A report detailing a record number of anti-Semitic incidents in Canada in 2019 has prompted the launch of a new study on the phenomenon in Windsor-Essex.

UWindsor alumnus John Cappucci (BA 2006), principal of Assumption University and the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Religion and Conflict, noted that B’nai Brith Canada reported an average of six anti-Semitic acts per day.

“We know about the national and provincial situation but are somewhat uncertain about the local status,” Dr. Cappucci said. “I will examine communal perceptions of anti-Semitism in Windsor-Essex and experienced manifestations of anti-Semitism by members of the Jewish community.”

He has launched two online surveys, each requiring about 30 minutes to complete:

• For the first, participants need to identify as Jewish, currently live in Windsor-Essex, and be 18 years of age or older.
• Participants in the second survey must identify as Jewish, currently live in Windsor-Essex, be 18 years of age or older, and have personally experienced anti-Semitism in the last five years.

The most recent census data counted a Jewish population of 1,515 living in and around Windsor, Cappucci said.

He interviewed some 50 representatives of this group in 2019. The results of that study were published as a refereed journal article in Canadian Jewish Studies, entitled “Believe, Pray, and Obey: Three Indicators of Religiosity in a Jewish Canadian Community.”

To participate in the current survey, contact Cappucci at jcappucci@assumptionu.ca. The study has received clearance from the University of Windsor Research Ethics Board.

Assumption University is the Roman Catholic university federated with the University of Windsor. The Chair in Religion and Conflict was established at Assumption University in 2004; Cappucci took on the position in 2017.