The dean of dentistry at the University of Toronto who included antisemitic and anti-Israel images in his lecture materials resigned from the position following an external probe, according to a university announcement.
Dr. Anil Kishen, who was appointed to the position in 2025, voluntarily stepped down, effective immediately. However, he will remain a tenured faculty member at the university, returning to his faculty duties during the 2027-28 academic year, according to an announcement dated November 5 from Trevor Young, the school’s vice president and provost.
Kishen, who has been on leave since February 2026, decided to step down after an external investigation concluded that images used in course materials were antisemitic.
“To provide clarity to our community, the findings of this process confirm that: Dr. Kishen did not intend to promote antisemitism, and he had limited knowledge about antisemitic imagery and tropes associated with Jewish people when he included the images in his lecture materials,” according to the announcement.
Furthermore, Young said in the announcement that Kishen “is sincerely regretful for his actions and lack of cultural awareness.”
In February, Kishen was placed on leave after including two images in a slide deck providing visual analogies for the concepts of “strangulation theory” and “immunological modulation” in tooth health. One image depicted a figure with an Israeli flag on its torso that was bound tightly with rope and appeared to be strangling a head sporting the colors of the Palestinian flag. The second image showed a cartoon of a man with a large, hooked nose swimming in a pool of cash that was labelled “immunity,” according to news reports.
Following the class lecture, Kishen learned that the images were offensive. Kishen sent an apology letter to the university’s dental community and stated that his use of the images was not intended as political statements, according to the stories.
