Anil Kishen

Introduction

Anil Kishen is a tenured professor at the University of Toronto who resigned as dean of the Faculty of Dentistry in November 2026 after an investigation into antisemitic imagery he had shown in his course materials earlier that year. The university’s vice-president and provost, Trevor Young, announced in a November 5 memorandum that Kishen had “voluntarily resigned as dean of the faculty of dentistry” effective immediately, closing a months-long controversy that began when the Jewish advocacy organization B’nai Brith Canada published the lecture images on social media in February. The investigation found that Kishen did not intend to promote antisemitism and had limited knowledge of the images’ history — findings the university published alongside his resignation — but concluded he could no longer lead the faculty after community members “lost confidence” in him.

Background Information

Kishen led the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry as dean while also serving as a professor there. In February 2026, B’nai Brith Canada shared images on social media that it said were antisemitic lecture materials Kishen showed in the classroom, prompting the university to say he had used images “without appreciating the antisemitic and discriminatory meanings,” remove them from course materials, apologize directly to his class and faculty, and go on leave while the school investigated. One image showed a figure wrapped in an Israeli flag and rope holding its head, with the head painted in the colours of the Palestinian flag, placed next to a mention of “strangulation theory” associated with dental pulp; another depicted a man with a hooked nose swimming in a well of money alongside the word “immunity.”

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Resigned as dean following an investigation into antisemitic course imagery. On November 5, 2026, U of T provost Trevor Young announced that Kishen had voluntarily stepped down as dean of the Faculty of Dentistry effective immediately, after an external investigation into his use of two antisemitic images in lecture materials. The review found Kishen “did not intend to promote antisemitism” and “had limited knowledge about antisemitic imagery and tropes associated with Jewish people,” but Young wrote that Kishen recognized many community members had lost confidence in his ability to continue to lead the faculty.

The images at the center of the controversy were used in course materials “over several years,” according to student-newspaper and university accounts of the investigation’s scope, and were intended to be assessed for their factual content and their community impact by the external review commissioned after the February reports. Young’s memorandum, addressed to the Faculty of Dentistry community, said the investigation was intended to “make factual findings about and assess the community impact” of the two images used in lecture materials, and that Kishen had been on leave since February while it was carried out. The provost wrote that Kishen “knows his usage of them has been very painful to many members of the community” and that he “recognizes that many community members have lost confidence in his ability to continue to lead the faculty of dentistry,” adding that Kishen is “sincerely regretful for his actions and lack of cultural awareness.”

Public Reaction and Consequences

The university acknowledged the community remained divided even after the findings: “Some community members accepted Dr. Kishen’s immediate apology, while others were deeply hurt by the use of the images,” Young said. The review’s conclusion — no intent to promote antisemitism — sat alongside the resignation it produced, a combination that preserved the finding of no malicious intent while still ending his deanship; acting dean Laura Tam, who had covered the role since February, continues as interim dean while the university searches for a permanent replacement. Young also said Kishen has committed to learning more about antisemitism and has already undergone training to continue his “cultural education.”

Current Status

Kishen remains a tenured faculty member at the University of Toronto and will return to the full scope of his faculty duties during the 2027-28 academic year — he loses the deanship but not his professorship. Laura Tam continues as interim dean, and information about the search for a new dean will be announced later, per the provost’s memorandum.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Kishen’s case became one of the most prominent Canadian academic-cancellation episodes of 2026: a sitting dean of a major research university’s faculty, removed from his leadership post after an investigation that exonerated him of intent, with the university choosing confidence-loss over the intent finding as the operative standard for who may hold the dean’s chair. For Kishen personally, the arc runs from B’nai Brith’s February social-media publication of his lecture slides, through a leave of absence, mandated antisemitism training, and a nine-month investigation, to a resignation memo that returned him to the faculty rank he held before his appointment.

Sources

• CBC News / The Canadian Press, “U of T dean of dentistry steps down after investigation into antisemitic images in course material.” source