Latest news with #JewishStudents
National Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- National Post
Avi Benlolo: Ontario teachers shouldn't tolerate the bullying of Jewish students
Article content If our nation's history matters — if we have learned anything from the painful legacy of 'None is too many' — then this is a consequential moment to refuse the role of bystander. It is a moment to stand up, to speak out, and to join me in this fight. Article content What is at stake is nothing less than the fabric of our nation. For those who still remember children playing hockey on quiet streets, neighbours helping neighbours push cars from snowbanks or the simple kindness of a helping hand — for anyone who longs for the Canada where downtown cores were alive with laughter on a weekend afternoon, where school assemblies echoed with songs like Kumbaya, and where playground slides weren't defaced with hateful graffiti — this is the Canada we must fight to bring back. This is the Canada we must defend. Article content The Abraham Global Peace Initiative has been sounding the alarm. We have taken this issue directly to Ontario's Ministry of Education, urging zero-tolerance policies and accountability for school boards that fail to protect Jewish students. We are advancing a national proposal for a security task force dedicated to confronting antisemitism head-on. We are calling for an immediate public inquiry, and for the education system to move beyond Holocaust remembrance to confront modern-day anti-Jewish hate. Article content Article content We are also calling on governments to enforce consequences for educators who engage in or ignore antisemitic acts. Jewish students must not be forced to remove their symbols, hide their identity or transfer schools out of fear. Our laws already prohibit hate speech, but we must ensure they are applied with the full weight of justice in every classroom and corridor. Article content There are no neutral bystanders in the fight against hate. Article content We must be the people of the moment. Let us stand now, together, and say never again — and this time, mean it. Article content
New York Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Columbia and White House Enter Final Stage of Talks to End Standoff
Officials from Columbia University and the Trump administration on Thursday inched closer to ending a monthslong standoff over the college's ability to protect Jewish students from harassment, meeting for about an hour in Washington, where they agreed on the main terms of a deal but left without finalizing all of the details. There was optimism from some of those involved in the negotiations that an agreement would be announced next week, but they were hesitant to discuss specifics and risk upsetting the delicate negotiations. The deal is expected to include about $200 million in payments by Columbia to settle the matter, while the administration would restore most of more than $400 million in canceled federal research funding, according to a recent draft of the deal. The account of the White House meeting and information about a potential deal was provided by three individuals with direct knowledge of the continuing negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity so that they could describe sensitive talks. Claire Shipman, the acting president of Columbia, was among roughly 10 officials from Columbia and the Trump administration who met at the White House on Thursday to review the deal. President Trump has been fully briefed on the negotiations, a White House spokesman said. Columbia declined to comment on the details of the talks. 'The university remains engaged in productive discussions with the federal government,' Virginia Lam Abrams, a spokeswoman, said. Talks between the White House and Columbia have gained momentum in recent weeks. The two sides have discussed some kind of monitoring system that would track compliance by Columbia with the government's demands. At one point, the deal included a judge-approved consent decree, which is a legally binding performance-improvement plan. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CTV News
14-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Federal envoy urges Ontario to act on antisemitism in its public schools
Deborah Lyons, Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, listens during an event commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz, in the Parliamentary Precinct in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang OTTAWA — Canada's special envoy on antisemitism says Ontario needs to take seriously incidents of anti-Jewish bigotry targeted at students in public schools. Deborah Lyons commissioned a survey of nearly 600 Jewish parents, and found hundreds of children were subjected to incidents including antisemitic bullying and blame for the carnage of Israel's military conduct in the Gaza Strip. Families reported incidents such as children chanting Nazi slogans and giving salutes, and teachers telling students that Israel does not exist. The survey logged 781 incidents that it deemed antisemitic, including discussions on the Middle East that went beyond forceful criticism of Israel. Lyons' office approached various Jewish groups asking for them to promote the survey, and heard form families who have moved their children to other schools or removed markers of Jewish identity. The report marks a rare move of federal rapporteurs singling out issues outside of Ottawa's jurisdiction. By Dylan Robertson.
Bloomberg
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Columbia May Be Nearing a Truce with Trump in Funding Fight
Columbia University may be nearing a deal with the Trump administration to reinstate federal funding to the university over civil rights issues, according to reports by multiple news outlets. The deal would require Columbia to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to those affected by the alleged violations, increase transparency in its hiring and admissions processes, and take other steps to improve security and safety on campus for Jewish students, the Washington Free Beacon and Wall Street Journal reported.
The Independent
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Report on curbing anitsemitism in Australia recommends threatening university funding
Australian universities would lose government funding unless they address attacks on Jewish students and potential immigrants would be screened for political affiliations under recommendations to the government made public on Thursday aimed at curbing antisemitism. Antisemitic incidents including assaults, vandalism, threats and intimidation had surged more than threefold in Australia in the year after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal reported. Synagogues and cars have been torched, businesses and homes have been graffitied and Jews have been attacked in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two largest cities where 85% of the nation's Jewish population live. A year after the Jewish lawyer and Sydney-based business executive was appointed envoy, Segal provided the government with a range of recommendations in her report. 'We cannot hope to abolish antisemitism' 'Given its age-old heritage, we cannot hope to really abolish antisemitism, but we can push it to the margins of society,' Segal told reporters. A major priority of the report was to ensure public institutions, particularly universities, were held accountable for addressing antisemitism. Australian universities have been the center of several pro-Palestinian protests. Segal would work with government to withhold funding from universities that fail to act against antisemitism, the report said. More broadly, public funding would be denied to cultural institutions, artists, broadcasters and individuals that 'implicitly endorse antisemitic themes or narratives,' the report said. People living in Australia who were not citizens and were involved in antisemitism should be deported. Potential immigrants should be screened for antisemitic views or affiliations, the report said. Prime minister to carefully consider recommendations Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government would 'carefully consider' the report's recommendations. 'There are Jewish students who have been attacked, vilified, abused because of their identification by someone — by a perpetrator — for being Jewish,' Albanese said. 'That has no place in Australia. It undermines out multiculturalism. And one of the things that I regard as Australia's strength is that we can be a microcosm for the world,' he added. More than half Australia's population were born overseas or have an immigrant parent. Luke Sheehy, chief executive of Universities Australia, which represents the nation's 39 universities, said he was looking forward to the government's response. 'Racism has absolutely no place in Australia's universities and our sector condemns it in all forms,' Sheehy said in a statement. 'Academic freedom and freedom of expression are core to the university mission, but they must be exercised with responsibility and never as a cover for hate or harassment,' he added. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the peak advocate for the nation's Jewish community, welcomed the report. Jewish group describes report as 'dangerous' But Max Kaiser, executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, said community groups such as his that supported human rights in Gaza had not been consulted by Segal. Kaiser described the threat of withholding university funding over antisemitism as dangerous. 'It becomes this real way of cracking down on political dissent and cracking down on the protest movement. And we actually think that that's a really dangerous way to put it, because there are many Jews in Australia, including in the Jewish Council of Australia, who have been active parts of the protest movement,' Kaiser told Australian Broadcasting Corp. 'This is a movement that is against the genocide ongoing in Gaza. And it's a completely legitimate part of democratic political activity. And to suggest that somehow this is related to antisemitism really does a disservice to the cause of fighting antisemitism,' Kaiser added. The report comes after three high-profile attacks on Jewish targets in Melbourne over the weekend. Suspects charged over attacks on Jewish targets The front door of the East Melbourne Synagogue was set alight with ban accelerant on Friday night, and a suspect has been charged. Soon after, 20 masked protesters harassed diners at a nearby restaurant owned by an Israeli businessman. A window was broken, tables were flipped and chairs thrown as chanting protesters called for the death of the Israel Defense Forces. Four people have been charged with offenses including assault, riotous behavior and criminal damage. Police are also investigating the spray-painting of a business in Melbourne's northern suburbs and an arson attack on three vehicles attached to the business before dawn Saturday. The vehicles had also been graffitied. Police said there were antisemitic 'inferences' at the scene. The business had also been the target of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the past year.
