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

•••

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 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

On May 14, 2024, the Ministry of Education updated its memorandum to schools and to the public on Creating safe and accepting schools: resources for schools and school boards. The memorandum – on the ministry’s website – contains nine parts, the fifth of which deals with “Bullying detection and prevention”.

This section on bullying states: “School boards should use these strategies to prevent and address incidents of bullying at school and to foster a positive learning environment.” It then directs readers to two specific policies on the subject.

• Policy/Program Memorandum 144: Bullying Prevention and Intervention and,

• Bullying – we can all stop it – a guide for elementary and secondary students.

Program Memorandum 144, is a substantive, even fastidious, procedural document that sets down a comprehensive administrative framework for school staff and administrators. It was published on May, 2021 and updated July 24, 2023.

Bullying – we can all stop it, is an in-depth, highly readable, introductory primer on the subject of bullying. It was published November 13, 2019 and updated May 1, 2024.

This was the institutional educational background against which Toronto high school student, Hannah Schwartz, last summer, bravely wrote her letter published in the Toronto Star, that decried the blatant discrimination and constant bullying she suffered in her school because on account of her religion. “What many people may not know,” she wrote, “is that right now it’s hard to be a Jewish kid at just about any school in Canada.” (See the GAJE update July 12, 2024.)

It is important to point out that Hannah experienced the bullying despite the existence of the two Education ministry policies on bullying.

Hannah was courageous and eloquent in describing some of her harrowing experiences. “Before the Israel-Hamas war broke out, I didn’t fully realize what antisemitism was. I knew it as an abstract thing, but I had never come face to face with it myself. Then Oct. 7 arrived and everything changed. I began to notice small hurtful comments from my peers about my religion and culture, and then bigger more painful comments. One of my peers started calling me “Jew” instead of my name. They thought it would be funny to scream it at me in the hallways. And then another told me: “I wish Hitler was back,” and “I wish your whole family had died in a gas chamber.” 

“…The bullying and Jew hatred is hard enough but what is almost just as hard to see is the impact this experience has had on my friends. I notice that some of my Jewish classmates who were once proud of their identity now feel uncomfortable with it. They are scared to be “too” Jewish in public. And for those of us who are proud to be Jewish and show it, many of our peers shun us.”

With youthful, guile-free candor, Hannah concluded her letter with a plea to civil society to help bring about an end to bullying, intimidation and erasure. “…(T)he response from school leaders and politicians feels quiet, like the whole country is a bystander to this bullying. This feels so wrong, like a betrayal of the lessons we were raised on….Yes, we need to be safe from hate and violence. But there’s something we need just as much, now more than ever. We need allies, not bystanders.”

Enrollment in elementary and high schools has increased this year from last by more than 200 students. This is the fourth consecutive year that enrollment in Jewish schools has increased. But it is likely true, given the published testimonies by students and parents (See: Hannah Schwartz’ letter) and reports of the in-creeping and adoption of antisemitic notions and tropes into school board policies (See: the debates surrounding APR) that some Jewish students are departing public schools, at least in part, because they and their parents wish to avoid having to contend with the menace of antisemitism.

Thus, this week when all children have returned to their public schools, GAJE recalls and reiterates Hannah’s brave, clarion plea. It feels like “the whole country is a bystander to this bullying”.

We do not wish to hear the cliched nostrums that politicians and others in leadership positions prefer to utter such as: “There is no place in Canada for racism, antisemitism….” Or, “Canadians are better than this….”. Such words are the quick, vacuous, sound-byte proclamations that mean essentially, nothing.

School leaders and politicians, including the Minister of Education must actually act to ensure antisemitic bullying specifically is eliminated from public schools and public spaces. Yet, there were no back-to-school pronouncements this week by politicians and especially by the Minister of Education, warning against a reversion to or re-embrace of antisemitic behaviour in our schools, in school playgrounds or on our streets. This is much the pity, for the sake of the youngsters who will once again feel unsafe and unwanted in the halls of Ontario’s schools and indeed, for the sake of Ontario, whose society is also being targeted by the haters who target Jews.

We hope the Minister of Education will at least enforce the ministry’s own policies to eliminate intimidation in schools, ie, Bullying – we can all stop it, and Program Memorandum 144.

That is not too much to ask of the government. And that would be a good start.

•••

The appeal by the Government of Ontario of Judge Eugenia Papageorgiou’s refusal last summer to throw out GAJE’s application for fairness in educational funding, was heard in early June by a panel of three judges. The court reserved its decision.

GAJE will publish the court’s decision as soon as it is known to us.

•••

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 6, 2024

The school year returns next week for most students of all ages. It is an exciting and nerve-wracking time for many of our children. But with a loving hug, friendly pat on the back and timely words of encouragement, the kids seem always able to get past the first-day butterflies.

It will not be the same, however, for the institutions and ordinary folk to get as easily past the anti-Jewish, anti-Israel and anti-democracy actions and demonstrations that have been reported to await the post-summer return to the routine rhythms of our society. Campus protesters have rolled up their tents. But they prepare to unfurl other flags of hatred and to incite behaviours entirely antithetical to core western values.

It is therefore important that GAJE supporters and readers of this update be made aware of a newly formed, widely based group that is determined to fight antisemitism and, in the process, stand up for and to protect western values. We should know that there are others – indeed many others – who recognize that the fight against antisemitism is also a fight on behalf of democracy. Thus, as a form of public service announcement, GAJE brings to its supporters, news of the recent formation of the Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism (ALCCA). (The following information is from the Coalition’s website.)

ALCCA is “a coalition of 28 organizations and many more individuals dedicated to combatting the unprecedented levels of antisemitism in Canada. Each member organization brings expertise and dedication – and a great deal of voluntarism – to our work. The coalition includes:

Honest Reporting Canada, Jewish Educators and Families Association (JEFA), Secure Canada, StandWithUs (Canada), Bring Love (A Catholic organization), Temple Sinai, Lawyers for Secure Immigration, Human Rights Action Group, Canadian Jewish Advocacy (CIJA), StartUp Nation, Hillel Ontario, Allied Voices for Israel (AVI), Canadian Union of Jewish Students (CUPS), Holy Blossom Temple, Lawyers Combating Antisemitism, Council of Muslims Against Antisemitism, End Jew Hatred, Network of Engaged Canadian Academics (NECA), Canadian Women Against Antisemitism (CWAA), Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation (CAEF), Jewish Parents of Ottawa Students Association (JPOSA), Manitoba Israeli Coalition, Jewish Medical Association of Ontario (JMAO), Winnipeg Friends of Israel (WFI), The Jewish Medical Association of British Columbia (JMABC), Ottawa Against Antisemitism, Jewish Physicians Association of Manitoba (JPAM), Association des Médecins Juifs Du  Québec (AMJQ). 

Guided by five principles:
1.      We believe in the power of working together. When Jewish communities and democratic values are at risk, we must coordinate our efforts. Otherwise, we remain ineffective.
2.      We support the IHRA definition of antisemitism. The definition, adopted by many countries including Canada, recognizes that it is not antisemitic to criticize Israel’s government, policies or practices in a manner similar to how other countries are criticized. However, it is antisemitic to demonize Israel, the world’s only Jewish democratic state, and Zionists, who include the vast majority of Jews, without distinction. 
3.      We believe in respectful dialogue with those who disagree with us. But we reject hatred in all its ugly forms, including intimidation, harassment and the celebration of violence or barbarity.
4.      We believe that Canadians have a duty to reject all forms of extremism. This is not just a “Jewish” issue, it is a “Canadian” issue.
5.      We believe that protecting our children, including students in kindergarten to those in universities and colleges is our highest priority. They are entitled to embrace their Jewish identities, without fear. Their voices need to be heard and supported.

“Too many Jews and their allies feel helpless in the face of pervasive, unprecedented antisemitism, hatred and extremism. They don’t know how to respond. At times, they are frustrated by perceived inaction or feel uninformed about what action is being taken or what is effective. All that must change.”

The ALCCA website is: www.alcca.ca

The sie explains how we can stay informed about this stark threat to our society and how we can become involved in the battle to protect it. Let us join the battle. There is strength in numbers. And confidence. And resolve.

•••

The appeal by the Government of Ontario of Judge Eugenia Papageorgiou’s refusal last summer to throw out GAJE’s application for fairness in educational funding, was heard in early June by a panel of three judges. The court reserved its decision.

GAJE will publish the court’s decision as soon as it is known to us.

•••

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)

August 30, 2024

There is strength in numbers, in shared experiences and in the remarkable self-supporting structure of community. Since October 7, we know this and we feel it deeply.

That is one of the key reasons that community professionals here and in the United States have reported a “surge” in attempts by Jews across all ages to seek some sort of community affiliation.

Many are newly seeking a way to discover, enrich and/or sustain their sense of Jewish belonging.

It is therefore not a surprise to read of a new initiative (eJP, August 21, 2024) in Jewish education in the United States that is aimed at bringing more children into Jewish day schools, specifically non-Orthodox Jewish day schools.

The initiative is called the Ronald S. Lauder Impact Inititiave (LII). When stripped to its narrowest definition, it is the latest publicized effort to “raise” more Jews. At the moment, the initiative has launched a pilot program in five schools in four cities in the U.S. It is also being supported by the Israeli government through the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs.

According to the story in eJP, the program is based upon the Lauder Foundation’s work in Eastern and Central Europe, where it supports over 30 Jewish educational institutions. “I have a dream that all Jewish children will be educated to become engaged and proud Jews,” Lauder said in a statement. “In Europe, I helped revitalize Jewish life by building and growing kindergartens, schools and camps. My dream in the U.S. is that Jewish parents will understand that they can make the choice today to secure their child’s Jewish future; Jewish day schools are the best option for creating strong Jewish identities and preparing the next generation of Jewish leaders. Nothing is more important for the future of our children, our grandchildren, and our people.”

Paul Bernstein, the CEO of Prizmah, an umbrella group for Jewish day schools of all denominations, notes that the events of Oct. 7 are affecting the decisions regarding communal involvement by individual Jewish families. He sees increased interest in enrollment in Jewish day schools in response to antisemitism and increased Jewish communal engagement more generally. He added that “the big question for our community right now is how we develop what comes next?”

GAJE agrees. How do we channel the coalescing energy and the steel-hard will within the Jewish community to counter the malevolent ones wishing harm upon us and Israel? Jewish education for as many as possible is inescapably part of what must come next.

The eJP article is available at:

Ronald Lauder-backed initiative looks to boost non-Orthodox Jewish day schools amid enrollment crisis

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The appeal by the Government of Ontario of Judge Eugenia Papageorgiou’s refusal last summer to throw out GAJE’s application for fairness in educational funding, was heard in early June by a panel of three judges. The court reserved its decision.

GAJE will publish the court’s decision as soon as it is known to us.

•••

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)

August 23, 2024