As part of its strategy to “build a more inclusive Canada” the Canadian government on Tuesday announced funding for Jewish groups to combat anti-Semitism.
The Anti-Racism Action Program (ARAP) grants were part of a larger announcement of funding for “projects across Canada that address systemic barriers faced by Indigenous peoples, racialized communities, and religious minorities.”
The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto will receive $340,000 for an online hate research and education program.
The project will aim to “address online hate by identifying different forms of hate in a variety of internet sites and social media platforms, and by developing strategies to empower young people to respond to the spread of hate.”
La’aD Canada Foundation – an organization founded in 2017 “on the needs of the next generation of Jewish Canadians” at at “critical time” when “we are seeing a dramatic and alarming rise in anti-Semitism, and unprecedented numbers of young Jews disengaging from Jewish life” – will receive $154,200 for a project combatting anti-Semitism through research and education.
“La'ad Canada Foundation will implement the CARE: Combatting Anti-Semitism through Research and Education project that will focus on inter-community outreach and cultural sensitivity training to public sector employees who are most likely to interact with the Jewish community.”
Sam Eskenasi, Director of Advocacy at La'ad Canada, praised the government for the funding and said that the grant is crucial to his organization.
"At a time when Canadian Jews are facing anti-Semitism higher than any time since the Holocaust, government programs like ARAP are critically important, and demonstrate this government's commitment to combatting anti-Semitism proactively,” he said.
The money comes amid an unprecedented number of anti-Semitic incidents in Canada, and in the wake of the government’s Nation Summit on Antisemitism and a promise to spend more than $5 million to shore up the security of the Jewish community's institutions.