Jewish students say they have come across ‘Heil Hitler’ salutes, antisemitic graffiti on Canadian university campuses

Jewish university students in Canada have spoken about experiencing antisemitic graffiti, “Heil Hitler” salutes, and dismissals of their concerns about safety on campus at a news conference at Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, on Thursday.

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Kate Blumberg, an undergraduate at McMaster University, said she found herself as a representative of the Student Representative Assembly (SRA) “consistently fielding concerns” from her fellow Jewish students about “being singled out in their tutorials, about being excluded from groups, and about not knowing where to turn when campus spaces no longer felt welcoming.”

Livia Mamane, a student at Université du Québec à Montréal, said she has seen stall doors in restrooms with “Death to Zionists” and “Israel should burn” graffitied on them. “How would you feel if you had to submissively sit in classes while being surrounded by students who wanted to burn your own homeland?” she asked.

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The students were joined by Jay Solomon, CEO at Jewish student organization Hillel Ontario, Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, Conservative MP Adam Chambers and Noah Shack, CEO at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), at the conference, where they shared their firsthand experiences of antisemitism on campus and called for action to ensure the safety of Jewish students at Canadian universities.

Blumberg also described how she and a fellow Jewish student wrote a motion addressing the antisemitism students had been experiencing on campus. “When brought to the (SRA) agenda, there were more votes of abstention and decline than of willingness for the motion to be discussed,” she said. “While the eventual passing of the motion was a monumental step for the Jewish community on campus, the sheer pushback and minimization of experience in chambers was baffling.”

She added: “When our highest student governing body treats the safety and inclusion of Jewish students as an open political question rather than an enforceable right, it signals to the entire university that our safety and inclusion are negotiable.”

Elsewhere, the report found that 71 per cent of Jewish students had seen antisemitic graffiti on campus, more than one in five had witnessed physical violence targeting Jews, and students also reported targeted incidents like mezuzahs being torn from the doors of Jewish dorm rooms in residence halls.

Another of the report’s key insights was that Jewish students also face antisemitism from professors and other university employees, with faculty cited in 18 per cent of antisemitic incidents reported in the survey. A further 14 per cent of incidents involved either teaching assistants or non-teaching staff.

This finding was echoed in Mamane’s testimony. “I have walked through the cafeteria and seen professors I truly respected associate themselves with causes that made me question whether I was welcome in class, or even whether my grades could be jeopardized,” she said.

She also shared an incident experienced by a friend at McGill University, who was walking across campus wearing their Star of David when a person approached them and performed a “Heil Hitler” salute.

The CASE report found that more than three in 10 said they’d considered dropping a course or leaving their program because of antisemitism from professors or other students.

Blumberg said she had heard from other students who felt that they didn’t belong in a classroom because of political discussions, despite the subject of study being unrelated.

“Students are avoiding certain professors, avoiding certain classrooms where they know there’s going to be an intense debate that they will feel alone in,” she said.

National Post has reached out to McMaster University, Université du Québec à Montréal and McGill University for comment.

The news conference comes in the wake of a shooting outside a synagogue in Belleville, Ont., on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, which left one policeman injured.

The officer, Const. Jeff Smith, is in stable condition but “continues to face a significant road to recovery,” according to Belleville police’s Deputy Chief Sheri Meeks. GoFundMe pages have been set up both for Smith and to raise money for repairs and security at the synagogue.

The suspect in the Sept. 20 shooting, identified as 29-year-old Sean Ward from Quinte West, died in hospital on Monday and is reported to have “spouted” antisemitic conspiracy theories, including one that blamed the Jewish community for COVID.

Speaking at Parliament Hill on Thursday, Noah Shack said the Jewish community is “profoundly grateful” to Smith, adding that the “extreme violence” in Belleville should be a wake-up call.

“This could have happened anywhere. We’ve seen hate targeting schools, seniors’ homes, workplaces, and universities across this country…universities are supposed to be institutions that advance higher learning and cutting-edge research. But on too many campuses, these extremists have been permitted to undermine this fundamental function in a free and democratic society.”

Shack added that CIJA is meeting with cabinet members this week to urge concrete action on providing safety and security for Canadians, and to hold universities accountable for keeping students safe.

The shooting comes two months after Statistics Canada data showed that Jews were targeted in 71 per cent of religious hate crimes in Canada last year. While this represented a 16 per cent decline from the previous year, it remained 50 per cent higher than in 2022.

Meanwhile, advocacy group B’nai Brith Canada said in a statement that advance data for the group’s Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents indicates violent antisemitic incidents have already more than tripled during 2026 when compared to the total recorded during 2025.

“A mass-casualty event during this past weekend seems to have been avoided only because of the actions of trained and armed law enforcement,” the statement continued. “This reinforces the need for Canadian leaders to ensure members of law enforcement are present at every Jewish institution moving forward.”

Simon Wolle, CEO at B’nai Brith Canada, added: “In the wake of these harrowing events, Canada’s Jewish community cannot wait any longer for the Government to act. B’nai Brith has warned about the dangers of inaction for too long. The only acceptable response to this violent attack is for all levels of Government to take the decisive, urgent action needed to safeguard Jewish life in Canada.”

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