TORONTO – The Jewish Faculty Network (JFN) published a report on October 22, accusing the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) of what it calls “a pattern of anti-Palestinian racism and genocide denial.” The 180-page document alleges that CIJA “manufactures consent” for Israel’s military operations in Gaza and falsely claims to represent all Canadian Jews.
Titled The CIJA Report: A Pattern of Anti-Palestinian Racism and Genocide Denial at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the document was co-authored by six members of JFN and launched during a virtual press conference supported by activists from Faculty for Palestine. The publication reviews more than 1,800 CIJA statements and online posts from October 2023 to March 2024.
According to JFN’s authors, CIJA propagates “anti-Palestinian racism” by portraying violence in Gaza as a defense of Jewish safety and by linking pro-Palestinian advocacy to rising antisemitism. The group further asserts that CIJA “engages in antisemitism” by defining Jewish identity as inherently Zionist and by excluding dissenting Jewish perspectives.
CIJA has not issued a statement directly addressing the new report, but its recent public communications emphasize the continuing rise in antisemitic activity across Canada and the need for national unity in defending Jewish Canadians. The organization has also reaffirmed its opposition to efforts equating Israel’s right of self-defense with genocide, stressing that such claims “whitewash terrorism and distort moral clarity.”
CIJA CEO Noah Shack recently reiterated that Jewish Canadians “require protection from hate, not political division,” warning that some campus and faculty groups are “erasing Jewish identity under the guise of decolonization”.
Jewish community leaders have criticized the JFN report as an ideological attack rather than legitimate scholarship. Several described the document as part of a wider campaign to delegitimize Jewish organizations that advocate for Israel. “This is not academic inquiry, it’s activism masquerading as research,” said a senior Jewish affairs analyst in Ottawa. “By accusing mainstream Jewish voices of genocide denial, they trivialize both antisemitism and mass atrocity.”
Meanwhile, JFN continues to identify itself as a coalition of educators “committed to anti-racist principles and Jewish ethical life.” The group maintains that CIJA’s “monopolization of Jewish discourse” eliminates the diversity of Jewish political opinion in Canada.
The controversy comes amid rising tensions on campuses nationwide following Hamas’s October 7 attacks and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza. Pro-Israel organizations have faced escalating protests, while Jewish students report harassment and hostility. CIJA has repeatedly urged Canadian universities and school boards to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism to protect Jewish communities.
The new JFN report is being circulated among university departments and unions already aligned with pro-Palestinian activism. It recommends cutting institutional ties with CIJA and halting CIJA’s participation in public consultations on antisemitism.
For many Jewish Canadians, the report highlights a growing divide within Jewish academic and activist circles, between established communal institutions focused on advocacy for Israel, and fringe organizations positioning themselves as anti-Zionist voices within Judaism.
This article is based on verified information from the Jewish Faculty Network report and website, the CIJA official website and press centre, and public social posts by Faculty for Palestine.