OTTAWA — With Monday marking the beginning of Holocaust Education Week, the province’s education ministry is announcing money to bolster education about the holocaust in Ontario schools.
The province is planning to invest $551,000 to fund the initiative, a means to both educate students and combat Canada’s worrying spike in antisemitism and anti-Jew discrimination since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks.
“As the world recently marked the one–year anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attack against Israel, our government is taking a strong stance against antisemitism, reiterating the need to support our Jewish friends and neighbours,” said Education Minister Jill Dunlop.
“Racism, hate and discrimination have no place in Ontario’s schools and communities.”
Of that money, $140,000 will go towards the Liberation75 initiative to develop resources, lesson plans and classroom materials related to holocaust education.
As well, $150,000 will go to the Centre of Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) for their Enhancing Intercultural Competency and Supporting Jewish Learners and Educators program, which will provide educators with the skills needed to foster more supportive and culturally sensitive education in the province.
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre of Holocaust Studies (FSWCHS) will get $150,000 to expand workshops for elementary and secondary school students.
As well, FSWCHS, Liberation75 and the Toronto Holocaust Museum will get money to create mandatory holocaust education for Ontario’s grade 6 students.
These programs are the latest moves by the province to counter rising levels of antisemitism in Ontario’s schools and come a year after Ontario announced expanded holocaust education for grade 10 students, set to begin next September.
In September, the Toronto District School Board came under fire for allowing grade school students as young as third grade to participate in a political protest that swiftly turned into an anti-Israel rally, with teachers, students and union members shouting anti-Israel slogans.
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