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Students and survivors gather at Baycrest to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day
As Holocaust denial and distortion becomes a growing concern in Canada, a group of Toronto high school students marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by sharing the stories of Holocaust survivors.
Grade 12 students from Toronto’s Crestwood Preparatory College observed International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27, with a presentation at Baycrest, a Toronto healthcare and research centre for seniors. There they recounted the harrowing stories of survivors they had previously interviewed in person to an audience of about 150 people, including other students, educators and the survivors themselves.
Daniel Markusson, one of the presenters, acknowledged that the opportunity to hear first-hand accounts of the Holocaust has become increasingly rare.
“It was a really impactful experience to hear these stories directly from the survivors,” Markusson told The Canadian Jewish News. “You can watch documentaries or read books, but speaking to someone in person brings a whole new level of understanding.”
Markusson presented the story of survivor Judy Schachter, who he met with his classmates prior to the event. Born in 1936, Schachter grew up in the city of Humenne, in eastern Slovakia. Her early life, described as happy and nurturing, was shattered by the antisemitic policies of Jozef Tiso, an acolyte of Hitler and president of the First Slovak Republic from 1939 to 1945. As deportations to Auschwitz began, Schachter’s family fled to the Tatra Mountains, where they endured extreme cold, starvation and the constant fear of discovery.
“Hearing her experiences made me realize how critical it is to preserve these stories,” Markusson said. “It’s our responsibility to combat Holocaust denial and distortion.”
Another Crestwood student, Chaeni Lee, recounted the story of Peter Hajnal, who survived as a child in Hungary. After being sent to a children’s shelter, Hajnal endured harsh treatment and the loss of his younger brother. “Hearing Peter’s story reminded me of my grandmother’s experiences during the Korean War,” Lee said during her presentation. “It’s a reminder that trauma stays with people forever, even from when they’re young.”
Sydney Ross, another Crestwood student, shared the story of Martha Shemtov, who was a hidden child during the Holocaust. Ross described how Shemtov’s mother threw her off a train bound for a concentration camp, saving her life. Shemtov was later hidden and raised by a Catholic family until she was reunited with her father after the war. Reflecting on the harrowing account, Ross said, “Hearing these stories made me realize how much courage it took to survive and how important it is for us to share their voices. It’s a responsibility we can’t take lightly.”
Engaging younger generations
Holocaust survivor Judy Schachter, whose story was shared at the event, expressed gratitude for the students’ willingness to listen. “It’s hard to convince those who deny or distort history,” she told The Canadian Jewish News. “But projects like this give me hope that the lessons of the Holocaust won’t be forgotten.”
Schachter also spoke candidly about the challenges of addressing Holocaust denial. “You have to have receptive ears to receive that, and right now I think that that segment of the population really doesn’t want to hear it, so I almost wouldn’t even waste my time talking to them,” she said.
“I feel a deep responsibility to share my story, and I’m grateful for this particular school that they’re willing to listen.”
Baycrest’s Holocaust Resource Program, which helped plan the student presentation, offers consultation, counselling, and educational services for clients, families, and survivors in the Jewish community at Baycrest and in other long-term care facilities. Staff with specialized expertise run ongoing support groups for survivors and children of survivors.
Anne Max, a Baycrest social worker and a key member of the Holocaust Resource Program, highlighted how the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and rising antisemitism in Canada have deeply affected survivors.
“Everything we’re seeing that happens in the Middle East and in our streets (in Canada) is a huge trigger for survivors and their children,” Max told The Canadian Jewish News. “It has unleashed a lot of people’s feelings about what happened to them during the war.”
Max said events like the presentation at Baycrest are so important, providing survivors with a platform to share their stories and help younger generations understand the importance of combating hate.
Holocaust education programs are essential for younger generations who will eventually lose access to first-hand accounts, said Cyrelle Muskat, director of Quality, Systems, and Wellness at Baycrest.
Muskat’s grandmother, who recently died, was a survivor of Auschwitz. “A couple of years ago she made a point to do a Zoom meeting with a Jewish day school to share her story,” Muskat said. “More and more survivors are feeling that (sharing their story) is their mission.”
Denial and distortion on the rise
Recent studies have revealed alarming gaps in Holocaust awareness among Canadians, particularly younger generations, and a growing susceptibility to misinformation about one of history’s darkest chapters. The findings highlight an urgent need for education to address not only historical ignorance but also antisemitic attitudes.
A survey conducted by the Association for Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute in 2024 revealed that one in six Canadians aged 18 to 24 believed the Holocaust was exaggerated. This view was linked to an increased likelihood of antisemitic feelings and behaviours, according to the study. The findings also revealed that 22 per cent of Canadians under 25 rely primarily on online sources for Holocaust information, which may contribute to the spread of misinformation.
A 2019 study by the Azrieli Foundation and the Claims Conference found that 22 percent of Canadians under 34 had either not heard of the Holocaust or were unsure what it was. Nearly half of respondents—49 percent—could not name a single concentration camp or ghetto, despite over 40,000 such sites operating during the Second World War. In addition, 23 percent of Canadians believed that substantially fewer than six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, while 24 per cent were uncertain about the death toll.
Preserving living history
Crestwood’s Oral History Project has become a cornerstone of the school’s commitment to historical education and remembrance. The initiative began as a way to preserve the personal stories and artifacts shared by speakers visiting Masters’ classes. Originally, it started as a family history project, with students and their families contributing personal and community histories.
“When I started this project over 20 years ago, most students had grandparents who lived through the war,” said Scott Masters, the Crestwood history teacher who spearheaded the program. “That’s no longer the case, so this project helps build those connections for a new generation.”
As part of the oral history project, Masters and his students have digitized photos and mementos from interviewees, preserving them as historical documents. These records, along with individual interviews, are accessible on the project’s webpage, where visitors can search for specific topics—such as survivors from Theresienstadt or veterans who served on D-Day—and listen to personal accounts.
This archive, which contains over 1,000 interviews—including nearly 300 with Holocaust survivors—ensures these stories are preserved for future generations.
“It’s about showing the personal side of modern history,” Masters explained. “These stories make history tangible and help us understand the human experiences behind the events.”
The post Students and survivors gather at Baycrest to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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UN Data: Nearly 90 Percent of Gaza Aid ‘Intercepted’ Before Reaching Intended Recipients
Palestinians collect aid supplies from the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The vast majority of humanitarian aid entering Gaza is intercepted before reaching its intended civilian recipients, newly released data from the United Nations shows, fueling growing concerns among Israeli officials and international observers about systemic aid diversion by armed groups in the enclave.
According to figures tracking humanitarian assistance for Gaza from May 19 to Aug. 1 of this year, out of the 2,010 UN trucks (carrying 27,434 tons of aid) collected from any of the crossings along Gaza’s perimeter, only 260 trucks (4,111 tons) reached their intended destination. That equates to a staggering 87 percent of all trucks and 85 percent of all tonnage of aid being stolen and not getting into the hands of civilians at the intended destination.
The UN’s own data, posted on the website of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) as part of the “UN2720 Monitoring & Tracking Dashboard,” reveals that almost all the aid — 1,753 trucks (23,353 tons) — has been “intercepted, either peacefully by hungry people or forcefully by armed actors” while being transported inside Gaza over the past few months.
No breakdown is provided of how much aid has been seized by armed groups versus civilians.
The data also shows that much of the UN aid offloaded at any of the crossings along Gaza’s perimeter has not been collected to enter the war-torn enclave during this period. Out of 40,012 tons of aid (2,134 trucks) being delivered to the crossings, just 27,434 tons (2010 trucks) have been picked up. It’s unclear what exactly led to this discrepancy, with issues such as poor internal coordination and security concerns potentially delaying aid shipments.
The UN2720 mechanism, created earlier this year, was intended to boost transparency by verifying and tracking aid shipments via QR codes at key checkpoints. The system monitors each pallet from offloading to delivery and flags any discrepancies in a centralized database.
Israel has facilitated the entry of thousands of aid trucks into Gaza, with Israeli officials condemning the UN and other international aid agencies for their alleged failure to distribute supplies, noting much of the humanitarian assistance has been stalled at border crossings or stolen by the ruling Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
On Sunday, Israel announced a halt in military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and new aid corridors as Arab and European countries began airdropping supplies into the enclave.
However, the UN and several Western governments have increased pressure on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, blaming the Jewish state for what they described as a hunger crisis and insufficient amounts of aid reaching civilians.
Israeli officials have said that claims of mass starvation in Gaza are false and being amplified by not only Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, but also international humanitarian organizations and media organizations to manipulate global opinion.
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Dutch Nurse Under Police Investigation for Alleged Threats Against Israeli Patients
Pro-Hamas demonstrators march in the Dutch city of Nijmegen. Photo: Reuters/Romy Arroyo Fernandez
A Muslim nurse in the Netherlands is under police investigation after allegedly threatening to administer lethal injections to Israeli patients — an incident that has sparked public outrage and intensified fears over rising antisemitism and patient safety in Europe’s health-care systems.
The comments were widely circulated by Israeli influencer Max Veifer, who also exposed a recent case in Australia where two nurses were suspended for two years over antisemitic threats and remarks.
In a video shared on social media, Veifer denounced Dutch-Muslim nurse Batisma Chayat Sa’id’s remarks as a serious violation of medical ethics.
“Someone like that should be prosecuted and barred from treating patients. Imagine your grandparents being cared for by someone so hateful,” the Israeli influencer said.
Zorgwekkende dreiging op Instagram: Nederlandse verpleegkundige is bereid om “zionisten een extra spuitje te geven” en bereid “zionisten te laten sterven binnen de gezondheidszorg.” pic.twitter.com/xTnXNi1wH5
— CIDI
(@CIDI_nieuws) July 29, 2025
The incident was sparked when an Israeli-Dutch woman living in the Netherlands commented on a social media post by far-right politician Geert Wilders, who cautioned about what he called the country’s looming radical Islamization by 2050.
A social media account belonging to the Muslim nurse also commented on the post, claiming it would happen by 2027, to which the Israeli woman responded, “Your dream is our nightmare. But people wake up from nightmares. Our Netherlands, our Israel.”
“Nothing belongs to you! My grandparents built the Netherlands. I was born and raised here, and I will do everything in my power to help this country get rid of the Zionist cancer,” the nurse further replied.
“You know what I’m doing with Zionists — giving an extra injection as a nurse specialist. Letting them go to heaven!” Sa’id continued.
When the Israeli woman threatened to report her, Sa’id replied: “Haha, try your best! I don’t have a boss — I’m the boss! All Zionists can die, inside healthcare and beyond, and I’m happy to help with that!”
Shortly after her posts gained widespread attention, Sa’id deleted all her social media accounts, insisting that her identity had been stolen and that she was not responsible for such comments.
On Wednesday, local police detained Sa’id for questioning, but she denied the allegations, asserting that someone had impersonated her online.
“It seems someone is pretending to be me, posting false and defamatory statements,” the nurse said. “I want to make it clear — I hold no hatred toward Jews or any people, race, religion, or identity.”
Even after announcing plans to file an identity theft complaint, she faces skepticism from authorities, who have assigned a digital forensics expert to scrutinize her online accounts.
Last year, an account under her name also posted threatening messages aimed at Jewish people, including “Your time will come — don’t spare anyone,” and another in which she described the burial of Israelis in Gaza as “a dream come true.”
Earlier this year, two Australian nurses — Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh — gained international attention after they were seen in an online video posing as doctors and making inflammatory statements during a night-shift conversation with Veifer.
The widely circulated footage, which sparked international outrage and condemnation, showed Abu Lebdeh declaring she would refuse to treat Israeli patients and instead kill them, while Nadir made a throat-slitting gesture and claimed he had already killed many.
Following the incident, New South Wales authorities in Australia suspended their nursing registrations and banned them from working as nurses nationwide.
They were also charged with federal offenses, including threatening violence against a group and using a carriage service to threaten, menace, and harass. If convicted, they face up to 22 years in prison.
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French Authorities Halt Gaza Evacuations After Palestinian Student Expelled Over Viral Antisemitic Posts
Anti-Israel demonstration supporting the BDS movement, Paris France, June 8, 2024. Photo: Claire Serie / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect
French authorities have halted evacuations from Gaza after a Palestinian student was expelled from the prestigious Sciences Po Lille and placed under investigation, following the viral circulation of hundreds of antisemitic posts praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and calling for the murder of Jews.
The incident drew widespread condemnation and public outrage, prompting French ministers to demand answers and call for an investigation into how the Gazan student was allowed into the country in the first place.
On Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that all further evacuations from Gaza would be suspended pending the completion of the investigation into the student’s background.
After receiving a scholarship, 25-year-old Nour Atalla, a Palestinian from Gaza, arrived in the country in early July to begin her master’s degree in law and communications this fall at the Institute of Political Science in Lille, northern France.
Barrot confirmed that discussions are ongoing about the student’s possible return to Gaza, making clear that she must leave the country pending the investigation’s outcome.
“She has no place at Sciences Po, nor in France,” the top French diplomat said.
On Thursday, local authorities reported that a criminal investigation is underway into Atalla, with the public prosecutor in Lille confirming the case was opened for “apology of terrorism, apology of crimes against humanity using an online public communication service.”
Barrot admitted lapses in the screening process that allowed her entry and has mandated a comprehensive review of everyone evacuated from Gaza to France.
“The security checks, carried out by the French services and Israeli authorities, did not detect the antisemitic content,” the French diplomat said.
Atalla is one of 292 Gazans admitted to the country following a court ruling that opened the door for Gazans to seek refugee status based on their nationality.
She was offered a place at Sciences Po Lille University based on “academic excellence” and following a recommendation by the French consulate in Jerusalem.
On Wednesday, the university announced it had revoked Atalla’s enrollment after hundreds of her past antisemitic and violent social media posts went viral, sparking widespread condemnation from political leaders and members of the local Jewish community.
In several of these posts, she glorified Hitler, praised Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, called for the execution of Israeli hostages and the killing of Jews, and expressed support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
In one post, Atalla shared a video of Hitler giving a speech about Jews, writing, “Kill their young and their old. Show them no mercy … And kill them everywhere.”
In another post shared on Oct. 7, 2023, the day of the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, she wrote, “We must do everything we can to match the bloodshed — as much as possible.”