Jewish Voices, Jewish Angst, Canadian Jewish Reality

"We have to be open-eyed that the [Liberal-led Canadian] government is not a reliable partner."

"Security is foundational, but insufficient. I don't want to be a hostage in my own shul the rest of my life."

"In terms of standing up for Jewish rights -- for Jews to be proudly and openly Jewish, and proud Zionists -- that's something we have to support ourselves. It's not that long ago that prime minister Trudeau stood up and proclaimed he was a Zionist. But his successor did not say the same thing, and that's telling."

Rabbi Adam Cutler, Adath Israel synagogue, Toronto

 

"[Carney] scattered crumbs of concern, and acted like it was a feast."

"[The Prime Minister was] playing a politically charged 4D chess game. He moved his knight, and now we respond, as a Jewish community by moving our queen."

"[Whereas Carney] came on our turf to lecture us, to have us listen to our own problems [community leaders as a group should meet Carney on Parliament Hill and] have him sit and listen to us, while we tell him the real roots of the problems, and offer our own recommendations. All with the cameras on, too."

Matthew Taub, director Unapologetically Jewish advocacy group

 

"The prime minister's speech at Toronto's Holy Blossom synagogue on June 1 was the latest in a] series of slaps in the face [from the prime ministers to the Jewish community.] It's all up to us now. I would like to see the community proactively mobilized, for sure."

"I think that what we're failing to do is show up in large numbers ... I think that this is partially the failure of our own leadership."

"When the encampments went up, what was the reaction? Handwringing and feeling terrible. But the number of people who actually showed up to confront the people involved in the encampment was minimal."

"It's just that our own numbers stay home. Maybe it's exhaustion, but we're not, to be honest, doing our part to defend ourselves."

"If we want to have standing the community, it's not going to be given to  us. We have to stand up and demand it."

Michael Teper, president, Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation 

A poster against antisemitism seen on International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Markham, Ontario, Canada, on March 22, 2025. (Creative Touch Imaging Ltd/NurPhoto via Reuters)

 

The Jewish community is still reeling with abandoned hope in the wake of the prime minister of their country of birth abandoning his responsibility to serve and protect all the people of the country without fear or favour, equally and with the full powers of his executive position. They heard a speech recounting everything they already know; that their community is in grave danger; that threats have given way to dangerous violence; being visibly Jewish in the larger Canadian community has brought out the vitriolic hatred of antisemites, spurred to expression by a burgeoning Muslim population now representing 5 percent of the Canadian population; 10 percent in Toronto, according to 2021 figures.

 

That number has grown even larger in the past five years, with the total Muslim-Canadian population now approaching two million as opposed to a Jewish-Canadian population of 400,000. Where demographic voting blocs are concerned, clearly there is an advantage in catering to one that has four times the ballot box potential of the other. So, while Mr. Carney decried the shootings and fire-bombings at Jewish houses of worship and schools, the vandalism at community centres and Jewish-owned businesses, never once did he hint at the source of these -- like the campus anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian camps harassing Jewish faculty and staff -- Muslim-incited.

 

Photo Credit: Matt Gurney

 

"Canada's civic compact is failing Jewish Canadians", said the prime minister, yet from his attitude of condemnation and empathy, never did he hint at the foundational cause; the importation of cultural/religious Jew-hate courtesy of immigrants, refugees, illegal migrants and student visas emanating from the Middle East and North Africa -- emigrants bringing with them part of their heritage that rejects Canadian social norms and values. One can commiserate with the plight of Canadian Jews, but never betray the source of their affliction. 

 

"We have nothing to expect from this government. They've made it very clear they're not interested in supporting the Jewish community. They've made it very clear that they don't really even see much of a problem", stated Amir Epstein, director of pro-Israel advocacy group Tafsik, based in Toronto. It has been during the past decade, matching the latest tenure of the Liberals as government in Canada, that the Canadian-Muslim population has approached such heights of community size. And never has the federal government intervened even once to do its part to put a stop to the venomous racist campaign demonizing Israel and Jewish Canadians.

 

In May alone the prime minister admonished Israel, had a 'cordial phone call' with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to congratulate him on the PA's ripening (absent) democratic credentials, then a call to Israeli President Isaac Herzog that left much to be desired in terms of friendly relationships of mutual trust. The icing on the cake was Louise Arbour's choice as the next governor general, who as UN human rights chief, UN Watch pointed out her repeated singling out of Israel as a 'human rights abuser' reflecting her sympathies with Palestinian victimhood.

 

A large anti-Israel protest in Ottawa in August. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

 

Her support for a regional human rights charter equating Zionism with racism helped Israel bashers feel entitled and diminished the impact of Israel's responses to terrorist violence as a self-defense reality. Rabbi Yael Splansky of the synagogue where Carney's speech took place had her own solution as an offering to remedy the situation: "Every peace-loving, democracy-loving Canadian ought to make antisemitism their concern and make their voices heard by their own elected leaders The Jewish community has been doing this work for years, but we cannot do it alone. Because antisemitism has been allowed to seep into Canadian waters, only a groundswell response can turn back the tide."

 

And there are other potential responses that could go a long way to solving these problems: Ottawa should "name the problem clearly .. antisemitism in Canada is being driven in significant part by anti-Israel and anti-Zionist hatred." The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs suggests: "ensure that terrorist organizations, their proxies, and their adherents cannot operate here. Public funds should not support organizations that initiate or promote hatred against the Jewish community. This must include addressing the weaponization of national institutions, including the Canada Revenue Agency and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights." 

 

Following his speech on antisemitism at Toronto's Holy Blossom synagogue June 1, 2026 Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Jewish leaders including (left) Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, and Anna Shternshis, head of the Jewish Studies department at the University of Toronto. Carney said Canadian Jews are being "brutally targeted by hatred". (Photo by Ellin Bessner/The CJN.)

 

"This isn't a time to shrink back, but to further engage elected officials. It's time for all of us to be active and make sure that they're hearing directly from us, and that we are doing our part in the equation to push them to do their part."

"Regardless of what party they're from, regardless of what part of the country you're in, their job is to listen to you, and represent you in the Parliament or the legislature or city hall."

Noah Shack, CEO, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs