Created through a partnership between CPKN and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, Understanding and Combatting Antisemitism provides practical guidance on recognizing antisemitic incidents and investigating hate crimes.
As hate crimes against Jewish Canadians continue to climb, specialized training can help frontline professionals identify bias, support victims, and strengthen community safety.
By Natalie Fournier
Antisemitism is manifesting in ways that are more visible, more hostile, and, perhaps most concerning, increasingly normalized. Whether online or on the streets, hate crimes continue to rise across the globe, and Canada is far from an innocent spectator.
Despite making up just one percent of Canada’s population, Jewish Canadians continue to experience the highest rate of police-reported hate crimes on a per capita basis. As a police or public safety community member, it is imperative to recognize and understand what continues to drive discrimination against Jewish people.
Police are often the first point of contact after these incidents, and that first interaction matters. It shapes whether victims feel heard, whether they feel safe reporting future incidents, and whether potential hate motivation is recognized and investigated appropriately.
In June, the Ontario Inspector General of Policing released the first-ever Notice of Issue suggesting seven new actions to improve how police respond to the growing impact of antisemitic and hate-motivated incidents, acknowledging that if these crimes are left unaddressed, they could negatively impact community safety and public confidence.
“Antisemitism is no longer confined to one ideology or one segment of society,” says Emily Bonnell-Marcus, Advocacy Manager, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center. “It can emerge from across the ideological spectrum and often adapts to current events, making it more difficult to identify.”
In response to the rise of these hate crimes, the Canadian Police Knowledge Network (CPKN) and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) developed the online course Understanding and Combatting Antisemitism. Established in 1989, the FSWC is one of the country’s leading human rights and social advocacy organizations that works to build a more inclusive and respectful community by sharing lessons of the Holocaust and combatting antisemitism and hate in all forms.
Originally developed by the Toronto Police Service with the FSWC, CPKN helped meet the need for national training, expanding the course to ensure relevance in any jurisdiction in Canada. The course was supported by Shift BC, a program led by the BC Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, and the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence within Public Safety Canada.
The course provides a comprehensive exploration of Judaism, the history of discrimination and antisemitism in Canada, how to identify harmful tropes, and practical strategies to prevent and respond to hate.
“One of the things that stood out most about working with CPKN was their commitment to a truly collaborative, community-informed process,” says Bonnell-Marcus. “That commitment to collaboration is what made them such a strong partner and allowed us to create a course that we believe will have a meaningful impact nationwide.”
Understanding and Combatting Antisemitism is available through the CPKN course catalogue. The free two-hour program is available in English, with a French version planned for an October release. It is open to sworn police, police services, students, government and other first responders, and private security. To register, visit https://www.cpkn.ca/course/understanding-and-combatting-antisemitism/.
