CAEF sent a letter to the Ontario College of Teachers regarding double standard in singling out a Jewish teacher for criticizing Hamas supporters and ignoring postings by teachers who support Hamas

June 8, 2025

Linda Lacroix

Registrar

Ontario College of Teachers

101 Bloor Street West

Toronto, ON

Delivered by email:  llacroix@oct.ca 

Dear Registrar Lacroix:

The College has accused Ottawa teacher Lisa Levitan with professional misconduct.  Here is one of the items in the accusation:

4.  In October 2023, the Member posted content on a public X account (previously known as Twitter), wherein she identified herself as an educator with the Board and: 

(a) suggested that individuals or institutions who criticized Israel, following the October 7, 2023 attack, were supporting terrorism; 

(b) suggested that those who celebrated or empathized with Hamas terrorists and/or their cause did not belong in Canada and/or should be deported. 

As an organization dedicated to the eradication of antisemitism, we at the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation keep watch on what is said about the Middle East conflicts involving Israel, seeing that Israel is where 45% of all the Jews in the world live.    

Item 4(a)

Here is U.S. House of Representatives Majority Whip Tom Emmer.  

“House Democrats had a choice to make last week:  stand with Israel or Hamas terrorists.”

Here’s U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scaliese:

“And then we send that bill over to Chuck Schumer, and he’s going to have to make a decision … there’s going to be a lot of other people, I think, that are going to have a say in whether or not he sits on that bill and sides with Hamas or else supports Israel.”

Now, to Canada:  Here’s Tasha Kherridin, writing in the National Post on October 10, 2023:

Item 4(b):

Here’s what Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre said in February 2025:    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUpCfKx0KEA

Here’s what the Government of Canada does:

Canada orders deportation of ex-employee of Hamas-linked aid group 

Here’s what Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland (as she then was) said immediately following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel:

“Let me be very clear, as the Prime Minister has been, that glorification of terror has no place in Canada. That is not who we are, that is not what Canada is, there is no space for that here.”

Here’s what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (as he then was) said:

“Let me be very clear. Hamas terrorists are not a resistance. They aren’t freedom fighters, they are terrorists and no one in Canada should be supporting them, much less celebrating them.”

https://thecjn.ca/news/canadians-across-the-country-rallied-in-support-of-israel-after-vile-horrificattacks-by-hamas-terrorists/

Therefore, everything that Lisa Levitan is accused of in Item 4 as “professional misconduct” – everything – is exactly what political leaders and mainstream journalists in Canada and the United States, are saying, and doing. 

Now, let’s juxtapose!

Here’s what some other members of the College have said on social media, without being hauled in front of the Discipline Committee for public humiliation: [1]

“Genocide Justin talks out of both sides of his mouth.  We support Israel with $ to decimate the Palestinians, but we hope that the Palestinians don’t suffer too much.  Make it make sense.”

“And if you know me, you will know that I am very much anti-violence and hate the glorification of war. But my #1 value is the human rights of all people. And Palestinian resistance is a desperate fight of a people for their basic rights.”

“It’s frustrating that people still don’t see the connection between Palestinian oppression and Islamophobia. Anti-Palestinian hate is rooted in Islamophobia and Jewish supremacy.”

“This, while Javier Davila continues to be on home assignment under a Jewish Acting Director of Education who may have a bias against Palestinians.”

“[Falconer] likely caved from pressure from one or several Jewish trustees and perhaps because she self-identifies as Jewish.”

Maybe the College should run its discipline process against a Prime Minister’s Award winning Jewish teacher, through a double-standards discrimination and bias detector, and see what pops out.

Yours very truly,

R. Michael Teper

President

Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation 

[1] As this is an open letter, I am not publishing any details of Investigation Committee proceedings.  OCT complaint file references available upon request.  I am not Lisa Levitan’s counsel.