(Source: Wiki Commons) In Toronto on November 11th, a group of four Jewish teens were assaulted “in a Hitler-inspired racial attack.” According to the Toronto Sun, while walking to their Yeshiva to study in the evening, these 17-year old Jewish teens were approached by up to 20 teenage boys. One of the victims noted that they may have been approached because they “stood out…two of us were wearing kippah’s and two fedoras (Hasidic Jewish hats).” A group of assailants, who were similar in age to the Jewish teens, punched and kicked at least two out of the four Jewish boys. Furthermore, as reported by a video the Toronto Sun published, one of the boys had their glasses broken. During this assault, numerous anti-Semitic comments, including Hitler references, were also launched at the Jewish teens. Toronto Police are currently investigating this atrocious incident as a “Robbery/Hate Crime.” Additionally, they have managed to take at least one suspect in custody and hope to locate the other suspects. Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders tweeted that the “Toronto Police will not tolerate violence and harassment against anyone.” In response to this attack, other prominent officials have released statements. The CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, Michael Mostyn remarked “It’s just vile…it’s terrifying that Orthodox Jewish teens would face something as horrific as being beaten and harassed with anti-Semitic slurs. It’s just not right.” Additionally, the mayor of Toronto, John Tory, tweeted out “no one should ever be attacked for their religion. Please help Toronto Police solve this hate crime/robbery investigation that occurred Sunday night.”
Ct Jewish Ledger November 19, 2018 WASHINGTON, DC – The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, in conjunction with Hasbara Fellowships, on Friday, Nov. 2 launched JIGSAW Initiative, a innovative pilot program to train law students to combat and prevent resurgent antisemitism. “Antiemitism is escalating at a frightening rate in the U.S.,” said Alyza D. Lewin, Brandeis Center president and general counsel. “We must reverse this rising tide of antisemitism and ethnic racism, and there is no substitute for legal action. By properly training a select team of law students to work with undergraduates and utilize specific legal tools and strategy, we can begin to take the offensive in this battle.” According to the FBI’s latest reporting, in the United States there were more incidents of antisemitism than all other religious hate crimes combined. The ADL reports antisemitic incidents rose 57% across the nation last year, and 89% on college campuses alone. JIGSAW – an acronym for that stands for Justice Initiative Guiding Student Activists Worldwide – will train a specialized corps of law students to utilize legal tools and expertise to combat both classic/white supremacist and anti-Israel antisemitism. After they graduate, former JIGSAW Fellows will have the knowledge and personal expertise to address incidents nationwide. They will engage in both joint training with the the Brandeis Center’s Hasbara Fellows, as well as a separate legal-based curriculum specifically developed by Brandeis Center attorneys. In addition, JIGSAW Fellows will participate in a trip to Israel, where they will meet Israeli government officials, Palestinian representatives, academics, journalists, and representatives from humanitarian organizations. According to Lerman, the pilot program will begin by training 12 law students and will grow each year. “Our goal is to select students who are dispersed geographically across the country, so that each law student can cover a geographic region, and to eventually expand the program to other countries, such as Canada and the U.K.,” she said. The Brandeis Center is now accepting applications for the JIGSAW Initiative today. For information, visit brandeiscenter.com. The Louis D. Brandeis Center, Inc., is an independent, nonprofit organization established to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people. It is not affiliated with Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Original Article