Nearly all Jewish university students surveyed across Canada said they experienced or witnessed antisemitism over the past year, according to a government-commissioned report released Wednesday.

The report surveyed approximately 900 Jewish students nationwide in what it said was the most comprehensive national study to date examining their experiences on Canadian campuses. Many reported harassment, intimidation, classroom bias and a lack of confidence that their universities would respond effectively.

Canada is home to the world’s fourth-largest Jewish community, with about 400,000 Jews. Comprising about one percent of Canada’s population, Jews were on the receiving end of 68% of religiously motivated hate crimes recorded in 2024, the report noted.

The report was commissioned by Canada’s former special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism, Deborah Lyons, and conducted by the Association for Canadian Studies, in response to heightened tensions and campus protests since Hamas launched the Gaza war against Israel on October 7, 2023.

The survey found that 96 percent of Jewish respondents reported experiencing or witnessing at least one antisemitic incident during the previous 12 months, while 84% described antisemitism as a serious problem on campus. Some 70% said their university does not take antisemitism seriously and 68% said their campus is not a safe or inclusive place for Jewish students.

Researchers wrote that antisemitism on Canadian campuses has become “persistent and proliferating” and, on some campuses, “a normalized and systemic feature of campus life” rather than a series of isolated incidents.

More than one in five respondents said they experienced or witnessed physical violence directed at Jews on campus, while 54% reported intimidation or threats and 71% reported antisemitic vandalism.

Students said concerns over safety were influencing their daily behavior, with 72% saying they limit what they say in class about being Jewish and 57% reporting that they avoid wearing........

© The Times of Israel