Tell the TDSB to keep our students safe from hateful protest
Tell the TDSB to keep our students safe from hateful protest
On September 18, a disturbing incident occurred when Toronto District School Board (TDSB) educators and students attending a rally, originally designed to shed light on the Indigenous community’s effort to address mercury contamination, were instead exposed to antisemitic chants about Israeli "occupation".
In the current climate, where rallies regularly descend into hateful rhetoric, faculty should have appropriately vetted the program and understood they were putting students in harm’s way.
Parents rightfully expressed concerns that remained unaddressed in advance of the sanctioned trip. TDSB should have had a plan in place to ensure students were not forced to listen to hateful chants or, in some cases, even march along with those spewing hate.
While we all support the rights of all groups to protest their cause peacefully, educators, schools, and school boards must keep students safe from exposure to toxic ideologies meant to incite hate.
Once again, we find ourselves having to engage with the TDSB on keeping geopolitical issues out of our children’s education.
This issue is not limited solely to the TDSB. The Minister of Education also bears responsibility in this and must ensure all school boards adhere to the inclusivity policy. Failing that, the minister must intervene to restore order and protect the safety and well-being of the school community, including students, educators and staff.
We need your help. By submitting the pre-written email on the right side of this page to the TDSB’s Director of Education, your voice will be added to a chorus of Jewish Canadians and allies outraged by the participation in a hateful protest that was entirely preventable.
