Methodology: HRCCO Map of Reported Antisemitic Incidents

Purpose and scope

The HRCCO Map of Reported Antisemitic Incidents documents publicly verifiable incidents of alleged antisemitism occurring across Canada. Its purpose is to provide an accessible, continuously updated picture of where antisemitic incidents are occurring, the forms they take, and how patterns change over time.

The map is not intended to catalogue every allegation or personal report of antisemitism. Inclusion requires sufficient publicly available or independently obtainable evidence to establish that an incident occurred and that there is a reasonable basis for classifying it as allegedly antisemitic.

Definition of antisemitism

Incidents are assessed according to the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, (which is the official definition adopted by the Canadian government), with attention to the conduct, language, symbols, target, and surrounding context of each incident. Classification as allegedly antisemitic does not, in all incidences, depend on whether police have designated an incident a hate crime or laid criminal charges.

Inclusion criteria

An incident may be included where HRCCO can establish both that the underlying event occurred and that there is sufficient evidence to classify the event as allegedly antisemitic.

Evidence may include:

• Official records or statements: police reports and/or news releases, court records, government statements, or other official documentation.

• Primary documentary evidence: authenticated or reasonably verifiable photographs, video, audio, screenshots, correspondence, signage, graffiti, or other material documenting the incident.

• Institutional reports: public statements or press releases issued by the affected synagogue, school, university, community organization, business, Jewish institution, or other identifiable organization.

• Credible media reporting: reporting by established local, national, or international news organizations that provides sufficient information to verify the incident.

• Multiple-source corroboration: where no single source is independently conclusive, multiple credible sources may collectively provide sufficient verification.

Anonymous claims, uncorroborated social-media posts, hearsay, and incidents communicated privately to HRCCO without supporting evidence are not sufficient for inclusion.

Purely online antisemitic expression is outside the scope of the map unless it meets one of the following criteria:

• The content contains an explicit threat of violence or physical harm directed at a named or otherwise identifiable person, Jewish institution, organization, business, school, synagogue, community facility, or event in Canada;

• The content is directly connected to an offline incident that independently meets the map’s inclusion criteria. This includes content used to organize, announce, claim responsibility for, document, or explicitly endorse the specific incident;

• Canadian law enforcement publicly confirms that charges have been laid in relation to the online content for an offence involving hate propaganda, threats, harassment, incitement, or another relevant Criminal Code offence;

• The online content is publicly documented as an alleged antisemitic incident by mainstream media outlets and/or other Jewish agencies and organizations, and sufficient primary-source information is available to independently verify the content, target, date, and Canadian connection.

Location

Map locations represent the most precise location appropriate to the incident while protecting the privacy and safety of individuals. Exact addresses may be displayed for public institutions or publicly identified locations but will not ordinarily be published for private residences or where doing so could identify a victim. In that case, a location nearby will be pinned instead, so that the approximate location is still identifiable for tracking purposes.

Unit of analysis

An incident is a discrete occurrence or closely connected series of actions taking place within a common temporal and geographic context. Multiple alleged antisemitic acts committed as part of the same continuous event will ordinarily be recorded as a single incident and assigned multiple relevant tags (i.e., someone vandalizes a synagogue, and then assaults a congregant upon discovery. This would be catalogued as one incident). Separate acts occurring at materially different times or locations will ordinarily be recorded as separate incidents (e.g., someone vandalizes a synagogue then drives across town to vandalize another).

Israel

As stated previously, incidents are assessed using the IHRA definition. Israel-related political expression, criticism of Israeli government policy, advocacy for Palestinian rights, or participation in an anti-Israel demonstration is not, by itself, sufficient for inclusion. Such incidents are included only where the conduct, language, imagery, target, or surrounding context meets the IHRA Working Definition or one or more of its illustrative examples (i.e., a protestor uses antisemitic slurs on their protest sign).

Verification and classification

Each incident is classified internally by one of the following, so that even incidents which are not ultimately included in the tracker can be catalogued:

Verified: Supported by official documentation or clear primary-source evidence.

Corroborated: Supported by a credible institutional source, established media reporting, or multiple mutually reinforcing sources.

Unverified: Insufficient evidence to meet HRCCO’s inclusion threshold and therefore not displayed on the public map.

Each incident is kept in an excel document, with the following:

Incident ID — Date — Location — Incident type — Description/Antisemitic indicator — Evidence — Sources — Verification status — Police involvement? — Date added — Link(s) to story — Tags — Reviewer

Incident categories/tags:

Each incident is coded with one or more of the following, so that it can be cross referenced later:

Incident type: assault; threat; harassment/intimidation; vandalism/property damage; graffiti; other.

Target: person; synagogue; Jewish school; Jewish community organization; Jewish-owned/identified business; university/campus; public property; other.

Context: protest/demonstration; workplace; campus; school; online-to-offline; religious institution; public space; other.

Links: We will publish links directly to the source material with every incident, whenever possible.

Corrections and updates: The map is a living dataset. Records may be updated as additional evidence becomes available. Where subsequent information demonstrates that an incident was inaccurately described, incorrectly classified, duplicated, or did not occur as initially reported, HRCCO will amend or remove the record. Significant corrections will be documented.