prime Minister indicated that the handbook will “support the adoption, understanding, and practical use of the [IHRA] definition across Canada.”
• And now in 2024, the Government has released the Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism.

“The publication of the handbook represents an important step – but only a step – in combatting antisemitism across the country:

• The handbook is only meaningful if it is used to guide anti-racism policies and codes of conduct at schools and universities.
• It is only meaningful if it educates and informs those who design DEI programs in our private and public institutions.
• It is only meaningful if it is utilized to promote greater understanding in law enforcement circles of the scourge of antisemitism, and its modern manifestations.

“Make no mistake – its adoption and use will be bitterly attacked because it recognizes the right of Jewish self-determination. And because it explains that modern antisemitism is often manifested by demonizing Israel – through denying its very existence and legitimacy, and by demonizing all Zionists, without distinction, including 91% of Canadian Jews who support Jewish self-determination in Israel.

“The campaign against the IHRA definition is largely based on the false claim that the definition immunizes Israel from criticism, and as such, is invalid, even racist. The handbook exposes that this is untrue. The working definition is clear that criticism of Israel, its policies and practices is not antisemitic. Israel is not immune – nor should it be – from the same types of criticism levelled against any country. But the definition’s opponents are unencumbered by the facts.

“I commend Deborah Lyons, the Government of Canada, and many others responsible for the publication of this handbook. Our community and allies must now commit to promoting its use to combat antisemitism across the country.”

••• 

GAJE assiduously follows, supports and applauds ALCCA’s moral leadership. GAJE also commends the federal government for fulfilling its promise to provide a handbook for the appropriate application of the IHRA’s definition of antisemitism.

The handbook can be downloaded at:

https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/canada-holocaust/antisemitism/handbook-definition-antisemitism.html?utm_campaign=pch-pch-special-envoy-lyons-24-25&utm_medium=smo&utm_source=lnkn&utm_content=guide-antisemitism-en-241030-pch

•••

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. Last month, GAJE filed its factum for the motion for leave to appeal.

•••

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.

•••

Shabbat shalom. Am Yisrael Chai

Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)

November 8, 2024

The Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy is a relatively new, Calgary-based, think tank. According to its website, the Foundation “aims to renew a civil, common-sense approach to public discourse and public policy in Canada.” 

On October 5, Mark Milke, the Foundation’s president, published a personal letter about the Foundation’s work on antisemitism and Israel. It is a succinct, substantive communication that warrants wide reading.

Entitled, An attack on all of us: Why the Aristotle Foundation will not be silent on antisemitism,  Milke identifies at least three reasons for the rise in antisemitism and radicalism across Canada this past year. Equally as important, he articulates a statement of principle concerning the deeper truth of the current, namely, that Israel is fighting against Iran and its appointed armies all of whom are dedicated to Israel’s annihilation.

“Aristotle Foundation’s scholars refuse to be silent on antisemitism’s rise in Canada. We also refuse to abandon moral clarity on Israel.”

Milke’s statement is rare.

When so many governmental, academic, media and other purported leaders of men and women these days are silent or equivocate or worse, condemn Israel for deigning to defend itself, Milke is forthright and direct in explaining Israel’s case and pointing to its justice.

That is why we call readers’ attention to his words in this update.

“In the past year, we have written and spoken out on this issue. Know that we will do even more work in the coming year to educate Canadians about antisemitism and radicalism.

“Antisemitism and attacks on our liberal democratic ally, Israel, are not “just” an attack on Jews, Arabs, Christians, and Baha’i who live in Israel. They are also an attack on Canada and on the tolerant, open civilization painstakingly and progressively built here and in the rest of the West, and increasingly in recent decades, in non-Western nations as well.”

It is this last point that should compel the attention of all Canadians. Since the manifestations of anti-Israel/anti-Jewish hatred have appeared in Canada after October 7, GAJE has made the very same point: [Antisemitism and attacks on Israel] are also an attack on Canada and on the … civilization…built here.

Milke’s letter is available at:

An attack on all of us: Why the Aristotle Foundation will not be silent on antisemitism

The page on which Milke’s public letter appears is also a portal to a trove of other opinion essays related to combatting antisemitism and to explaining Israel’s predicament defending against Iran’s annihilationist axis.

That the Jewish community is not alone in its campaign to protect our society against the purveyors of antisemitism is deeply heartening. GAJE is grateful to Mark Milke and the board of the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy for understanding the underlying importance of Israel’s struggle against theocrats, autocrats, thugs and dictators opposed to the West.

But, as GAJE has often stated and restates in this update, the first and most effective lines of defence and offence against haters of Jews and of Israel, is finding pride, purpose and expression in being Jewish. We protect cherished universal values by asserting the particular profundity of our Judaism. Education is the pathway to discovering, reinforcing and celebrating who we are.

•••

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.

•••

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.

•••

Shabbat shalom. Am Yisrael Chai

Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)

November 1, 2024

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

•••

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.

•••

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.

•••

Chag samayach. Shabbat shalom. Am Yisrael Chai

Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)

October 23, 2024

It is appropriate, two weeks into the new year, 5785, to restate the substance of GAJE’s claim against the Government of Ontario. As every reader of this weekly update knows, GAJE is suing Ontario to implement fairness in its educational funding policies. Ontario funds the education of only one of the faith communities in the province, i.e., Roman Catholic.

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 1996 that Ontario’s exclusive funding of only one community was indeed legal because of the country’s founding agreement in 1867 between Quebec and Ontario to protect, through educational funding, the respective Protestant or Catholic linguistic/cultural minority in the other’s province.

GAJE simply asks that the legal ruling of 1996 be reassessed in light of significant changes in the law and in societal circumstances nearly 30 years after the 1996 decision. We will not restate the pleadings of our case in this space. GAJE’s legal team is superb and we rely on them for all advocacy purposes. But we wish readers of this space to know, to understand that, one of the significant changes in the law – indeed, one can also argue in societal circumstances – since 1996 is that one of the signatory parties to the founding agreement of 1867 – Quebec – has decided that it will no longer be bound by the 1867 provisions. Quebec decided to educationally protect minorities in its provinces by other legal means. Quebec’s policy became enshrined in Canada’s Constitution a year after the SCC decision of 1996. In other words, Ontario justifies its discriminatory educational funding by insisting it will rely upon a foundational bilateral agreement of 1867 which has effectively been abandoned by the other party.

Apart from the Atlantic provinces, where population figures are relatively small, Ontario is the only province that provides no funding to independent schools. British Columbia provides about 50% of the operating costs that public schools receive in that province; Alberta up to 70%; Saskatchewan up to 80%; Manitoba about 50%, and Quebec about 60%. (These figures are provided by the Association for Reformed Political Action Canada (ARPA), a grassroots Christian political advocacy organization.)

Over the years, GAJE has drawn readers’ attention to research papers and studies by experts in the field that contend that Ontario’s funding policies are not only unfair, but educationally anachronistic. The research suggests that, on the merits, Ontario’s approach to educational funding falls short of certain educational outcomes in other provinces. Moreover, some studies argue that Ontario’s educational spending is less efficient than that of other provinces.

The Government of Alberta recently announced that it would provide some funding to assist independent schools with the capital expense of building new schools. The decision is controversial. It is a departure in educational spending for independent schools beyond that of any of the provinces that assist independent schools for those provinces contribute to operational expenses alone.

Educational funding is evolving in Canada to match the societal realities and needs that are also evolving in Canada. But Ontario is stuck in 1867.

How is this appropriate? It is not. How is this fair? It is not.

GAJE does not ask the province to remove funding from any group that receives it. We ask merely for equal treatment. That the province steadfastly refuses to do so is unworthy of the province. That it wishes to prevent the courts from even considering the fairness of its educational funding, compounds the injustice.

•••

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.

•••

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.

•••

Chag samayach. Shabbat shalom. Am Yisrael Chai

Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)

October 16, 2024

In a previous update, GAJE wrote about the newly-formed Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism (ALCCA). The Alliance is “a coalition of community groups, organizations, and individuals who are concerned about the sharp rise in antisemitic activity in Canada…especially since the attacks of October 7th, 2023.”  

One of the driving forces behind the Alliance is renowned criminal lawyer and human rights advocate, Mark Sandler. Sandler wrote the Alliance’s most recent newsletter: October 7 and Beyond: A Canadian Call to Action, in which he urges the members of the coalition, indeed all Canadians to “redouble our efforts to strike decisive blows against hate in Canada.” He therefore renews his call for urgent action against the hatred that strives to insinuate itself into the institutions of our society. 

The newsletter is a manifesto as well as a blueprint for community action. One of its key sections deals with education, which Sandler writes, “should take place in a safe environment, free from intimidation, indoctrination and demonization.”  

Bullying and intimidation of some Jewish students within public schools are not imaginary. They are well documented, as is the resulting inhospitable environment in those schools for those children. It is because of the inclusion of Education in the ALCCA’s call to action that GAJE brings the newsletter to the attention of our readers.  

Sandler writes without any ambiguity. 

“Make no mistake about it. The work to be done here [in Education] is not confined to colleges and universities. Toxic environments for Jewish students and others at risk exist in our public and secondary schools. Unprecedented overt antisemitism is perpetrated by teachers, teachers’ unions, and in some instances, school board trustees. (Our emphasis) 

 
“Recent events at Toronto District School Board are illustrative, where students appear to have been conscripted, contrary to the terms of parental consent, to participate in an anti-Israel rally, sometimes dressed to represent colonizers. The Minister of Education appropriately ordered an external investigation, but there is much cause to believe that this event merely represents one of many incidents that undermine the safety and security and sense of belonging of Jewish students and faculty. Regardless of one’s views on diversity, equity and inclusion, a point of division in many circles, Jews cannot be excluded from policies designed to promote inclusion, particularly when they represent the community most victimized by hate crimes and other hate activities.  

 
“This coming year, we need to see greater legal and disciplinary accountability for antisemitism in our education system at all levels. And provincial governments who take steps, alongside allies within the school systems, to ensure that age-inappropriate geopolitical discussions do not take place in classrooms, teachers follow an established curriculum, teachers and unions do not indoctrinate, and students are not conscripted to adopt views on controversial issues.” 

GAJE commends ALCCA. The Association’s approach of stalwart resolve and determined action in opposing the purveyors of hatred is exemplary and inspiring.  

We too, can act. We too, must act. We must join the fight. Read the newsletter. Subscribe to it. 

The most recent ALCCA newsletter is available at: 

https://www.alcca.ca/post/october-7-and-beyond-a-canadian-call-to-action?utm_campaign=b9ccfabb-78b9-4f89-9eec-e6a64575c962&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail&cid=e2d75b75-c8ae-4fd9-8379-6f7a73335d53

••• 

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.  

••• 

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. 

••• 

Shabbat shalom. Gmar Chatimah Tovah. Am Yisrael Chai  

Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE) 

October 11, 2024 

(Written on October 1^st)

It is, alas, true, that since the first day of its birth more than 76 years ago, the State of Israel has never known even one day of full peace within the region. It is also true that, apart from during the War of Independence, the State of Israel has never had to face an assault of ballistic or any other missiles of death on the eve of Rosh Hashanah.

Thus, borrowing from another biblical holiday, we are entitled to acknowledge and to ask: why is New Year 5785 different than all other New Years. The holy day of New Year 5785 arrives as the State of Israel is fighting for its very existence as a sovereign Jewish state in the Moslem Middle East.

Not all the countries of the Middle East wish Israel’s elimination. But some do. And as we have seen through the years, and especially in the past 12 months, these countries act according to their malevolent wishes to achieve their evil aim.

Though Israel bears the overwhelming brunt of the physical and emotional peril wrought by the hatred directed at them, Jews everywhere – since Simchat Torah last year – have also been tested. We are still being tested.

On October 8, 2023 and increasingly after that date, we were taken aback by the outpouring of the anti-Jewish hatred that appeared throughout the western world even before Israel had sent any soldiers into Gaza to fight the Hamas murderers: its ubiquity in the public domain; its pre-planned, calculated nature; its vehemence; its unembarrassed, unfiltered, open calls for the annihilation of the Jewish state and its people; its quick, seamless transmogrification from anti-Israel protest into brazen bullying and intimidation of Jews; and the timid, equivocal, ineffectual responses by elected officials feigning to stop hatred against Jews.

But being taken aback did – does – not mean being stymied or paralyzed from doing the right thing at home to fight against that hatred. For GAJE, doing the right thing is trying to help Jews engage more fully with their Judaism, to help as many of us as possible discover some or any of the myriad paths to feelings of connectedness and of shared destiny with the Jewish people.

The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks eloquently described the mechanics of achieving those feelings of connectedness. “A person is part of a larger historical context and must understand that context and tradition. We are not disconnected fragments of humanity, but are part of an extended family. We gain strength and resilience when we know who we are, where we belong.

Praise belongs to teachers who understand the need for children to spend quality time with their families. Praise belongs to parents and grandparents who genuinely relate to their children and grandchildren in a loving manner, giving generously of their time, listening patiently to the children and grandchildren. Praise belongs to those who value genuine communication, who understand how precious it is to spend quality time with the young generations. Praise belongs to those who understand their history and family traditions, and who find meaningful and happy ways of transmitting these things to their family members. Praise belongs to the nation that understands where it has come from, what it has undergone, where it is headed.”

To paraphrase Rabbi Sacks, and as GAJE has emphasized and re-emphasized over the years, meaningful, long-lasting, individual engagement and connectedness emerge most effectively through Jewish education.

Thus, as we prepare to greet Rosh Hashana 5785, it is our hope that at least part of our emotional response to the sounds of the shofar will be new or strengthened feelings of belonging to the Jewish people, and the commitment to stand alongside other Jews against the purveyors of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hate.

•••

In a decision released 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.

•••

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.

•••

Shana Tovah

Shabbat shalom

Am Yisrael Chai

Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)

October 2, 2024

In last week’s update GAJE reported on an initiative by the Yael Foundation aimed at enhancing the skills and abilities principals of Jewish schools around the world to enable them to enrich the learning experience of their respective schools.

The Foundation’s website described its mission as, “to enable a Jewish child in any city and in any community, small or large, to receive prestigious and value-oriented Jewish and general education. “As of last summer, the Yael Foundation is supporting Jewish education…in 28 countries on all continents.”

The initiative is based upon the proven notion that investing in school principals is one of the most effective ways to improve education. 

This week, GAJE brings supporters’ attention to a companion piece about the importance and even the urgency of Jewish education written by Naomi Kovitz, deputy director of the Yael Foundation. Entitled, Education should be the response to the threats of our enemies – opinion,

it appeared in the Jerusalem Post on September 9.

We reproduce Kovitz’ op-ed because we share its message.

The following are brief excerpts.

“In Israel and among Jewish students around the world, our children are exposed to the horrors of war, hate, and violence, and so it is the responsibility of educators to create a space that both addresses the issues but also shelters them and creates positivity, fostering leadership and empowering the next generation of leaders.

“This allows our children to navigate the uncertainty and fears they are bombarded with at home, online and on the streets, in a more developmentally healthy manner. We often say that children are our future, and they will be tomorrow’s leaders, but we also have to consider the here and now, because today matters.

“That is why it is our foundational doctrine that all Jewish children should have access to high-quality Jewish and general education regardless of their geographic location or community size.

Especially now, with antisemitism at record levels globally, many Jewish parents around the world are removing or considering removing their children from their local schools and exploring options for Jewish educational institutions.”

Kovitz emphasizes the very important point that “every single day counts, educationally, socially and structurally, in the life of a child in school.”

Again, GAJE agrees.

•••

In a decision released 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. GAJE will seek leave to appeal this decision.

•••

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.

•••

Shabbat shalom

Am Yisrael Chai

Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)

September 27, 2024

GAJE has written in the past about the recent surge in efforts by Jews of all ages and levels of communal affiliations across North America to enhance their knowledge of Judaism and to join in and experience the sense of Jewish peoplehood that might have been lacking to date in their lives.

The surge is directly traceable to the assault on Jews and on the State of Israel that has sprung to sordid life on streets, campuses, union halls and media newsrooms throughout the West. Ironically, in their efforts to do away with the Jewish people and the ancestral/modern Jewish State, the haters are actually driving a campaign of Jewish “growth” and “renewal” in all realms of Jewish life.

Philanthropists, educators and Jewish school administrators in the Jewish world have taken note of the surge and are trying to put in place systems to substantively pivot from and appropriately accommodate the changes occurring in our lives.

One such effort was reported last month in the Jerusalem Post. It told of an initiative by the Yael Foundation aimed at enhancing the skills and abilities principals of Jewish schools around the world to enable them to enrich the learning experience of their respective schools.

According to its website, “the Yael Foundation was created in 2020 by Jewish philanthropists Uri and Yael Poliavich, relying on their vision of the global Jewish community as one family bound by shared values and a commitment to mutual support. Our Foundation is committed to enable a Jewish child in any city and in any community, small or large, to receive prestigious and value-oriented Jewish and general education. As of Summer 2023, Yael Foundation is supporting more than 50 schools, kindergartens, Sunday schools and afterschools, and special educational initiatives in 28 countries on all continents.”

The initiative is based upon the proven notion that investing in school principals is one of the most effective ways to improve education. 

“Principals are the directors of their schools; everything derives from their ability to educate and innovate in impactful ways,” said Uri Poliavich, co-founder of the Yael Foundation. “This program is a direct and lasting investment in a strong and enduring future for Jewish education around the world. Jewish students receiving a high-quality Jewish education has always been important, but especially now, with the upsurge of interest in Jewish schools, it is absolutely essential.”

Chaya Yosovich, CEO of the Yael Foundation, places this latest effort to enhance and constantly improve Jewish education in its proper context: “We are seeing a surge of interest in applications for Jewish schools around the world, and we know that much of this interest is driven by anti-Semitic intimidation and fear. The challenge for those involved in Jewish education is ensuring that Jewish schools need to be more than just a haven from threats or abuse; they should be centers of excellence, competing with the best non-Jewish schools in their countries or regions. We want parents and prospective students to run towards our schools and not run away from other schools.”

GAJE agrees with Yosovich’s approach. She has described a key aspiration for all Jewish education. We bring this initiative to the attention of our readers because we deeply believe that knowing more of how Jewish communities worldwide is responding to these difficult days, is important. We can more easily find strength and hope, if not quite optimism, in knowing that Jews throughout the world are standing together, side by side, to resist the haters.

The article about the initiative can be found at:

https://www.jpost.com/j-spot/article-817126?utm_source=jpost.app.apple&utm_medium=share

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In a decision released 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. GAJE will seek leave to appeal this 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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Shabbat shalom

Am Yisrael Chai

Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)

September 20, 2024

The headline above says it all. And cuts very deeply.

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. In arriving at this decision, the court set aside Judge Eugenia Papageorgiou’s decision in late 2023, dismissing Ontario’s motion to strike the application, saying that it was not plain and obvious that the application would fail.

Judge Papageorgiou ruled that the SCC’s Adler decision in 1996 might be eligible for review in light of the circumstances and legal developments that have occurred since 1996. She made no ruling regarding the substance of GAJE’s claim. Instead, she decided that there were good reasons to let GAJE’s claim receive a full hearing on its merits. In other words, she dismissed Ontario’s assertion that the application was doomed to fail. Ontario appealed this ruling.

We will offer no comments upon the Divisional Court’s reasoning overturning Judge Papageorgiou’s decision. Suffice to say, GAJE disagrees with the court’s analysis and conclusion.

We do however comment again, how deep is our disappointment that the Government of Ontario, will not even abide a hearing of GAJE’s claim. We do comment again that Ontario is the only province, apart from the Atlantic provinces, that contributes nothing toward the education of its children in independent schools, while paying for the entire K-12 education of the children in Roman Catholic schools.

And so, we ask again: how is this fair in 2024? How does open, though legally-protected discrimination not offend the conscience of the premier and/or of the Minister of Education? How can Ontario truthfully say that it honours and ensures the equal worth of all its children?

It cannot.

GAJE will fight on. We have instructed our counsel to seek leave to appeal. We will pursue every legal avenue, until the end.

•••

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.

•••

Shabbat shalom

Am Yisrael Chai

Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)

September 13, 2024