CJLC Objects to Choice of Independent Jewish Voices for Antisemitism Education
The Canadian Jewish Labour Committee (CJLC) strongly objects to the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario’s (ETFO) decision to engage Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) to deliver antisemitism education to its provincial Executive.
Leslie Wolfe, Labour Education Consultant for CJLC, issued the following statement:
“ETFO’s decision to appoint Independent Jewish Voices to lead antisemitism training is deeply problematic. IJV is widely regarded as a fringe organization whose views are at odds with the overwhelming majority of Jewish Canadians and Canadian Jewish labour members.
“IJV’s explicitly anti-Zionist ideology stands in stark contrast to the perspectives and lived experiences of most Jewish Canadians, for whom Zionism—the belief in the right of the Jewish people to self-determination and security in the State of Israel—is an integral part of their identity. A 2024 study by University of Toronto sociologist Robert Brym found that 94 per cent of Canadian Jews believe Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state. His 2025 follow-up study showed that only one per cent reject that position—aligning with IJV.
“By elevating IJV as a stand-in for Jewish community expertise in antisemitism, ETFO is tokenizing a fringe ideological minority and presenting anti-Zionism as a representative Jewish perspective. This erases the lived experience of the vast majority of Jewish members. At a time when antisemitism increasingly targets Jews because of their connection to Israel, this approach is not only inaccurate – it is harmful.
“By selecting IJV, ETFO is excluding mainstream Jewish voices and further marginalizing Jewish members within its own union. Antisemitism education cannot be credible if it dismisses the experiences of the vast majority of Jews it claims to protect.
“The CJLC urges ETFO’s provincial Executive to reverse its decision and engage broadly representative Jewish organizations—including the CJLC, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Toronto Holocaust Museum, and/or No Silence On Race—whose established expertise and credibility ensure that antisemitism education is inclusive, historically accurate, and grounded in the realities of Jewish life in Canada.
“The CJLC remains committed to working with labour unions, educators, and community partners to combat antisemitism in ways that build understanding, not division.
