Canada's Antisemitism Crisis Faces Potential Turning Point
Two significant events occurred in Canada last week that may, when viewed with optimism, represent a crucial turning point in the nation's troubling and distressing flirtation with antisemitism. There exists widespread anecdotal evidence of discrimination targeting Jewish applicants across various employment sectors and exclusive professional occupations, including medicine and education. Reported antisemitic incidents have surged to levels far beyond what law enforcement can adequately address, encompassing unprecedented violence, car thefts, and petty harassment such as the removal of Mezuzahs from doorframes.
Massive Toronto Protest Against Iran's Regime
The first incident involved an extraordinary turnout of over 350,000 individuals, predominantly Muslims, in Toronto demanding regime change in Iran. Canada is home to approximately 1.8 million Muslims, with about one-third being of Arab descent. Among those, likely only half originate from regions adjacent to Israel, who typically represent the most strident opponents of Jewish people. Remarkably, an approximately equal number of Canadian Muslims braved cold weather to peacefully demonstrate for the overthrow of a regime that has armed, financed, and directed terrorist assaults against Israel.
This demonstration became a badge of honor for Toronto, as it emerged as the largest such protest globally, despite coordination with similar events in other cities including Munich and Los Angeles. Demonstrators presented roses to police officers, and through their advocacy for overthrowing what many consider the world's most barbarous and racist government, they effectively debunked the dangerous falsehood that all Muslims support war against Israel and Jewish communities worldwide.
Defense of Jewish Summer Camps
The second incident involved revelations that a coalition of virulently anti-Zionist movements within Canada has been challenging the right of Jewish summer camps for children to operate across most provinces. These completely unexceptionable camps faced accusations of propagating Jewish genocidal hostility toward non-Jews, with the sole evidence being their Jewish identity itself. Fortunately, all authorities responsible for licensing and monitoring children's camps rejected and denounced these entirely spurious attempts to impose hateful antisemitic malignancy upon Jewish children.
Historical Context and Contemporary Challenges
It remains inconceivable that such antics reflect the views of any substantial proportion of Canadians. Antisemitism was widely despised in the lengthy aftermath of revelations about Nazi atrocities against Jewish people and millions of other death camp victims in Europe. Perversely, some Europeans appear afflicted by an inability to forgive Jewish communities for having attracted the inexplicable mortal hostility of Nazi leadership, thereby tarnishing Europe's reputation, despite general acknowledgment of the continent's wicked assault on Jewish people during the Third Reich.
Simultaneously, paralleling declines in some Christian practices, a significant number of Western Jews have effectively abandoned Judaism as a religious affiliation. These individuals attempt to portray themselves as religious non-practitioners who reject Judaism as an ethnic identity and profess complete disinterest in Israel. The most dramatic evidence of this trend emerged when nearly half of New York City's Jewish vote in the November mayoral election supported Zohran Mamdani, a candidate known for hostility toward Israel and blaming Jewish communities.
The argument that Israel possesses no right to exist as a Jewish state represents unspeakable nonsense that contradicts historical reality and international law. These recent developments in Canada suggest potential progress in confronting antisemitism, though significant challenges persist in addressing discrimination and hate incidents targeting Jewish communities nationwide.
