Toronto โ The Tafsik Organization has announced plans to convene what it describes as the first international conference dedicated to formally defining antizionism as a contemporary form of Jew hatred, with the inaugural World Symposium on Antizionism scheduled to take place in Toronto in April 2026, following Passover.
The announcement was made publicly on New Yearโs Day, with Tafsik confirming that the multi-day symposium will bring together international experts, advocates, and Jewish community leaders for an in-depth examination of antizionism and its real-world impact on Jewish communities worldwide.
โThis will be the first international summit declaring antizionism as Jew hatred,โ Tafsik said in a statement. โNo such conference has been done anywhere in the world before.โ
According to the organization, the symposium will host speakers from North America, Europe, and Israel, including specialists in antisemitism research, international law, Jewish advocacy, media analysis, and community security. Tafsik said the confirmed date and speaker list will be announced in the coming weeks.
The planned summit comes amid a sustained global rise in antisemitic incidents, particularly in Western democracies, where Jewish organizations have documented a sharp increase in harassment, vandalism, and threats directed at Jewish individuals and institutions since October 2023.
Jewish advocacy groups have increasingly warned that antizionism is frequently used as a framework to deny Jewish national rights while being presented as legitimate political discourse. Tafsik stated that the symposium will examine how antizionism manifests across political movements, academic institutions, media platforms, and public demonstrations, and how those dynamics affect Jewish safety and civic participation.
While criticism of Israeli government policy remains protected speech, Tafsik and other Jewish organizations argue that antizionism crosses into antisemitism when it denies the Jewish people the right to self-determination or applies discriminatory standards to Israel not applied to any other nation.
Organizers emphasized that the goal of the symposium is not to suppress debate but to clarify definitions and confront the consequences of ideological hostility toward Jewish national identity.
โThis is about accuracy and accountability,โ a community representative said. โJewish communities are experiencing the effects of antizionism daily, and there has been no serious international forum dedicated to addressing it directly.โ
Toronto was selected as the host city due to Canadaโs growing prominence in debates over antisemitism, campus activism, and public policy. Jewish leaders have described Canada as a critical environment for examining how democratic societies respond to antisemitism that presents itself through political movements.
Tafsik said the symposium is expected to produce policy recommendations, educational resources, and coordinated strategies aimed at governments, academic institutions, and civil society organizations.
Tafsik encouraged interested participants to subscribe to its website for announcements regarding speakers, programming, and confirmed dates.
Additional details are expected to be released in the coming weeks.
