The Accountant of Accountability: Michael Teper’s Campaign to Expose Antisemitism

A Discussion.

Toronto-based activist Michael Teper has rapidly become one of the most recognisable lay leaders in Canada’s Israel advocacy landscape, bringing a rare mix of professional rigour, legal acumen and tenacious energy to the fight against antisemitism. A non-practising lawyer and Illinois-certified CPA, he serves as a U.S. tax advisor and associate partner at a major professional services firm, after earning both law and business degrees from the University of Toronto and being called to the bars of Ontario and New York.

Teper came to Jewish community and Israel advocacy in the wake of the Toronto District School Board’s notorious May 2021 “mailout affair,” when extremist materials were circulated to educators, a revelation that propelled him into volunteer activism. Today, as president of the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation (CAEF), he oversees education and advocacy programs, chairs monthly strategy meetings, and leads high-impact initiatives spanning webinars and public campaigns to formal complaints and legal interventions.​

Often described as bringing “chutzpah” to grassroots advocacy, Teper has become a go-to figure for digging into school board scandals, leveraging freedom-of-information law and pursuing precedent-setting complaints before the Ontario College of Teachers and other bodies. His work on cases such as the TDSB equity controversies and teacher discipline proceedings has helped make antisemitism in education a national story, and sets the stage for the following Q&A, which explores how he harnesses his professional toolkit to defend Israel and the Jewish community in Canada.

What is CAEF’s mandate?

Over the past twenty years, CAEF has created educational programs designed to foster mutual understanding among people of diverse ethnic, racial, and faith backgrounds, emphasising shared humanity and standing against all forms of prejudice, including antisemitism and racism.

Education, interfaith engagement, and advocacy form the cornerstone of CAEF’s mission to combat antisemitism in all its forms.

CAEF also exposes the dangers of anti-Zionism—a modern expression of antisemitism—while promoting the Jewish people’s rightful connection to the land of Israel and countering misinformation about the State of Israel. Through educational materials, webinars, live events featuring expert speakers, and research initiatives, CAEF examines the effects of antisemitism in academic and professional settings. The foundation also files formal complaints against antisemitic acts and fosters partnerships with allied communities, including the Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem, the Coalition of Hindus of North America, and the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, among others.

In addition, CAEF responds to current events that impact the Jewish community and Israel, issuing regular bulletins, launching advocacy campaigns, organising petitions, and rallies.

What are a few things you’re currently working on that you’d like readers to know about – some activism, advocacy, legal battles?

One of our key education initiatives is the Shalom Project, a 45-minute presentation that helps Jewish people and their allies respond to, and confront, the misinformation about Israel with key facts about the history of Israel, Zionism and contemporary antisemitism.

Our advocacy initiatives include over 25 complaints filed with the Ontario College of Teachers over the past four years, dealing with incidents of antisemitism in the classroom and on social media.

Our track record consists of one license revocation, one admonition, four cautions, four instances of “advice” and one reminder, out of 16 resolved cases, with another 12 cases currently in progress.

We also regularly file Freedom of Information requests to obtain records of how public school boards respond to and track incidents of antisemitism. Currently we are facing off with the Toronto District School Board in trying to obtain records of antisemitism incidents. The Board initially required $28,000 for the information.

We are currently appealing that decision with the Information and Privacy Commissioner, and have launched the first-ever constitutional argument that the freedom-of-expression guarantee in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms obligates a school board to produce this information free of charge in order to facilitate meaningful public debate on these issues.

What are your favourite “wins” in terms of your advocacy?

One of our largest wins was the revocation of the teaching license of Fernanda Caranfa, who was found guilty of professional misconduct for online statements expressing hate against Jews and Holocaust denial. This case was important because it was the first time the College applied new subsection 28 of the professional misconduct regulation O. Reg. 437/97, which:

“ . . . defines professional misconduct to include ‘Making remarks or engaging in behaviours that expose any person or class of persons to hatred on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination under Part I of the Human Rights Code.”

What was the impetus for deciding to become an activist, and when did it happen?

My impetus for becoming an activist occurred a few years before October 7, 2023. It was the circulation in May 2021 by Javier Davila, a Toronto District School Board “Student Equity Program Advisor” of a portfolio of materials on the Israel/Palestinian conflict that included links to the propaganda library of the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Public Safety Canada, and which is responsible for terror attacks on Canadians. Davila’s materials also included a link to a pamphlet that glorified suicide bombing as “legitimate resistance.”

The idea that this material was being circulated to over 1,000 teachers across the Board and would therefore influence classroom discussions made me fall off my chair.

Since then, I’ve been on the activist circuit.