Antisemitism in Toronto schools, Part 2: The targeted teen speaks out

Yesterday, we brought you a story on three antisemitic incidents that happened within days of each other at two different Toronto middle schools. (If you haven't listened yet, hear Part 1 of this series here.) Two of those incidents happened to one boy at Charles H. Best Junior Middle School. Today, he and his parents are speaking out publicly for the first time to offer their reaction to the incidents.

And their reaction isn't what you might expect.

After their son was targeted one kid who formed a swastika out of classroom blocks, and two others who separately gave the Nazi salute to him, parents Yaniv and Shirra Berliner felt compelled to report the incidents to the school. But after seeing the swift public condemnation, the Berliners are angry with how the school and the board handled it all without hearing their side of the story. The family is wrestling with complicated issues involved in the fight against antisemitism in schools, but they believe these incidents were just tomfoolery and ignorance by a bunch of teenagers who didn't grasp what they were doing—and they wish the whole controversy would just blow over already.

All three of them join The CJN Daily podcast for an exclusive interview.

What we talked about:

• Listen to Part 1 of this series, "Antisemitism in Toronto schools, Part 1: Why are we still seeing Nazi symbols in classrooms?" at thecjn.ca
• Read Ellin's print story on the incidents at thecjn.ca
• Read "Debunking the Amnesty Report" at agpiworld.com

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We're a member of The CJN Podcast Network; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.