Reports of discrimination and antisemitism in schools and sensitivities over the political situation in the Middle East have revived the Jewish community’s interest in English school board elections in Montreal, which will be held Sunday.
On the island of Montreal, the English Montreal School Board (EMSB)—the province’s largest with more than 35,000 youth and adult students in 73 schools and centres—has two full slates contesting the chair and all 10 seats, a first in years—and unique among the often-acclaimed races throughout Quebec.
There are a mere handful of Jewish candidates among the dozens running in board elections across Quebec, that serve almost 100,000 students in English public schools.
The Quebec government’s Bill 40 did away with French school boards in 2020. English boards won a stay pending a Superior Court legal challenge, which they won on constitutional grounds. The Quebec government intends to appeal early in the new year.
Turnout for school elections has traditionally been quite low, with about 20 percent of those eligible actually casting a vote, however there are hopes that the situation could change in this election.
“In Montreal we’re seeing a renewed, very energized interest in engagement across the Jewish community on school boards and it’s a wonderful thing. Engagement by anyone from any groupis important. I’m loving seeing people put themselves forward, committing to have a voice around the table,” Eta Yudin, Quebec vice-president for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) told The CJN.
That engagement is especially significant she says, “in light of what we’ve seen across the country,with different school boards,” like the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).
The Ontario government is currently conducting an inquiry after TDSB students on in a field trip to observe a rally supporting Indigenous communities’ rights to clean water were filmed shouting slogans like ‘From Turtle Island to Palestine, occupation is a crime.”
The CJN asked 10 Jewish voters at advanced polls on Oct. 27 why they turned out, and in addition to general responses about simply being taxpayers, four said they wanted more Jewish involvement given the rise in antisemitism and what they see happening in schools in the United States and Toronto. Others simply wanted to counter voter apathy.
After casting her vote, Laurence Elmoznino said that “voting in school board elections is crucial, especially as a Jewish Montrealer, because it shapes the educational environment and policies that impact our community.” She says by participating she can support high-quality education and express her desire “to ensure that our voices are represented, fostering a safe and understanding space for future generations.”
Joe Ortona agrees. The president of the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA), and incumbent chair of the EMSB, is running for re-election and says he understands the concerns of Quebec Jews and what they have been experiencing. “First it’s important to know that we do a very good job in terms of education for all minorities and ensuring that any intolerance or discrimination is not going to be tolerated at our board, and we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to all forms of hate.”
He agrees that’s a mere starting point, “but it comes down to what you do in practice. Obviously, we’re very sensitive that it’s been an extremely difficult year for the Jewish community. We saw it particularly in shootings at private Jewish schools, and while we haven’t had an incident like that at the EMSB, it’s happening in our backyard.”
In November 2023, bullet holes were found in the front door of Azrieli Talmud Torah. Shots were fired on twice that month at Yeshiva Gedola.
Ortona says important steps were taken to promote a safe environment for Jewish students over the last few years. “In 2021 weadopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance antisemitism definition, and we collaborated with Jewish organizations to provide education programs on antisemitism, Holocaust education and regularly have guest speakers sharing experiences about Jewish history and the dangers of hate speech and prejudice.”
Moreover, the board adopted a resolution asking Quebec’s Education Ministry to make Holocaust education mandatory in Quebec’s curriculum. “And if they don’t do it, we will,” he told The CJN. “It’s part of our electoral platform that we will incorporate it into the province’s Culture and Citizenship Program.”
His council also unanimously supported B’nai Brith’s call for the federal government to hold a second national summit on antisemitism.
If the past year has been any lesson, says Katherine Korakakis, who is challenging Ortona for chairmanship of the EMSB, “it’s that engagement in school board elections is crucial for the Jewish community.”
She says rising antisemitism and discrimination are happening in elementary and high schools, and as a Jewish parent, she’s experienced it first-hand. As head of the Parents’ Committee and English Parents Committee Association, she says she has heard and listened to many Jewish parents “who have faced inappropriate language about our community and mis- and dis-information about Israel inside the classroom.”
“This election affects all of us and impacts our community’s future,” Korakakis told The CJN, pledging a commitment to “implementing a zero-tolerance policy on antisemitism and discrimination. We will also advocate for teacher training and student workshops and antisemitism toolkits to ensure a safe, and respectful environment for all students.”
The board’s most notable foray into the issue came when it voiced strong support for the Jewish community five days after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, in a declaration of solidarity with Israel and the community.
“What we saw happening in Israel was horrifying and shocking,” read Ortona’s October 2023 statement. “On behalf of the EMSB Council of Commissioners, I pray for all the victims and we can only hope that any hostages are found soon and return home safely. Deliberately targeting civilians is a war crime and is never justified.”
The EMSB lowered flags at all of its buildings to half-mast and posted a photo of an Israeli flag on its website. That was a week after the EMSB called on the Quebec government to make Holocaust education mandatory. “Now, more than ever,” read the statement, “we are seeing the importance of such a policy.”
A few days later, groups of parents protested that the EMSB approach was discriminatory as it didn’t offer the same declaration of support to Arab and Muslim students and families. The board replied with a new statement that included: “In the wake of the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel and the ensuing violence in the region… We express profound sadness at the loss of life of innocent victims in Israel and Gaza and we pray for a peaceful resolution to this dispute.”
But today, as Montreal parents read stories from Toronto and Ottawa about including ‘Naqba Remembrance Day’ on the school calendar, Ortona says, “That’s not us.”
(Arabic for “catastrophe,” the Nakba refers to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, also known in Israel as the War of Independence.)
Anecdotally, says Yudin, in the last year she has been dealing with more concerns about antisemitic incidents than in the last 10 years. “So we are concerned, and our strategies are to help support students and to see that these incidents are dealt with and not allowed to take root in the public system.”
She says CIJA works closely with boards across the province, with sessions on antisemitism, along with Federation andthe Bronfman Jewish Education Centre providing support for parents and students.
“We’ve seen a dramatic rise in antisemitism around the world, across Canada and here as well.” She says the antisemitic incidents in and around schools are “not happening in any one school board. We’ve seen it across the country. Of course, the most concerning is what we’ve seen in Toronto.”
This summer along with Federation CJA, CIJA launched the Quebec version of Unlearn It, an age-specific educational platform—available in French and English—to Quebec elementary and high schools to deal with specific types of antisemitism by defining, identifying and unlearning it. “There are a lot of pieces to this,” she says, “and we’ve done that in cooperation with education experts and are engaged with school boards on an ongoing basis, whoever is sitting there.”
