Hillel Ontario’s website received more than 100 violent threats on a single day, targeting Jewish students in Waterloo and Guelph.
The threats, which poured into Hillel’s reporting portal in rapid succession on March 22, prompted immediate action from staff, who alerted local law enforcement within minutes.
“I was making my (grandmother) a snack when my inbox started flooding,” said Jacqueline Dressler, director of advocacy at Hillel Ontario. “They were coming in nonstop—over 100 of them—through our online form. It was very clear right away that this was serious.”
Hillel staff contacted the Waterloo Regional Police within the hour, followed shortly by Guelph Police. On March 26, a 17-year-old male was arrested and charged with uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm. Police say there is no ongoing threat to public safety, and the investigation remains active.
According to an email from Guelph Police Service, Waterloo Regional Police are spearheading the investigation.
The threats are being investigated by the Waterloo Regional Police Service’s General Investigations and Cybercrime Units.
While the exact content of the messages has not been made public, Dressler confirmed the language was violent and disturbing.
“It’s scary,” she said. “Even if names weren’t used, people could still feel personally targeted. It’s heartbreaking how unsurprised I was.”
Dressler mentioned that threats and hostility towards Jewish students have become a new normal.
Jay Solomon, Hillel Ontario’s chief advancement officer, said the organization’s staff acted quickly and in coordination with police and community security networks.
“We’re very grateful to Waterloo Regional Police and Guelph Police Service, who responded swiftly and took this seriously,” said Solomon. “It’s incredibly important to Jewish Canadians that our reports of hate are not only heard but acted upon—and in this case, they were.”
In the aftermath of the threats, Hillel is reassessing aspects of its online reporting mechanism to ensure both accessibility and safety. “We want to remove barriers to reporting antisemitism,” said Dressler. “That’s something we’ve said repeatedly to university leadership. But we also want to be cautious and proactive.”
Hillel is also working closely with the Centre for Israel and the Jewish Security Network to monitor campus environments and adjust security measures as needed.
Solomon noted that while Hillel has received hateful messages in the past, the scale of this incident was unusual. “I don’t recall ever seeing this volume from a single individual,” he said. “It was deeply disturbing, and unfortunately, not out of step with what Jewish students have been facing for nearly two years.”
Rabbi Moishy Goldman, the Jewish chaplain of Wilfrid Laurier University and the director of Chabad Waterloo, understands the rising concern of Jewish students, particularly following these online threats, but says “anxiety and fear is not a solution for fighting antisemitism.”
“We’ve been very comfortable in believing antisemitism has died and gone away,” Rabbi Goldman told The Canadian Jewish News. “To me it’s a rule of the universe—there’s going to be people who hate Jews. My response is not to yell and scream and complain.”
And while Rabbi Goldman recognizes that these threats are serious, he emphasizes that Jewish students at Waterloo and Guelph should not live in fear.
Hillel Ontario is emphasizing the need for solidarity on campuses.
“We’re looking for partners across the university community to stand with Jewish students, faculty, and staff,” said Solomon. “Not just in response to this incident, but in the face of rising antisemitism. We need people to say clearly: this is not OK.”
