Warn Bigotry Is ‘Fashionable’

Canada has normalized anti-Semitism and made public spaces unsafe for Jews including children, the Senate human rights committee was told yesterday. Witnesses testifying at the start of hearings on anti-Semitism said public expression of hatred was so commonplace it had become “pervasive and casual, even fashionable.”

“Anti-Semitism has morphed from the occasional shocking event to becoming normalized, pervasive and casual, even fashionable,” testified Stacey Leavitt-Wright, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton. “It is a daily reality that affects how we gather, how we educate our children, how we practice our faith and how we show up in society. The result is fear and exhaustion.”

Leavitt-Wright said she avoided parts of her city even in daylight hours. “When protestors holding signs about Israel chant, ‘Throw them off buildings,’ ‘kill the Jews’ on Whyte Avenue, this is no longer about one’s right to protest the activities of the Israeli government,” she said.

“It is hate speech, intimidation and incitement, and this area of the city is no longer accessible to me on a weekend afternoon,” said Leavitt-Wright. “When incidents like this happen, Edmonton is no longer a safe city for Jews.”

“We appeal to our government to put the brakes on Jew hatred,” said Leavitt-Wright, adding many Jews have reconsidered residency here. “Truth be told, many Canadian Jews have a safety plan in place, looking to what country including Israel can be a safe harbour to Canada becoming even more unrecognizable,” she said.

Winnipeg Unsafe

Belle Jarniewski, executive director of the Manitoba Institute to Combat Anti-Semitism, described hatred as pervasive and aggressive. “Anti-Jewish hate and the politicization of anti-Semitism have become normalized in Canadian society,” she said.

“Anti-Israel protests in our streets have openly vilified Canadian Jews and called for destruction of the only Jewish state,” said Jarniewski. “A Winnipeg leader of these rallies referred to Zionism as a disease that must be destroyed. Open threats have been made.”

“Let me be clear: Canadian Jews no longer feel safe,” said Jarniewski. “We have witnessed attacks on Jewish institutions and individuals.”

Rivka Campbell, executive director of Beth Tikvah Synagogue of Toronto, said her institution had been targeted with vandalism and arson attacks since the October 7, 2023 killing and kidnapping of Jews in Israel by Hamas terrorists. “Sometimes it isn’t about education,” she said. “Sometimes it’s just willful anti-Semitism, and if it is, there need to be consequences.”

“Symbolic gestures such as tweets on Holocaust Remembrance Day, vague statements about ‘standing against hate’ are insufficient,” said Campbell. “Responses to acts of anti-Semitism using the words ‘we condemn all hate,’ or ‘we condemn anti-Semitism and – ’ are not enough. Condemnation of anti-Semitism stands alone.”

“A Stark Picture”

Jews comprise less than one percent of the population but are targeted in most police-reported hate crimes, according to Statistics Canada data last July 22. “Some victims may not report a hate crime they experience or it may not be recognized or recorded as a hate crime by police,” said the study Police-Reported Crime Statistics 2024.

Richard Robertson, research director for B’nai Brith Canada, yesterday told senators that anti-Semitism had become “ingrained into our society” since the Hamas attacks. “The numbers are painting a stark picture,” he said.

“Act now,” said Robertson. “Increasingly, Jewish Canadians do not feel safe in their own country. Some have begun to question their future as Canadians.”

The human rights committee is not due to report its findings until late 2026. “We do not have another year to spare,” testified B’nai Brith’s Robertson. “The hate is manifesting and threats are compounding.”

By Staff