Scurrilous Antisemitic Doxxing

"The Canadian Jews on this list are quite possibly the most unflappable members of our Jewish community. I don't think we'll be intimidated by it, if that's the intention. I don't think it's an acceptable thing to happen in Canada."

"It's kind of sad that in this day and age, it's such a show of courage to stand up for the Canadian Jewish community. It shouldn't be hard for our leaders in Canada to denounce hatred of Jews."

"I'm not going to hide under a rock. It's who I am. I'm proud of my service and there's no way I'll hide it. But to put us out there, it feels like it is a bit targeted. What's the purpose of that?"

Rebecca Garner, Canadian citizen 

"The soldier is most likely to have grown up in a Greater Toronto Area neighbourhood with a larger-than-average proportion of Jewish residents in what they'd describe as a Zionist household."

"[On average the type of Canadian who becomes an IDF soldier is] a white Jewish man born and raised in Canada who immigrated to Israel in their late teens with the express purpose of joining its military."

"[Readers can send in tips] about other Canadians that have joined the Israeli military [for the ongoing  database project]."

"[This is] an entirely reader-funded publication that puts the working class first."

"There is nothing antisemitic about the website as the individuals were included based on their service in the Israeli military, not their religious identity."

"We did not take the website down, and are working to restore it. We expect it to be restored soon."

Davide Mastracci, author of online list --  Find IDF Soldiers -- published in The Maple 

"I stand in solidarity with [Canada's] Jewish community. When they target one of us, they are targeting all of us."

"The people being targeted are Canadians. It's a Canadian issue when Canadians are doxxed. Additionally, I know some of the people on the list. I have stood with them in Toronto, and I will continue to stand with them and Canada's Jewish community against this blatant campaign."

"I want the community to know that you are not alone and, together, we will fight to restore the city and country that we knew and love."

Member of Parliament Kevin Vuong

 

"I am a public figure. Last year, I was disinvited on March 8 [to an International Women's Day event in Ontario] because I served in the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]."

"I got death threats ... just absolutely ridiculous."

"[I am] not at all [intimidated by the list]."

Leah Goldstein, public speaker

Leah Goldstein, now 56, lived in Israel from age 17 until 32. She was a world champion kickboxer, an experience that qualified her to become head of instruction for Krav Maga, the IDF fighting system for Israeli soldiers. She had been invited as a keynote speaker last March for an International Women's Day event. Her invitation was cancelled when a group cited her service in the Israeli military, claiming her to be tainted by her collaboration with a military that had entered Gaza to destroy the Hamas terrorist group responsible for an epic-magnitude invasion of Israel of sadist savagery leaving 1,200 civilians -- from infants to adults -- slaughtered, and 120 taken hostage.

 

In the atmosphere circulating within Canada sponsored in large part by the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau whose embrace of Critical Race Theory and DEI set the stage for the domination of progressive-left activism, which paved the way for antisemitic rallies led by Palestinian student groups whose hostile actions against Canadian Jews won the support of a significant number of academics and university students, isolation of Jews in Canada along with threats against the Jewish community became normalized and tolerated. For her part, the targeting of Leah Goldstein resulted in the collapse of her once-numerous speaking engagements. 

When Rebecca Garner, 34 years of age, discovered her name placed on a list that formed part of a database titled "Find IDF Soldiers" she was fairly well taken-aback. An article titled "Meet 85 Canadians that have Fought for Israel" was featured in an online publication -- The Maple -- which was linked to the list. Having served from 2011 to 2014 in the IDF, Garner characterized the list and the article as a "pretty clear expression of hatred for Jews". Born and  raised in Canada, she was motivated to join the IDF in tribute to her Holocaust-survivor grandparents.

 

The article in question states its purpose is meant to provide a database, according to its author, of "mini-profiles for as many Canadians that have fought in the Israeli military at any point as I could find (because) there is little existing research in Canada beyond one-off news articles about who these soldiers are and how they came to make the life choices that they did".

"Throughout this time, the Israeli military has been credibly accused by and/or before major international bodies of ethnic cleansing, war crimes, apartheid, and now genocide. Israeli soldiers have also provided the physical force necessary to uphold practices the Canadian government has condemned, such as the occupation of the West Bank and the creation of new settlements. Despite this, the Canadian government has shown no interest in making it illegal for its citizens to join the Israeli military, preventing them from doing so or even keeping track of them."

Davide Mastracci

The author of these provocatively innocent pieces denies they are meant as doxxing articles; merely devices of keeping track of Canadian Jews who distinguish themselves as lending their efforts as Jews to the Jewish state, in its defence. Nothing malicious about that, is there? A running database for the convenience of any readers interested in perhaps making contact with those listed, out of curiosity, certainly nothing more. The Maple website is meant to serve the ordinary person, it states, and quite ordinarily many persons in Canada share an overriding conviction of Jews as 'the hated other'.

 

The list happens to include Israel's Special Envoy for Combatting Antisemitism, Michal Cotler-Wunsh, design expert on The Morning Show Shai DeLuca, journalist and author Matti Friedman, and cyclist and public speaker Leah Goldstein. It also included Ben Mizrahi, who made use of his army medic training in an effort to save lives. He was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7. 

"[The publication of this list is a] shameful attempt at intimidation."

"There is a long history of Canadians, particularly those with dual citizenship, who have served in the militaries of democratic allies of Canada, whether in countries like Israel, the United States, or the United Kingdom."

"In fact, some of the people in this list served as far back at the 1940s. Others on the list have lived in Israel for decades and have written books about their military service."

Noah Shack, Interim President, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs

One notable reader comment to the published article: "This article has nothing to do with freedom of speech; it is a clear accomplice and a precursor to something like Kristallnacht. One can try to camouflage the idea of this article and present themselves as an innocent investigator of an interesting issue. However, a wolf in sheep's clothing is betrayed by its large wolf's tail and a huge stack of yellow Jewish stars, ready to be sewn onto the Canadians who served in the IDF."