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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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North London Synagogue, Nursery Targeted in Eighth Local Antisemitic Incident in Just Over a Week

Demonstrators against antisemitism in London on Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: Campaign Against Antisemitism

A synagogue and its nursery school in the Golders Green area of north London were targeted in an antisemitic attack on Thursday morning — the eighth such incident locally in just over a week amid a shocking surge of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the area.

The synagogue and Jewish nursery were smeared with excrement in an antisemitic outrage echoing a series of recent incidents targeting the local Jewish community.

“The desecration of another local synagogue and a children’s nursery with excrement is a vile, deliberate, and premeditated act of antisemitism,” Shomrim North West London, a Jewish organization that monitors antisemitism and also serves as a neighborhood watch group, said in a statement.

“This marks the eighth antisemitic incident locally in just over a week, to directly target the local Jewish community,” the statement read. “These repeated attacks have left our community anxious, hurt, and increasingly worried.”

Local law enforcement confirmed they are reviewing CCTV footage and collecting evidence to identify the suspect and bring them to justice.

This latest anti-Jewish hate crime came just days after tens of thousands of people marched through London in a demonstration against antisemitism, amid rising levels of antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In just over a week, seven Jewish premises in Barnet, the borough in which Golders Green is located, have been targeted in separate antisemitic incidents.

According to the Metropolitan Police, an investigation has been launched into the targeted attacks, all of which involved the use of bodily fluids.

During the incidents, a substance was smeared on four synagogues and a private residence, while a liquid was thrown at a school and over a car in two other attacks.

As the investigation continues, local police said they believe the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offenses, which are being treated as religiously motivated criminal damage.

No arrests have been made so far, but law enforcement said it is actively engaging with the local Jewish community to provide reassurance and support.

The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, condemned the recent wave of attacks and called on authorities to take immediate action.

“The extreme defilement of several Jewish locations in and around Golders Green is utterly abhorrent and deeply distressing,” CST said in a statement.

“CST is working closely with police and communal partners to support victims and help identify and apprehend the perpetrator,” it continued.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also denounced the attacks, calling for urgent measures to protect the Jewish community.

“These repeated incidents are leaving British Jews anxious and vulnerable in their own neighborhoods, not to mention disgusted,” CAA said in a statement.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, the United Kingdom has experienced a surge in antisemitic crimes and anti-Israel sentiment.

Last month, CST published a report showing there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.

In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism despite being an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.

In previous years, the numbers were significantly lower, with 1,662 incidents in 2022 and 2,261 hate crimes in 2021.

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Germany to Hold Off on Recognizing Palestinian State but Will Back UN Resolution for Two-State Solution

German national flag flutters on top of the Reichstag building, that seats the Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Germany will support a United Nations resolution for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but does not believe the time has come to recognize a Palestinian state, a government spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.

“Germany will support such a resolution which simply describes the status quo in international law,” the spokesman said, adding that Berlin “has always advocated a two-state solution and is asking for that all the time.”

“The chancellor just mentioned two days ago again that Germany does not see that the time has come for the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the spokesman added.

Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London said it could hold back if Israel were to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process.

The United States strongly opposes any move by its European allies to recognize Palestinian independence.

Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US has told other countries that recognition of a Palestinian state will cause more problems.

Those who see recognition as a largely symbolic gesture point to the negligible presence on the ground and limited influence in the conflict of countries such as China, India, Russia, and many Arab states that have recognized Palestinian independence for decades.

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UN Security Council, With US Support, Condemns Strikes on Qatar

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned recent strikes on Qatar’s capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel‘s ally the United States.

Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack on Tuesday, escalating its military action in what the United States described as a unilateral attack that does not advance US and Israeli interests.

The United States traditionally shields its ally Israel at the United Nations. US backing for the Security Council statement, which could only be approved by consensus, reflects President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with the attack ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Council members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar. They underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” read the statement, drafted by Britain and France.

The Doha operation was especially sensitive because Qatar has been hosting and mediating negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

“Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority,” the Security Council statement read.

The Security Council will meet later on Thursday to discuss the Israeli attack at a meeting due to be attended by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.

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