Shadows of hate: The alarming rise of antisemitism in Canada

When we think of antisemitism, Canada is not the first place that comes to mind. However, the country, known for its cosmopolitan citizenry, beautiful landscapes, and high quality of life, has increasingly emerged as a place in which Jews are fearful.

Adam from Vancouver needs to think twice about attending synagogue for Rosh Hashanah. “Walking around Vancouver, you would think that we live next door to the Gaza Strip. Pro-Hamas protests and bomb threats to Jewish institutions make me feel uncomfortable disclosing I am Jewish and for my own safety.” 

Gerald Fisher, former CEO of the Hamilton Jewish Federation, faced the end of a long-term friendship with a recipient of the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest honor. For him, it came out of the blue. “This is someone I had a relationship with for 20 years, worked together in several federal and provincial elections. Every year, I invited him to a barbecue in our backyard. I invited him to come this summer, but he never responded. I sent him a reminder email. He replied that he wasn’t coming as a result of Israel’s genocidal policies, because of untold numbers of Gazan deaths. He may in the future reconsider and meet again.”

Both men feel ostracized for being Jewish. However, increasingly Canada is becoming a physically unsafe country for Jews.

In August 2024, a total of 125 Jewish institutions received bomb threats. The RCMP, Canada’s federal police, is investigating. The suspected arson attacks of Jewish targets is increasingly common, such as the firebombing of a Jewish school in Montreal in late 2023; the January 2024 arson of a Jewish delicatessen in Toronto; and the May 2024 arson attack of a Vancouver synagogue. In September, the RCMP, working with the FBI, arrested Pakistani national Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, residing in Ormstown, Quebec, foiling an attempted ISIS-inspired terrorist plot on Jewish targets in New York City for the October 7 anniversary. 

The RCMP, in a statement sent to The Jerusalem Report, said it is aware of the rise of hate-motivated crimes across the country, calling them “unacceptable to society.” While the role of tackling the hate crime falls on various jurisdictions, it emphasized its role in intelligence as part of the Five Eyes security alliance to “respond to, and maintain situational awareness of all threats to national security.”

Skyrocketing hate

Statistics Canada reports that in 2022, Jewish Canadians were the targets of 67% of all religion-based hate crimes. B’nai Brith Canada (BBC), a Jewish human rights organization, reported a 109% increase in antisemitic incidents in 2023, reaching a record high of 5,791 incidents, observing levels of vandalism, harassment, and violence skyrocket in the time period after October 7. Initial data for 2024 suggests that the trend is worsening. According to the Toronto Police Department, 45% of all reported hate crimes in Toronto this year have been antisemitic, including cases of vandalism, assault, and threats. A Globalnews investigation from earlier this year found that the spread touched all Canadian cities and quoted Canadian intelligence reports of imminent dangers to Jewish targets by extremists. According to a 2024 survey by The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the advocacy agent of the Jewish community, 82% of Canadian Jews feel less safe after October 7.

Rich Robertson, director of research and advocacy for B’nai Brith Canada, describes the situation as escalating. “A fire is being stoked,” he warns, pointing to the rise of violent antisemitism across Canada, along with a growing presence of online hate, often amplified by artificial intelligence. University campuses, he says, have become hotbeds for these sentiments. “Antisemitism is systemic in the academic environment. It manifests in public displays, campus encampments, graffiti, and even physical attacks on Jewish students. It’s ingrained in the culture, with faculty spreading misinformation and teaching ahistorical narratives.”

Robertson notes that while campuses are a focal point, antisemitism is spreading into every corner of public life. Attacks on Jewish individuals and institutions, once rare, are now becoming more frequent. When conflict erupts in Israel, the Jewish community in Canada feels the impact disproportionately. “Canadian society doesn’t differentiate between the actions of the Jewish state and the Jewish Diaspora,” he says. As a result, Jewish Canadians face persecution, even if they have no direct ties to Israel.

Robertson believes the government must take stronger action through enforcing hate crime laws more rigorously and using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which includes anti-Zionism. “The Jewish population feels marginalized and targeted. We’re looking to the government and community leaders for help.”

The CRA targeting of JNF Canada

The Jewish National Fund (JNF) is one of Canada’s largest and oldest Jewish charities. It is the target of long-standing letter writing campaigns by antagonistic groups to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) asking to revoke its charitable status. As a result of these actions and others, the JNF’s file at the CRA is littered with complaints by anti-Israel activists, unions, and political parties based on access granted by Canada’s Access to Information Act, according to Lance Davis, CEO of JNF Canada.

While its relationship with the CRA has had its challenges, it has survived multiple audits since 1967 when its initial charitable object was accepted. The situation began to change in 2014 when another audit commenced, leading eventually to the revocation of JNF Canada’s charitable status.

In 2016, the CRA returned with legal deficiencies that needed to be addressed. To that end, JNF Canada hired legal counsel to help address the issues raised. “We endeavored to address the CRA concerns even if we disagreed,” Davis said, referencing a CRA concern about projects beyond Israel’s Green Line. However, in 2019, without any attempts at mediation to address concerns, the CRA went straight to an intent to revoke letter based on the recommendation of the auditor. “We were puzzled, and we went to the appeals branch to review their work. Why straight to revocation? Its own website shows a path including education, compliance agreements, sanctions, the last and least preferred method is revocation.”

Davis explained that since the intent to revoke was sent, the CRA has refused to address any attempt to mediate a solution. “No meetings, almost 10 years went by without a meeting. CRA convened only one meeting at the last minute without an agenda or even one question to clarify issues raised. JNF’s representatives requested to negotiate a compliance agreement. CRA officials said they would think about it.” However, months later, in June 2024, they confirmed their decision. “We exercised our right to appeal within 30 days as per Canadian law,” Davis said.

A copy of the June 2024 intent to revoke letter was obtained by The Jerusalem Report and found that according to the CRA assessment, it was commencing revocation due to numerous perceived violations of the Income Tax Act of Canada. Some of these involve use of charitable funds for activities in Israel.

On Saturday, August 10, in the midst of the ongoing appeal, the CRA published in The Canada Gazette, the official newspaper of the Government of Canada, the revocation of both JNF Canada and Ne’eman Foundations (another pro-Israel charity) charitable status.

“We wanted a compliance agreement but never had a constructive dialogue. Only 1-2% of charities that are audited are revoked due to cause. We find it hard to believe that JNF Canada, a legacy charity, is one of the worst violators. They revoked without any dialogue or attempt to resolve the issues,” said Davis, who reported that they have been stonewalled at least 10 times for meetings with officials.

The revocation may have been stoked by cases of partisan fervor. The union covering CRA employees, PIPSC, posted on X on August 24 an unusual message of congratulations. “As the union representing over 17,000 CRA professionals and an organization that will always stand with human rights, we commend CRA’s decision to revoke the JNF’s charitable status.”

While the CRA has generally stonewalled meetings with the JNF, according to Davis, a letter shared on X by Warren Kinsella, a Canadian lawyer and journalist, seems to confirm undisclosed meetings between the CRA’s director of the Compliance Division at the Charities Directorate and JNF detractors dated from 2018. After confirming the meeting, the detractors add, “We appreciate that you offered the complainants the opportunity to submit further information if it was to become available,” the letter is quoted as saying.

The CRA responded to a request for comment by The Jerusalem Report with the following statement: 

The CRA is committed to increasing the transparency and accountability of charitable organizations.

We can confirm that the charitable registration of the Jewish National Fund of Canada Inc. and of the Ne’eman Foundation of Canada were each revoked effective August 10, 2024, in accordance with the Income Tax Act.

In terms of government policy pertaining to the Israel-Hamas war, on March 18, 2024, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ruling party voted for an opposition motion supporting UNRWA and an arms embargo against Israel, permitting it to pass. 

On September 10, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced a weapons export ban on sales to Israel, suspending 30 permits for arms shipments during a Liberal Party caucus retreat from Nanaimo, British Columbia. “Our policy is clear: We will not have any form of arms or parts of arms be sent to Gaza. Period,” Joly told reporters.

Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Jean-Pierre J. Godbout confirmed the suspension to The Jerusalem Report: Considering the rapidly evolving situation on the ground and the complexity of supply chains, Canada suspended a number of export permits for military items destined to Israel since this summer. These suspensions are in line with Canada’s robust export control regime. Since January 8th, 2024, the Government of Canada has not approved new arms export permits to Israel, and this remains the Government’s approach.

Irwin Cotler speaks out

Irwin Cotler, a former Canadian minister of justice and attorney general and recipient of the Order of Canada, described an alarming rise in antisemitism. “One might think that the unspeakable mass atrocities perpetrated by Hamas, an antisemitic genocidal terrorist group, would spark more opposition to antisemitism, but instead it has ignited an explosion of hatred, including a denial or even celebration of October 7,” he said. “This surge in hate comes against a backdrop of longstanding antisemitism that predates recent conflicts. The embers of antisemitism were burning before October 7.”

Cotler outlined several disturbing trends even before October 7:

1. Alarming rises in incidences of antisemitism – including harassment, assault and violence – as part of a global rise in antisemitism, as evidenced in a 2024 report from the Irwin Cotler Institute at Tel Aviv University.
2. The rise in antisemitic beliefs. While specific Canadian statistics are unavailable, a report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) shows that between 2019 and 2024, the number of Americans who believe six or more antisemitic tropes has doubled.
3. Antisemitism disguised as anti-racism. Cotler pointed to a troubling case where a federal agency tasked with fighting racism funded an NGO that propagated antisemitic rhetoric.
4. Marginalization of antisemitism in the fight against racism. While efforts to combat racism against other minority groups are vital, Cotler noted that antisemitism often gets sidelined or “erased” in these conversations.
5. Mainstreaming, normalizing, and legitimization of antisemitism – and the absence of outrage – in the political, popular, entertainment, cultural, sports, media and, in particular, the campus culture.
6. Disproportionate targeting of Jews. Despite making up only 1% of Canada’s population, Jews are the target of 67% of religiously motivated hate crimes.
7. Erosion of traditional allies. Cotler pointed to the Ottawa Pride Parade, where the Ottawa Jewish Federation withdrew because of what it characterized as the “antisemitism” in the Capital Pride organizers’ statement, which accused Israel of an “ongoing genocide against Palestinians” and held Israelis responsible for “innocent Palestinians… being slaughtered, dehumanized, and dispossessed of their land.”

Cotler argued that antisemitism in Canada is tied to international trends, fueled by the laundering under the rubric of universal human rights. He explained that in the 1970s, human rights became a “secular religion,” but Jews and Israel were increasingly viewed as the primary violators of these rights. Cotler said, ”International bodies like the United Nations have persistently singled out Israel for selective condemnation, which has a prejudicial impact in a Canadian political culture where the UN is part of Canadians’ DNA and international law, a centerpiece of their identity.”

There were several tipping points in this trend. The 1975 UN General Assembly resolution equating Zionism with racism was a watershed moment. The 2001 Durban World Conference on Racism, where the slogan “Israel is apartheid” was coined, further fueled antisemitic rhetoric. Cotler drew a parallel between this rise of ideological hatred with the physical September 11 attacks, which occurred just days after the Durban Conference. Cotler recalled a colleague noting, “If 9/11 was the Kristallnacht of terror, Durban was the Mein Kampf,” thereby emphasizing the connection between global events and the rise of antisemitism.

Despite the challenges, Cotler believes there is hope. He has proposed 10 recommendations to combat antisemitism, which include stressing the need for a national action plan; Holocaust and antisemitism education pursuant to Canada’s Country Pledges at the Malmö International Conference on Antisemitism; implementing the IHRA definition of antisemitism; and effective enforcement of laws protecting against hate speech and hate crimes. “Antisemitism is not just a threat to Jews – it’s toxic to democracy. It’s a threat to national security, and while it begins with Jews, it won’t end with them,” he said.

Cotler concluded that reaffirming Jewish identity is essential in the fight against antisemitism in Canada and elsewhere. “We must embrace our heritage and identity. The Jewish people are a prototypical indigenous people, inhabiting the same land, embracing the same religion, studying the same Bible, speaking the same indigenous language, Hebrew, and bearing the same indigenous name, Israel, as we did 3,500 years ago. This truth rebuts the false apartheid narrative and reminds the world of the Jewish people’s historical connection to Israel, their ancestral homeland.”

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs responded to a request for a comment with the following statement from Shimon Koffler Fogel, its president:

The pervasive anti-Jewish sentiment that has seeped into Canadian society and the sharp escalation in frequency and intensity of antisemitic incidents have fostered a climate of fear and anxiety in many aspects of daily life, with many Jewish and Israeli Canadians no longer feeling safe in their workplaces, schools, and public areas. 

This surge in antisemitic incidents underscores a profound failure of leadership and societal response. Elected officials must move beyond offering words and instead confront and eradicate this pervasive climate of tolerance towards Jew-hate. It is time for decisive and immediate action from leaders at every level to address and counter this dangerous trend.■