A new report has found that an overwhelming majority of Jewish students in Canada have experienced or witnessed antisemitism on their campuses over the past year, according to CBC News. The study looks at the prevalence of antisemitism on college and university campuses across the country, and its findings were described as startling. It concluded that a large majority of students have seen at least one instance of antisemitism in the past 12 months, most often online, on social media, or within student organizations, clubs and campus events.
The report is called CASE, which stands for Campus Antisemitism and Student Experiences, and it was commissioned by the federal government's Department of Canadian Heritage, CBC News reported. It is the first part of a two-part study. According to the CBC's Mark Carcassel, who walked through the findings, the survey work has produced figures that its authors consider deeply concerning about the climate Jewish students are facing at post-secondary institutions.
Among the headline numbers, 89 per cent of the students surveyed said antisemitic incidents happen often or occasionally. According to those surveyed, 96 per cent of Jewish students in Canada said they experienced or witnessed at least one antisemitic incident during the previous 12 months. The report frames these figures as evidence that such incidents are not isolated but a regular feature of campus life for many Jewish students.
The report also captured how students judge the seriousness of the problem and the response to it. It found that 84 per cent of Jewish students said antisemitism is a serious problem on their campus, and 71 per cent reported antisemitic vandalism. Seventy per cent said their institution does not take antisemitism seriously, and nearly one in five students said their own professors were the source of antisemitic incidents.
Beyond the incidents themselves, students described a chilling effect on their day-to-day lives, according to the report. They said it affects their involvement in school and their willingness to speak openly about being Jewish. Students spoke of hesitating before wearing a Jewish symbol, attending a Hillel or Chabad event, or simply telling classmates that they are Jewish, saying it was not out of shame but out of fear.
Many of the incidents listed in the report were never reported to police or any other authority, the study found. Only 33 per cent of students surveyed said they reported incidents, citing little confidence that authorities, especially those on campus, would take meaningful action. In fact, 63 per cent said they had reported an incident previously and felt no meaningful action was taken. One student who spoke at a news conference said she had looked for support, accountability and a meaningful process within her own university community, and instead was left wondering where a Jewish student is supposed to turn.
The authors laid out three criteria they want Canadian universities to meet, CBC News reported. They are calling on institutions to publicly commit to addressing antisemitism on campus through public statements, to enforce their own existing policies, arguing there are double standards prevalent on campus, and to create an accountability framework with measurable outcomes and timelines. A second part of the report, which surveys another group of students drawn from the broader Canadian post-secondary population, is expected to be released in the near future.