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A Canadian family is suing the Peel District School Board (PDSB), school administrators, and a teacher over what they describe as months of unchecked antisemitic bullying targeting their elementary school-aged child in the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacre.
Filed this week in Ontario Superior Court, the lawsuit details repeated incidents of harassment, including a shocking episode in which approximately 40 students allegedly encircled the Jewish student during an anti-Israel protest held on school grounds, chanting “Jews must die” and “Jews are not worthy of living” in front of staff members.
Despite multiple complaints, the family claims school officials failed to take meaningful action.
The suit also alleges physical assaults, locker vandalism with “Free Palestine” stickers, and discriminatory behavior by a teacher who singled the student out based on their identity. In a particularly disturbing response, the school’s principal is reported to have said the student “didn’t exactly hide” their Jewishness.
The family is seeking $850,000 in damages and a court declaration that the defendants failed in their legal duties.
Represented by pro bono counsel Jamie Spotswood in partnership with CIJA’s Legal Task Force, the family hopes the case will serve as a wake-up call.
“No child should be afraid to go to school because of who they are,” said the student’s parents. “We took this step not just for our child, but for every Jewish student who deserves to feel safe and supported in the classroom.”
CIJA’s Legal Task Force, which has assisted over 500 victims of antisemitism in Canada since October 7, called the case “an important step toward accountability.”
