Antisemitism in Canada exploded last year as the war unfolding in Israel and Gaza was used to 害羞草研究所渏ustify害羞草研究所� the targeting of Jews in Canada, B害羞草研究所檔ai Brith said Monday as it released its latest report on antisemitism.
It comes as the world marks Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the rise in antisemitism was a key part of speeches delivered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre at the ceremony at the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa.
害羞草研究所淪ince Oct. 7, there has been a disturbing increase in antisemitism to a scale we had not witnessed for generations,害羞草研究所� Trudeau said.
Based on incidents reported to B害羞草研究所檔ai Brith, including through collaborations with police, there were 5,791 documented acts of violence, harassment and vandalism aimed at Jews in 2023, more than twice the 2,769 documented incidents in 2022.
害羞草研究所淚n 2023, we entered a period of crisis,害羞草研究所� said Richard Robertson, the director of research for B害羞草研究所檔ai Brith Canada.
He said there is no one place to lay the blame, saying incidents can be attributed to the 害羞草研究所渁lt-left, the far right and those acting at the behest of foreign actors.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淲hat is clear is that the situation is untenable and requires urgent intervention,害羞草研究所� said Robertson.
There were 77 violent incidents recorded last year, more than three times the number in 2022.
Winnipeg Police investigated a shooting at a Jewish home in October as an act of hate. Montreal police launched an investigation after two Jewish schools were shot at overnight in November, and another investigation when a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a synagogue.
In Toronto, police arrested three people after students at a Jewish high school were threatened in October.
害羞草研究所淭his means that on average, a Jewish Canadian was threatened or assaulted every fourth day in 2023,害羞草研究所� Robertson said. 害羞草研究所淭hese figures are horrifying and warrant an immediate action in response from all societal stakeholders, both governmental and non-governmental.害羞草研究所�
There were 462 acts of vandalism in 2023.
The vast majority of recorded incidents 害羞草研究所� 4,847 害羞草研究所� took the form of online harassment. Messages included threats that 害羞草研究所測ou and your family are going to die,害羞草研究所� expressing glee at the deaths caused by Hamas on Oct. 7, and declaring an intention to eradicate Israel or Jews.
More than half of the incidents happened in the three months after Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage. Israel responded with force, launching a relentless air attack on the Gaza Strip that has displaced more than a million people, killed an estimated 35,000 people, and inflicted a humanitarian crisis with shortages of food, medicine and water.
Within a week after Oct. 7, the RCMP called for 害羞草研究所渋ncreased vigilance害羞草研究所� after an obvious rise in antisemitic threats online.
The total number of antisemitic incidents in Canada last year was the largest recorded in a single year since B害羞草研究所檔ai Brith began producing an annual tally in 1982. The numbers parallel reports from several municipal police forces, including Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver, about an exponential increase in hate-motivated incidents targeting Jews last year.
Robertson said the 害羞草研究所渁ggressive rise in antisemitism害羞草研究所� has left Canadian Jews feeling dehumanized, 害羞草研究所渙stracized and abandoned.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淭he systemic nature of the antisemitism has forced Canadian Jews to question the continued vitality of the nation害羞草研究所檚 Jewish communities,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淔or perhaps the first time there was a genuine concern that the Jewish Canadian narrative 害羞草研究所� is at risk of being subject to erasure.害羞草研究所�
Poilievre said Monday that given how long it has been since the Holocaust, some memories have started to fade and some of the same 害羞草研究所渢otalitarian ideologies害羞草研究所� that drove the Nazis in Germany, have returned 害羞草研究所渨ith the same hateful rhetoric, and in some cases, the same precursor actions playing themselves out today.害羞草研究所�
Poilievre pointed to antisemitic rhetoric on university campuses and the targeting of Jewish buildings and homes and said the result is that Jewish Canadians are 害羞草研究所渕aking the heart-wrenching decision害羞草研究所� not to wear a star of David symbol or a kippah, or to take down the mezuzah on their door frame.
害羞草研究所淚n Canada it is absolutely unacceptable that you should be faced with this dilemma,害羞草研究所� he said.
Poilievre said Jewish Canadians must be allowed to live 害羞草研究所渇earlessly and proudly害羞草研究所� and that 害羞草研究所渋t is the responsibility of every Canadian, Jewish or otherwise, to stand with your right to do that.害羞草研究所�
Trudeau said in his speech that the Oct. 7 attack on Israel was the largest mass killing of Jews since the Holocaust, and took aim at those who use 害羞草研究所淶ionism害羞草研究所� to express their hatred.
害羞草研究所淚n a country like Canada, it should be and it must be safe to declare oneself a Zionist, Jewish or not,害羞草研究所� he said.
害羞草研究所淶ionism is not a dirty word or something anyone should be targeted for agreeing with. It is the belief at its simplest that Jewish people, like all peoples, have the right to determine their own future.害羞草研究所�
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