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The call is growing for mandatory Holocaust education in the province of Quebec

For many Quebec students, the Holocaust is a remote concept, one which is barely connected to their lives or worldviews.

That’s problematic, says Marcy Bruck, communications director of the Montreal-based Foundation for Genocide Education. In some schools she says, “they might just read Anne Frank and that’s it,” even though “Grade 6 is an excellent entry point” for more profound learning.

Ontario announced last year it would make Holocaust education mandatory starting in Grade 6, expanding it in Grade 10 history next fall to link the Holocaust to extremism and antisemitism, with additional teacher training. In November 2023, Alberta also made Holocaust education mandatory in social studies, following British Columbia’s announcement to include it in the K-12 curriculum next school year.

In Quebec, the Foundation for Genocide Education and others continue to lobby for greater space in the curriculum. “Our position is clear,” said foundation president Heidi Berger. “We believe strongly that this education is more important than ever, in light of the alarming rise in antisemitism in Canada since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians, and that it must be made a mandatory part of the school curriculum. Learning this history develops critical thinking and empathy and promotes respect for diversity.”

Last year, the foundation surveyed 200 Canadian secondary social science and history teachers, and found that 72 percent believe there is greater urgency for it, “yet only 50 percent said their students are knowledgeable on the subject,” added Berger, “and more worrying, only 46 percent of teachers in Quebec said education on the Holocaust and other genocides is currently included in their school’s curriculum.”

Quebec City’s assertion is that it is addressed in existing courses. Ministry spokesperson Esther Chouinard told The CJN “the concept of genocide” is studied in three high school social sciences programs. “First, the concept is integrated into the History and Citizenship Education program in the first cycle (grades 7 and 8),” specifically with content such as ‘Auschwitz’ or the ‘Nuremberg Laws’, then in the 20th Century History program in Cycle 2 (grades 10 and 11) in the theme of crises and conflicts. Genocides are also studied in the Contemporary World program she says, which aims “to lead students to grasp the complexity of today’s world and open up to the diversity of societies that make it up by studying different problems and issues of the contemporary world, including tensions and conflicts.”

The call for mandatory Holocaust education is growing, as school boards and educators find ways to incorporate it into existing curricula. At the English Montreal School Board, Quebec’s largest board, age-appropriate materials have been taught for years, using visits to the Montreal Holocaust Museum (MHM), speakers, and lessons integrated into Language Arts, History, and Art. On Oct. 3, 2023, the board formally asked the education ministry to make it mandatory, EMSB chair Joe Ortona telling The CJN a year later “if they don’t do it, we will.”

Last month, Federation CJA gave a $50,000 grant to the EMSB to continue and bolster its Holocaust education program. “Given the climate of antisemitism in the world and Montreal at this time,” stated Federation CJA president Yair Szlak in a release, “we believe this is an opportune moment to ensure that high school students, in particular, are properly educated about what happened in the Holocaust and the roots of antisemitism.”

The board’s main focus is on the museum, spokesperson Mike Cohen told The CJN. “But it is left up to us to use the funds in the best way. Between buses, admission and speaker, each visit to the museum is expensive but invaluable. We also bring speakers to schools, run a special website and have a podcast.”

Studying the Holocaust is more urgent today, says Ortona. “These initiatives have been ongoing but became more consistent and continuous since last year, with the explosion of antisemitism across the world and particularly in Canada and Montreal.

“I have heard from many students and staff who visited the museum and spoke to survivors. Most are not Jewish and have not been exposed to this subject. It had a tremendous impact, and I know this will follow them after their high school days are behind them.”

The Montreal Holocaust Museum is actively training educators, offering workshops, visits and tailored teaching guides and resources for each province’s curriculum. “Imagine if this was taught incorrectly, or teachers didn’t understand the really complex history,” says spokesperson Sarah Fogg. “That is why our work has been rooted in teacher training… Obviously we would welcome it being mandated in the province, but it is also really important to mandate teacher training.”

The MHM is seeing increased engagement and interest from educators to work with the museum and others to bring lessons and knowledge to students. Nearly 2,500 teachers from French, English, private and public sectors have participated in 50 museum workshops and conferences over the last five years.

Teachers attend a workshop at the Montreal Holocaust Museum. (Supplied photo by the MHM).

The government she says, should turn to experts, “to get these teachers the training they need alongside organizations like ours who have pedagogical expertise, resources, tools and collections. That is crucial.” The museum’s move next year to the newly constructed, much larger space on Saint-Laurent Boulevard in the heart of the city will allow more such activities.

United Against Hate Canada (UAHC) director Marvin Rotrand began lobbying provinces when he was national director of B’nai Brith’s League for Human Rights and says, “Ontario is the gold standard.” Rotrand wrote to all 125 Quebec MNAs, urging them to follow Ontario’s lead. Despite other provinces’ moves he told The CJN, “We have made no progress in Quebec” he says, “where it remains possible for students to graduate with no Holocaust education… Quebec has among the weakest Holocaust education curriculum in the country.”

“Making Holocaust education mandatory reduces hate incidents targeting other racial and religious minorities,” he says. “Research clearly shows that in U.S. states with mandated Holocaust education, antisemitic crimes dropped by 55 percent. Crimes against Black, LGBTQ2+, Latino and Muslim communities also fell.”

Exactly, says Fogg, pointing to the Reality Check 2023 study looking at the effect of Holocaust education on youth.

Among key findings of the survey of 1,500 American post-secondary students, was that those receiving Holocaust education in high school were significantly more likely to be tolerant of others with different beliefs; open to having their own views challenged; able to discuss and negotiate controversial issues; and were more comfortable with people of a different race or sexual orientation. Not only were they more likely to report more tolerant and pluralistic attitudes and challenge incorrect or biased information, they were less likely to be a bystander to online harassment.

Sandra Banon doesn’t need statistics, just some good books. The EMSB French teacher has taught Holocaust lessons for more than a decade to Grade 6 students, often buttressed with museum visits. “As long as classes are prepared, then tour guides make it a more interactive, meaningful experience.” That means talking about pre-war discrimination and stigmatization of Jews wherever it happened. “Showing a yellow star on a smart board is one thing, but after a proper lesson and they see one on display at the museum, they immediately understand its origin and the context, so the impact is more significant.”

She uses stories and activities in French and art classes based on the book Hana’s Suitcase and was awarded a scholarship to learn more at Yad Vashem in Israel. “It’s absolutely worth the effort,” insists Banon, who met students years later who thanked her for introducing them to this part of history. “They were more aware in secondary when they were introduced to other, more horrific aspects of the story, and more prepared to go deeper and be more open-minded.”

‘Tell me a story,’ program at the Montreal Holocaust Museum features survivor Marguerite Elias-Quddus. (Supplied by the MHM).

EMSB commissioner Julien Feldman says young people need tools “to confront irrational sentiments they encounter at school and online everyday, especially antisemitism, racism and discrimination. We see Holocaust distortion running rampant online, especially among adults who are vulnerable to propaganda and conspiracy theories – because they have no grounding in authentic history.”

In Quebec schools overall, there is only sporadic mention of the Holocaust and genocide adds Berger, “to illustrate other concepts such as tensions and conflicts, justice and civil rights, while school boards such as the EMSB have committed themselves to taking on this education, as well as dedicated individual teachers.” 

What’s needed says Bruck, is a separate course, “or separate components of existing courses, a day dedicated to Holocaust studies. Make it mandatory as part of the course where they discussed the Holocaust in and of itself.” Feldman agrees, saying students also need to hear and understand Canada’s part, including “our policy of sealing our borders to refugees during the Nazi era.”

The Foundation for Genocide Education, whose interactive Studying Genocide guide is available in French and English to every Quebec high school reaching over 300,000 students, met with Education Minister Bernard Drainville last spring to push for mandatory Holocaust education.

A warm reception notwithstanding, the official position is that it’s already taught in some way. “They haven’t closed the door” says Bruck. “I don’t know if they’ll make it mandatory, but there’s definitely effort to make it more prominent in the existing curriculum… We continue to dialogue with them.”

Shortly after the June 2023 case involving a group of Grade 7 students recorded performing Nazi salutes and playing Nazi military music in a Quebec classroom, Rotrand urged Drainville to act, as students’ obliviousness to the impact of their gestures illustrated why starting in Grade 6 is a good idea. That same month, the minister’s office told French-language news it would not follow Ontario’s lead.

Drainville and his ministry are currently mired in numerous challenges with school infrastructure, teacher shortages, and secularism issues, particularly following reports of religious interference in Montreal-area schools, mainly within the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM), Quebec’s largest French board.

Bruck says it would serve Quebec well to make Holocaust and genocide education part of its Culture and Citizenship program. “It will show how open society is, especially in terms of what’s been going on in Quebec of late, and the explosion in antisemitism in Montreal.”

At the Lester B. Pearson School Board, the island’s second-largest school board serving the western part of greater Montreal, the Holocaust is taught within the context of the Quebec Education Program, spokesperson Darren Becker told The CJN. “It would be covered in Grades 8 and 11 history,” adding, “several of our high school teachers recently attended a workshop hosted at the Holocaust Museum in Montreal to provide them with curricular resources.”

Asked what Holocaust material is taught in any of their 185 schools, CSSDM spokesperson Alain Perron told The CJN, “the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal applies the educational program of the Quebec Ministry of Education. Have a nice day.”

The post The call is growing for mandatory Holocaust education in the province of Quebec appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.

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Argentine Jews Express Outrage After Venezuela’s Maduro Blasts Argentina Government as ‘Nazi and Zionist’

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a march amid the disputed presidential election, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 3, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno

The Jewish community in Argentina lambasted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro this week after he described Argentina’s government as “Nazi and Zionist” while addressing on ongoing dispute between the two countries over the arrest of an Argentine military officer in Venezuela.

“A terrorist like this famous Argentine has been captured. The Nazi and Zionist government of Argentina wants us to award him a decoration,” Maduro said during an event on Wednesday in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.

Maduro was addressing the situation of Nahuel Gallo, a corporal in Argentina’s Gendarmería security force who was arrested in Venezuela last month and charged with terrorism. The socialist Venezuelan government accused Gallo of “being part of a group of people who tried to commit destabilizing and terrorist acts [in Venezuela] with the support of international far-right groups.”

Argentina is currently governed by the right-wing administration of President Javier Milei, whose security minister, Patricia Bullrich, described the charges as “another lie” by Venezuela’s government and said that Gallo should be returned to Argentina “immediately.”

Gallo’s relatives said that he had traveled to Venezuela to visit his wife, who is Venezuelan and was reportedly in the country to spend time with her mother.

Venezuela broke diplomatic relations with Argentina in August after Milei and several other Latin American leaders refused to recognize Maduro’s reelection in July. While Argentina’s diplomats were expelled, some Venezuelan opposition activists, who had sought refuge at the ambassador’s residence to avoid arrest, have since then remained in the building, having been denied safe passage in Venezuela and seeking political asylum in Argentina.

On Monday, Maduro accused Gallo of being part of a plot to assassinate his vice president, Delcy Rodríguez. The next day, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said that Gallo is being held “hostage” by Maduro’s government.

Against this backdrop, Argentina’s Jewish umbrella organization, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), on Thursday released a statement slamming Maduro for using the term “Nazi and Zionist” to describe their government.

“In the context of the conflict with Argentina over the gendarme Nahuel Gallo detained in Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro called the government of our country ‘Nazi and Zionist.’ The phrase not only trivializes the tragedy of the Holocaust, diminishing its importance and impact, but also refers to Zionism as a disqualifying insult, even though it represents the legitimate existence of the State of Israel,” the DAIA said in its statement.

“At the same time,” the group continued, “it reveals the violent characteristics of the dictatorial regime that has subjected the Venezuelan people to slavery for years. It does so by exercising terror and oppression on those who fight to reestablish the path of democracy. DAIA condemns Maduro’s violent expressions and expresses its support for those who seek to live in a free and pluralistic society in which human rights are respected.”

Maduro has regularly used antisemitic rhetoric during his time in power in Venezuela. In August, for example, he blamed “international Zionism” for the protests against his reign following the country’s July 28 elections after which he claimed victory despite widespread suspicions of foul play.

The “extremist right,” referring to his opposition, “is supported by international Zionism,” Maduro claimed in an address at the time. “All the communication power of Zionism, who controls all social networks, the satellites, and all the power behind this coup d’état.”

Deborah Lipstadt, the US special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, called Maduro’s claims “absurd,” “antisemitic,” and “unacceptable.”

Maduro has been in power since 2013 and has overseen a dramatic economic decline in Venezuela. Redirecting personal failures as the fault of Jews, or, in this case, “international Zionism,” has long been a tactic of antisemites looking for a scapegoat.

Protests and unrest erupted in Venezuela after the presidential election in July, when Maduro’s government was accused by his political opposition, outside observers, and foreign governments of committing fraud to secure a victory.

Nonetheless, Maduro on Friday began his third term as Venezuela’s president, despite US Secretary of State Antony Blinken referring to his “illegitimate presidential inauguration in Venezuela” as a “desperate attempt” to seize power.

“The Venezuelan people and world know the truth — Maduro clearly lost the 2024 presidential election and has no right to claim the presidency,” Blinken said in a statement. “The United States rejects the National Electoral Council’s fraudulent announcement that Maduro won the presidential election and does not recognize Nicolás Maduro as the president of Venezuela.”

Edmundo González Urrutia should have been sworn in as the Venezuelan president, according to the US State Department.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar agreed, posting on X/Twitter that the Jewish state “expresses concern over the political persecution and arbitrary arrests by the regime and joins the call of many in the international community to restore freedom and democracy in Venezuela.”

“Today, Jan. 10, Edmundo González Urrutia, the elected president of Venezuela, who won the presidential elections by a significant majority, was supposed to be inaugurated,” Sa’ar added. “However, the election results are not being respected, and his inauguration is not taking place. The ruler, Nicolás Maduro, an ally of Iran, must honor the will of the people in his country.”

In Argentina, meanwhile, Milei has expressed admiration for Judaism and support for Israel. He appointed Rabbi Axel Wahnish, who has served as his spiritual advisor for the last two years, as Argentina’s ambassador to Israel and has studied Torah and other Jewish texts. The Catholic Milei has previously said that were it not for the duties of his office, which require him to work on the Sabbath and on Jewish holidays, he would convert to Judaism.

Argentina has become a key player in organizing efforts to combat antisemitism in recent months. In July, for example, more than 30 countries led by the United States adopted “global guidelines for countering antisemitism” during a gathering of special envoys and other representatives from around the globe in Argentina.

The gathering came one day before Argentina’s Jewish community commemorated the 30th anniversary of the 1994 targeted bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. Milei promised to right decades of inaction and inconsistencies in the investigations into the attack.

In April, Argentina’s top criminal court blamed Iran for the attack, saying it was carried out by Hezbollah terrorists responding to “a political and strategic design” by Iran.

Iran is the chief international sponsor of Hamas, providing the terror group with weapons, funding, and training.

The post Argentine Jews Express Outrage After Venezuela’s Maduro Blasts Argentina Government as ‘Nazi and Zionist’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Tlaib Sports Palestinian Keffiyeh at Carter Funeral, Thanks Late President for ‘Speaking Out Against Apartheid’

US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) addresses attendees as she takes part in a protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the US Capitol, in Washington, DC, US, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis

US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), one of the most strident opponents of Israel in Congress, wore a Palestinian keffiyeh to the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, commemorating the late American leader’s advocacy against so-called “apartheid” in the Jewish state.

“Rest in peace, President Jimmy Carter. It was an honor to be there with your family. I wore my Palestinian keffiyeh to show my gratitude for your courageous stance in speaking out against apartheid and standing up for peace,” Tlaib posted on X/Twitter, along with a picture of her keffyeh.

The keffiyeh, a traditional Arab headscarf, has become known as a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian cause and opposition to Israel since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023.

High-profile politicians, including all five living US presidents, attended Carter’s funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC on Thursday. The former president died on Dec. 29, 2024 at 100 years old due to heart failure. 

Over the past couple of decades, Carter’s public commentary on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has ruffled feathers among supporters of the Jewish state. In 2006, Carter raised eyebrows after publishing a book titled, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which condemned Israel for constructing settlements in the West Bank and accused the Jewish state of constructing a racially-discriminatory political regime.

In 2009, Carter traveled to the Middle East and held meetings with leaders of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Critics noted that he did not criticize Hamas leadership during his meeting and praised the terrorists as being “frank and honest.”

In 2015, Carter further incensed proponents of the Jewish state when he seemingly defended senior Hamas leader Khaled Mashal and argued that the terrorist group was not an obstacle to peace in the region. 

“I don’t believe that [Mashal’s] a terrorist. He’s strongly in favor of the peace process,” Carter said at the time.

“I don’t see that deep commitment on the part of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to make concessions which [former Prime Minister] Menachem Begin did to find peace with his potential enemies,” Carter continued. 

Since entering Congress, Tlaib has positioned herself as one of the most vocal anti-Israel critics in US politics. Tlaib, the first Palestinian American woman to serve in the House of Representatives, has repeatedly used her platform to lodge condemnations against Israel.

The congresswoman has accused Israel of committing “apartheid” against Palestinians. In the year following Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7, Tlaib has smeared the Jewish state’s defensive military operations as a “genocide,” calling on US President Joe Biden to force a “ceasefire” between Israel and the terrorist group and implement an “arms embargo” against the Jewish state.

On Thursday, Tlaib slammed the House for passing a bill which would sanction members of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its issuing of arrest warrants for  Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant

“What’s their top priority the first week of the new Congress? Lowering costs? Addressing the housing crisis? No, it’s sanctioning the International Criminal Court to protect genocidal maniac Netanyahu so he can continue the genocide in Gaza,” Tlaib wrote on social media.

The post Tlaib Sports Palestinian Keffiyeh at Carter Funeral, Thanks Late President for ‘Speaking Out Against Apartheid’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Sydney Synagogue Daubed in Antisemitic Graffiti in Latest Attack on Australian Jews

Southern Sydney Synagogue in the suburb of Allawah, Australia, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti on Jan. 10, 2024. Photo: Screenshot

A synagogue in Sydney was daubed in antisemitic graffiti on Friday, police said, the latest in a spate of incidents targeting Jews in Australia.

Police will deploy a special task force to investigate the attack on the Southern Sydney Synagogue in the suburb of Allawah that happened in the early hours of Friday morning, New South Wales state Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna told a news conference.

“The people who do the sort of thing should realize we will be out in force to look for them; we will catch them and prosecute them,” he said.

Television footage showed multiple swastikas painted on the building, along with a message reading “Hitler on top.”

“[There is] no place in Australia, our tolerant multicultural community, for this sort of criminal activity,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a news conference.

The incident is the latest in a series of antisemitic incidents in Australia in the last year, including multiple incidents of graffiti on buildings and cars in Sydney, as well as arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne that police have ruled as terrorism.

Australia has seen an increase in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023 and Israel launched its war against the Palestinian terrorist group in Gaza. Some Jewish organizations have said the government has not taken sufficient action in response.

The country launched a task force last month following the Melbourne synagogue blaze, focusing on threats, violence, and hatred towards the Australian Jewish community.

Australia’s ice hockey federation said on Tuesday it had cancelled a planned international qualifying tournament due to safety concerns, with local media reporting the decision was linked to the participation of the Israeli national team.

The post Sydney Synagogue Daubed in Antisemitic Graffiti in Latest Attack on Australian Jews first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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