Some Jewish educators across Ontario say they are feeling increasingly unsupported, and fearful of speaking up about antisemitism in schools, with some teachers taking leaves of absence amid mounting tensions.
These teachers have reported a surge in antisemitic incidents and what they describe as inadequate, often dismissive, responses from school administrations, boards, and unions. Many say the issues they face are being overlooked, leaving them feeling vulnerable and alone.
The teachers The Canadian Jewish News interviewed requested anonymity, fearing repercussions if their identities were revealed. Many described environments in which expressing concerns about antisemitism could jeopardize their employment.
One Jewish teacher, an equity group leader in an Ontario school board, expressed deep frustration at the lack of institutional support. “Most of the Jewish teachers I’ve spoken with just feel like they won’t be heard,” he said. “It’s useless, it’s pointless. They feel that we need to suffer in silence.”
He cited an incident from January when a high school teacher discovered a swastika drawn in the snow on her car. “There wasn’t anything on any other car… presumably she was targeted because she’s Jewish,” he said. Instead of receiving meaningful support, he said the teacher was told by her principal, “This is the most common form of graffiti we have… we should be used to this by now.”
“She was traumatized by this,” he continued. “What you should be saying is, ‘Do you need to go home now? What can I do to support you?’ But instead it was just: ‘It’s not that big a deal, but I’ll deal with it.'”
The CJN spoke to numerous Jewish teachers across Ontario—including those in the Upper Grand, Peel, Ottawa and Toronto school boards.
One Jewish teacher described a hostile climate at her former school, which ultimately led her to take a leave of absence. She recounted that antisemitic incidents were largely minimized or ignored. In one instance, a swastika was graffitied on school property. In another, a student submitted an image of Hitler to her. The student was moved to another classroom, but there were no further consequences, she said.
Another Jewish teacher said the lack of support extends to the union itself. “We are afraid to do things because we know that no matter what we do, we actually will not be backed up by our union.”
The CJN reached out to the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario and Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation for comment on this story, but did not receive a reply.
In May, one teacher cited a fear of including any Jewish content in her classroom. “So for example, it’s Jewish History Month right now, right? I’m not touching it. Because I don’t want to be seen as indoctrinating. And if I am seen as indoctrinating, my union will not back me up.”
She added: “I know of Jewish teachers that have been accused of horrific things. And they are at home on suspension, for accusations of APR (anti-Palestinian racism) even though there’s no actual definition of what APR means. And the union is not doing their job to protect them.”
“I know personally three Jewish teachers that are currently suspended because of accusations regarding anti-Palestinian racism.”
Tamara Gottlieb, co-founder of the Jewish Educators and Families Association (JEFA), confirmed that similar stories have reached her desk from across the province. She said Jewish teachers are increasingly taking leaves of absence, feeling “totally unseen or unsupported or sidelined by the school board.” Gottlieb also mentioned reports that some Jewish and non-Jewish teachers have been investigated or suspended for alleged “Anti-Palestinian Racism”—a term that lacks formal definition within board policies.
“Jewish teachers are going out of their way to hide their Jewish identity, and there’s other Jewish teachers who feel that they are unduly the victims of investigations on unreasonable grounds driven by the fact that they’re Jewish,” Gottlieb told The CJN.
In 2024, the Toronto District School Board added anti-Palestinian racism as a form of discrimination to their policy on combatting hate in the classroom.
Last month, the board passed a motion calling for mandatory professional development for trustees and senior staff on both antisemitism and anti-Palestinian racism, developed in collaboration with community groups.
The board also voted to accelerate the board’s anti-racism strategy, setting a deadline of October 2025 for a work plan focused on anti-Palestinian racism. Notably, the board has yet to formally define what anti-Palestinian racism entails—a gap that drew concern from Trustee Shelley Laskin, who cautioned that, without a clear definition, the term risks being used to target any supporters of Israel.
According to numerous Jewish teachers, this concern is precisely what’s occurring behind closed doors. As one Toronto teacher put it, “any whiff of Zionism is essentially painting a target on your forehead. Any support of Israel can be seen as anti-Palestinian, or, if that’s too far of a stretch, Islamophobic.”
Shari Schwartz-Maltz, media relations manager and chair of the Jewish Heritage Committee at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), said she cannot confirm or deny an uptick in Jewish teachers leaving due to antisemitic incidents. However, she did acknowledge a shift in how Jewish staff are feeling this year. “I have heard from some educators that particularly this school year, they have felt excluded from school life, whereas they didn’t have that feeling before,” she said. She also said that principals and members of the board’s Jewish Heritage Committee are ready to offer support and resources when needed.
TDSB’s Jewish Heritage Committee currently has around 350 members, but Schwartz-Maltz noted that there is no reliable data on how many Jewish teachers are currently employed in the system.
A teacher within the TDSB described feeling on high-alert from the moment she walks into her school building. “I have to watch my words, I have to measure my reactions to things people say, far more than ever in my twenty-year career as an educator with the TDSB.”
She added that a growing number of Jewish public school teachers are withdrawing their own children from the system. “We believe in public education, but we are pulling our children out because we see what’s coming, and what’s coming is even worse than what we’re seeing now.”
Although she is not a teacher, one of the most prominent examples of a Jewish professional leaving the public education system has been Nili Kaplan-Myrth, who resigned June 3 as a trustee of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) after what she described as years of escalating institutional antisemitism and harassment from both inside and outside the board.
“It’s just a scary time. It’s a scary time to be a Jewish educator. I mean, teachers are faced with whether or not they’ll lose their jobs if they speak out,” she said, in an interview with The CJN.
“Every time students came and families came to delegate and to speak to us about antisemitism, they were met literally with silence. I was the only person who would put up my hand.”
According to Kaplan-Myrth, the OCDSB has refused to take reports of antisemitism seriously “for years.”
In an email response to The CJN, the OCDSB denied that it had not taken Kaplan-Myrth’s concerns seriously.
“We acknowledge the concerning external threats faced by Trustee Kaplan-Myrth during her time as an OCDSB trustee. The Board took several steps to assist her with these challenges at that time, including the creation of a safety plan for entry and exit to and from the board office, which demonstrated our commitment to the safety and well-being of our trustees,” a spokesperson for the board wrote in an email.
“Over the past three years, we have provided targeted training and professional development for school leaders, senior staff, and trustees. This includes impactful workshops with the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and specialized, antisemitism-specific learning delivered directly by respected leaders within the Jewish community.”
Kaplan-Myrth, who is from Israel, describes herself as progressive. Her work has helped LGBTQ students, students with disabilities and Muslim and Jewish students alike, she said. “My career has been about supporting everybody and standing up against hate…Instead of being able to use that strength, (I’ve been) demonized.”
In her resignation letter, Kaplan-Myrth cited what she described as an “unrelentingly toxic environment” that made it impossible for her to continue serving in good conscience. She framed her decision not as a retreat, but as a warning. “This is a cautionary tale,” she wrote, “about the ways in which antisemitism and anti-Zionism are allowed to fester in public school boards in Canada and in society more broadly.”
