Antisemitic video spurs North Bay, Ont., school to educate students about the Holocaust

After an antisemitic video surfaced last year, a North Bay, Ont., high school has made efforts to educate its students about the Holocaust and hate speech.

On Sept. 17, 2021, North Bay police investigated what they called an "antisemitic incident" which happened at École Secondaire Catholique Algonquin.

Some students allegedly recorded video on school property where they were chanting antisemitic slurs and raising their arms in what appeared to be the Nazi salute.

In an email to CBC News, the North Bay Police Service said they did not lay charges, but the students involved were cautioned, and the school took action to educate them about the Holocaust and the  impact of antisemitism.

"All students at École Secondaire Catholique Algonquin have been provided with enhanced Holocaust education," the email said.

When news broke of the incident at the school, the Toronto-based Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies got involved.

"When we read about the incidents, I contacted the school and offered our resources and asked if we could set up a meeting to have a conversation," said Melissa Mikel, the centre's director of education.

Mikel said the school's administration was receptive to her offer to share their education resources on the Holocaust, antisemitism and other forms of hate.

"They were interested in learning more," she said. "They were interested in that support for the students but also for their staff."

The centre shared their lessons with students and staff on five occasions throughout the school year.

Due to the pandemic, Mikel said they had to offer the lessons online, but she said the students stayed engaged.

"In one particular session with regards to the survivors actually coming into speaking, we had I think a full 15 to 20 minutes of kids asking questions," Mikel said.

"And really thoughtful questions about what had been said by the survivor."

The centre had five Holocaust survivors share their stories with the students. Each one was assigned a different grade, and gave context appropriate for each age group.

Students also went on a virtual tour of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, and learned about the history of the Holocaust.

Mikel said the lessons also covered other forms of hate, such as Canada's residential school system and Japanese internment camps.

"So really the hope is to empower these young people to find their voice and to use their voice to spread good," Mikel said.

More antisemitic incidents

Mikel started her career as a classroom teacher, but has been in her current role since 2008.

She said she has become aware of more antisemitic incidents in the last year.

"At one point we were up to two to three calls a week whether it was from parents, whether it was articles that we were seeing in the news where we were doing outreach to offer support," she said.

Mikel said that in Ontario, the Holocaust is only covered in Grade 10 history. 

She said there is a greater need to educate young people about hate and its impact on others.

In an email to CBC News, North Bay's French Catholic school board, the Conseil scolaire catholique Franco-Nord, said its mission is to engage with all of its students to learn and reach their full potential.

"Following the sad and unfortunate incident last September, to which our school community denounced the intolerable behaviour of some students, important partnerships and increased dialogue with the North Bay and global Jewish community have been established to further benefit and enrich the education of our youth, " the email said.