Too Bad, So Sad, Canadian Jews

Kiva's bakery at Steeles Avenue and Bathurst Street on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.

 

"This is utterly reprehensible."

"[Incidents such as these] deepen fear and reinforce why so many in our community feel increasingly vulnerable ..."

"Condemnations are not enough. The Jewish community needs more than expressions of concern."

"It needs results." 

Michael Levitt, president,  Friend of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Study

 

"We condemn yet more violent attacks on the Canadian Jewish community."

"These attacks are not only on Jews but on Canada's values and our democracy itself. [There has] not been a word from the advisory committee on rights, equality and inclusion, now responsible for determining the causes of antisemitism in Canada."

"As we have previously noted, this committee has members with no qualifications in issues of antisemitism and members whose prior associations should have disqualified them."

Hadassah Goldberg, CLARITY Coalition Canada 

Supporters stand in front of the pro-Palestinian protest encampment on McGill University campus, in Montreal, Monday, June 17, 2024. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

 

Canadian Jews have been left disbelieving. Never would it have occurred to them that the ancient pathology of Jew-hate that most Jewish antennae are attuned to would suddenly escape the confines of polite society to emerge as a storm of unadulterated antisemitism, boldly declared in the public arena, escalating to the point that the sewage of Jew-hate has become a threat to their very existence as Jews living in Canada. There is not one Canadian Jew unfamiliar with the syndrome, all have experienced it to at least a 'mild' degree from childhood to adulthood. 

 

Jews have had a presence in Canada since the 16th Century; they are not recent immigrants.  The number of Jews in Montreal warranted the establishment in 1768 of the Shearith Israel synagogue. 18th Century Quebec City had seen Jews settling in as proud citizens, along with other parts of Lower Canada. In Trois-Rivieres, Ezekiel Hart was elected to the legislature of Lower Canada in 1807, but on the basis of his religion was denied his seat. Early arrivals in the emerging Canada of today, rife with antisemitism but a home to Jews.

 

In this more enlightened era where Canadian Jews known to have made a reputation for themselves as scientists and academics, industrialists and medical pioneers, researchers and writers, the place that Jews made for themselves in Canada emerged as contributors to Canadian advances in all spheres of human endeavour. Diaspora Jews valued their lives in the countries they became citizens of throughout Europe, Latin America and North America among other destinations. With the advent of the State of Israel reemerging in its ancestral geography it became another point of pride, passion and security.

 

Palestine Youth Movement held a downtown rally from Yonge and Dundas Sts. to the Israeli Consulate on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, before shutting down the intersection to traffic. Photo by Caryma Sa'd /Special to the Toronto Sun

 

It took only a few decades for Canada to welcome immigrants, refugees and migrants from parts of the world where the religion, history, culture and heritage was one of inherited antipathy to Jews and that viral antipathy accompanied them to their new home, their numbers among the general population steadily increasing to the point where politicians sought them out as a voting bloc irrespective of their inability and unwillingness to accept Canadian law, values and culture. This, in a society that valued its concept of multiculturalism as a great benefit to the country.

 

The outcome of which has been foreign interference in a programmed and organized campaign to slander and threaten Canadian Jews, based on their links to Israel as Zionists in support of that ancient heritage forever under threat by fundamentalist Islamists devoted to the jihad of the sword -- or bombs, beheadings and mass slaughter. A public relations campaign that introduced the West to a new phobia that was to be taken up and deplored as an assault on human rights -- Islamophobia -- became the darling of Western politicians courting the Muslim vote. And nor were the media confined to neutral reportage.

 

Temple Emanu-El windows shot out, March 2, 2026, North York, Toronto Star/Getty Images

 

Public institutions and governments throughout the West developed an affinity for responding to Muslim invective against Jews everywhere and particularly Israel which soon became globally isolated every time its military responded to deadly attacks against the presence of the Jewish state. The slopover in Canada saw campaigns to delegitimize Israel, to boycott its products, services and academics in favour of demonstrating fealty to the plight of Palestinians 'victimized' by a country that would not allow itself to be attacked, its citizens murdered by neighbours plaintively calling themselves victims while attacking their 'occupiers' whose very presence 'oppressed' them.  

 

In Canada, Jewish-owned businesses are vandalized, synagogues fire-bombed, Jewish parochial schools shot at, hateful marches through Jewish neighbourhoods harassing and threatening its residents, all with complete impunity. University campuses shut out for Jewish students and Jewish professorial staff frozen out by their colleagues whose support of the Palestinian 'cause' is paramount in their progressive-left Marxist embrace. One prime minister after another disinterested in the plight of that segment of the population in favour of deploring any symptoms of 'Islamophobia' should Jews point out the campaign of disentitlement of Jews in Canada is led by Muslims. 

 

The accused, Mohamed Ilyess Akodad, said he accepted a $15,000 contract to set fire to Congregation Beth Tikvah on Dec. 18, 2024. (Simon-Marc Charron/Radio-Canada)

 

"[Should the attacks on the two Toronto Jewish bakeries be proven to be hate crimes, they would be] the latest in such attempts to harass the Jewish community and would represent an assault on all civilized Canadians."  

"Rather than shine a light on the real threats facing Canada, including Islamic radicalism and the Iranian regime's tentacles in Canada, much of the news media has instead fixated on regurgitating pro-Palestinian talking points."

Robert Walker, Honest Reporting Canada

 

"Toronto's Jewish community deserves more than just thoughts and prayers."

"Toronto is not going to remain a city where Jewish store owners sweep up broken glass."

"We will sweep it up together. Indifference is indictment."

Toronto City Councillor Brad Bradford, mayoral candidate 

Queers for Palestine's Influence in Ottawa's Pride Parade Cancellation

"I don't think we want to have a situation where anybody can just block a parade -- especially Capital Pride -- put a bunch of demands on the table, and the parade doesn't move forward unless people get into those demands. I don't think that's acceptable."

"I don't think that's a proper way to advocate or discuss the issues that are important to those people."

"If you start licensing people to block parades and other events and say we'll do whatever you ask, where does it end?" 

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe addressed Sunday's parade cancellation during a news conference at city hall on Monday. (Arthur White-Crummey/CBC)

"As a community organization, we strive to engage with our community members in good faith and to balance the various interests and demands that are made of us while also organizing one of the largest festivals in our city."

"Throughout the summer, we had several meetings with Q4P [Queers for Palestine], along with other community groups to discuss the issues that are important to them."

"Unfortunately, the group refused to have a meaningful discussion about how to move forward. After over an hour of attempting to resolve the stoppage, it became clear that Q4P was unwilling to engage in a good faith conversation and was insistent on misrepresenting our discussion."

Capital Pride clarification statement

A pro-Palestine protester holds a 'No Pride in Genocide' sign during a march following the annual Capital Pride Parade in Ottawa on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

 

A year ago, the organizers of the annual Capital Pride parade when pressured by pro-Palestinian groups agreed to issue a statement at their behest, censuring Israel for its conflict in Gaza. As a result, Jewish gay groups felt excluded, and the Jewish community censored the parade organizers for bringing international politics and a foreign war into a gay community-organized event meant to support that community. Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe declined to attend, as did the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, the Ottawa Hospital and political party representatives.

 

This year no such declaration and support of the BDS movement was included; lesson learned. After all, no one can be totally ignorant that the treatment of LGBTQ2S+ scored 19 out of 100 by Equaldex, an online resource tracking their treatment. Queers for Palestine, however, in the nation's capital was outraged that Capital Pride capitulated to critical opinion, refusing to repeat its support in this year's Pride Parade. They chose to block the parade shortly after it began, with demands that parade officials meet their 'demands'.

 

Protesters holding signs and Palestinian flags, the signage reading "no pride in genocide", and a banner reading "all of us or none of us" and "stone wall was an intifada", aggressively blocked the proceedings. Chants of "free, free Palestine", "long live the intifada", and "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" rang out to an unappreciative audience. "We will not leave until our elected officials and Capital Pride come down and meet our demands", Masha Davidovic, Queers for Palestine-Ottawa insisted.

 

A Pro-Palestine protester chants as they walk through blocked traffic following the annual Capital Pride Parade in Ottawa, on Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)

 

A pamphlet circulating at the Sunday protest indicated that Capital Pride was pressured by pro-Palestinian groups to host a BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) town hall in support of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, to force economic pressure on corporations, banks and others to withdraw support for Israel. Mayor Sutcliffe was called on to "apologize for last year's boycott of the parade and a call to defund Pride", and "commit to stand with protesters and all oppressed peoples, including Palestinians". 

 

Over 7,000 people, representing over 175 groups had assembled with the intention of marching in the parade. The parade hadn't managed to get very far on its route before it was interrupted by several hundred of the pro-Palestinian protesters, forcing Capital Pride to make the decision to cancel the remainder of their route, informing everyone to pack up and leave. Last year OCDSB trustee Donna Blackburn was censured by colleagues for ignoring the school board's withdrawal decision when a pro-Palestinian statement was issued by Capital Pride. She was instructed to attend an antisemitism training.  

"We are bummed, of course, but we had a blast for the block and a half that we walked, and everyone was so positive, so it was still a net win for us."

"We sang, we spread the word. It's still been a bit sad to not get to finish the run, but it is what it is."

Stefania Wheelhouse of Toto Too Theatre 

 

"[The action taken by the pro-Palestinian movement was] backwards; protesters had] hijacked [the parade]."

"I have publicly stood up for the Palestinian community in a very public way, took a lot of personal heat for doing it. I'm now a target of the Zionists. They're coming after me. But this is not the way to get people onto your side."

"Blackmailing the mayor in the middle of the parade is completely, highly inappropriate. There are ways to lobby. There are ways to advocate, and holding a parade like this hostage and blackmailing politicians in the middle of it is completely inappropriate."

"Hopefully the rest of the day we can just go about celebrating. The community organizations are down [on Bank Street] with their booths, and I'm sure the music will be good and all that stuff. It's just unfortunate the parade was hijacked."

Donna Blackburn, Ottawa-Carleton district School Board trustee  

Capital Pride's annual parade launched from City Hall Saturday but ground to a halt near Parliament Hill after pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked the route, Sunday, August 24, 2025. Photo by Ashley Fraser/Postmedia 

"My heart goes out to the many people in our city who were deprived of the opportunity to participate in this celebration of joy, resilience, and community."

"At a time when 2SLGBTQIA+ rights are under attack around the world, it's critical to show our solidarity with the community and honour all those who have achieved hard-won progress on equal rights."

"Ottawa should always be a place of inclusion, where everyone feels welcome. Let's continue to work together for a better city, for everyone."

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe