Nearly all Jewish students in Canada experienced or witnessed at least one antisemitic incident during the 12 months between November 2024 and December 2025, according to a new national report on antisemitism in Canadian higher education.
The report, commissioned by the Canadian government and prepared by the Association for Canadian Studies, found that 95.7% of Jewish students surveyed had encountered antisemitism either directly or as witnesses.
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Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate against Israel in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
(Photo: AP)
The study was based in part on a survey of 900 Jewish students at universities and colleges across Canada. It also included anonymous testimonies from students describing incidents they said they experienced on campus.
One student said a professor told the class that “Hitler was a hero.” Another said a professor told them that “Jews belong in Poland and should go back there.”
The report also documented allegations of bias by faculty members, including cases in which students said instructors presented one-sided views of complex issues or pressured students to participate in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
In one case, a student said a professor in women’s and gender studies gave her a zero on a paper about sexual assaults committed by Hamas during the October 7, 2023 attack against Israel. The student said the professor told her to focus instead on “the role of Israeli police in sexual assaults.”
Threats, harassment and antisemitic slogans
Jewish students described a wide range of harassment and intimidation on campuses across Canada.
One student said the phrase “all Jews must die” was written on a bathroom wall alongside swastikas at a university.
Another said that after people learned he was Jewish, someone told him: “Hitler should have finished the job on you.”
Students also reported antisemitic chants at campus demonstrations, including “Hitler should have killed all of you” and “go back to Poland.”
(Photo: AP)
One student said he was followed by a group of students after they noticed he was wearing a kippah. Another said a student told him he wished all Israelis would die because they were “a bunch of European colonialists.”
The testimonies also included allegations of physical violence and threats.
A student said he was spat on while wearing a kippah and witnessed another Jewish student being punched. A student said a friend stopped wearing a Star of David after someone spat on her.
Another student reported that several mezuzahs were torn from the doors of his student residence, leaving him and his friends more fearful about walking around campus.
Students also reported death threats sent to members of Jewish organizations after October 7, as well as antisemitic graffiti across campuses, including messages calling for “death to Zionism,” “death to Israel” and the killing of Jews.
Holocaust denial and comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany
The report also described cases involving Holocaust denial, distortion and comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany.
Students said they heard people claim the Holocaust was a “lie,” that Hitler did not kill Jews and that Jews invented the Holocaust to receive money and compensation.
Others said professors questioned whether the Holocaust occurred or ranked it as less severe than other genocides.
In one case, a student said a person standing in line ahead of him said: “The Holocaust didn’t really happen. But if it did happen, Hitler was right.”
Jewish man attacked by a Muslim in Montreal
(Video: Social Media)
Other testimonies described comparisons between Israelis and Nazis and what students said were distortions of Holocaust memory for political purposes.
One student said a law professor compared the Holocaust with the war in Gaza and said “Israelis are the Nazis of today.”
Another student said a professor claimed Jews exaggerated the Holocaust in order to give Israel legitimacy.
Students also reported cases in which Holocaust survivors who moved to Israel in 1945 were described as members of an “oppressive military regime,” and comparisons were made between Gaza and Auschwitz.
Students say universities are failing to respond
According to the report, 70% of Jewish students surveyed said they felt their universities did not take antisemitism seriously, while 68% said campus life was not safe or inclusive for Jewish students.
“Jewish students report changing what they say, where they go, what they wear and whether they continue participating in academic and campus life,” the report said.
The findings are based on student testimonies collected through the survey and do not mean every reported incident was independently verified by universities or the report’s authors.
However, the report comes amid broader concerns over rising antisemitism in Canada following the October 7 Hamas attack and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Following the publication of the report, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, B’nai Brith Canada and the Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a joint statement calling for action.
“We call on university leaders and governments at all levels to carefully examine the report,” the organizations said. “The forces driving this hatred, including anti-Zionism, are well known, and it is time to act. We need concrete measures to protect students in Canada.”