By Lisa Levitan
While antisemitism is omnipresent, in recent years the OCDSB has experienced a horrific rise of Jewish hate within their schools. After two years of Jewish educators asking for Jewish representation on the OCDSB equity team, on January 17th, newly elected trustee Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth, Rise Up Ottawa, and the JFO brought forward a motion supporting the hiring of a Jewish Equity Coach. After a lengthy debate, the OCDSB trustees voted unanimously in favour of creating this educator position.
Rise Up Ottawa collected over 1,000 supportive signatures from community members and presented a detailed letter of explanation to trustees and senior staff filled with dozens of specific and horrifying examples of antisemitism in OCDSB schools. Most of these trustees attended the November 6 Rise Up event, hearing from students begging for their human and civil rights to be safe in school. Numerous delegations in support of this motion also spoke, including one led by parent David Baker, whose son recently fell victim to antisemitism at Sir Robert Borden High School.
In a letter sent by Andrea Freedman, JFO president and CEO, and CHES chair Mina Cohn to the OCDSB board and its trustees on January 10th in support of the motion to appoint a Jewish Equity Coach, they said:
“You have heard the pain and anguish of Jewish students and their parents and understand the deep harm caused by antisemitism to young people. A Jewish Equity Coach is an important step in a holistic plan to combat antisemitism. The equity coach will be instrumental in many ways, including support for Jewish students and staff experiencing antisemitism; regularly coordinating with key stakeholders in Ottawa’s Jewish community; facilitating antisemitism and Holocaust education training for the administration, students and staff; and serving as an important resource, representing an authentic Jewish voice within the overall human rights and equity framework at the OCDSB.”
“As Jews continue to break records for being on the receiving end of the most hate crimes, CHES applauds the OCDSB for taking a first step to confront this serious and long-standing issue of pervasive antisemitism in the Ottawa public school system,” said Mina Cohn.
