Jewish Students Take Fight for Equal Protection to Parliament Hill

Ottawa, ON – September 24, 2026 – Days after a police officer was critically wounded protecting worshippers during an armed attack outside a Belleville synagogue on Yom Kippur, dozens of Jewish university students from across Canada are taking their fight for equal treatment to Parliament Hill, meeting with government and opposition to share firsthand accounts of antisemitism on campus and demand concrete action to protect Jewish students.

“A week into the school year, Jewish students at Laurier found mezuzahs torn from their doors. At McMaster, Hillel student leaders were harassed while simply staffing their table at a campus club fair. These are not isolated incidents. Jewish students across this country are being made to feel that openly expressing their Jewish identity comes at a cost,” said Jay Solomon, CEO of Hillel Ontario. “Jewish students are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for something fundamental: the same promise we make to every Canadian, that they can learn, participate in campus life, and belong fully and safely without having to hide who they are.”

The delegation arrives as Parliament resumes following a summer of mounting warnings about the safety and security of Jewish students.

In June, the Prime Minister acknowledged that the Covenant that makes Canada possible is failing Jewish Canadians, including students who have been driven from common spaces on their campuses.

In August, the federal government’s Campus Antisemitism and Student Experiences (CASE) report found that 95.7 percent of Jewish postsecondary students had experienced or witnessed antisemitism, while highlighting anti-Israel and antizionism activism as the main driver. The report also found that 68 per cent of Jewish students surveyed said their campus was not a safe and inclusive place for Jewish students.

At Toronto Metropolitan University, an independent review by Justice Mary Lou Benotto found that the university had policies capable of addressing much of the conduct examined, but had too often failed to apply them “consistently and decisively.”

“Universities are supposed to be institutions of that advance higher learning and cutting-edge research. But on too many campuses, a small number of extremists have been permitted to undermine this. They are driven by conspiracy theories and libels about Jews and Israelis to intimidate, exclude and direct violence against their fellow Canadians,” said Noah Shack, CEO of CIJA. “Universities have the policies they need to keep students safe. Those rules must be enforced, with consequences for the perpetrators. And governments have a responsibility to hold institutions accountable when they fail to do so."

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