TorontoAP —
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday that Canada is failing Jewish Canadians and that the community is being brutally targeted by hate.
Carney said anti-Semitism across Canada has risen to levels not seen since World War II. He noted that last year, more than two-thirds of all religiously motivated hate crimes were directed against Jewish Canadians. Jews make up only 1% of the population.
“The fear and shame is global. Our action must be local, and it starts with a clear recognition that Canada’s civil agreement betrays Jewish Canadians,” Carney said at Toronto’s Holy Blossom Temple.
Carney said anti-Semites in Canada have opened fire on Jewish schools, thrown incendiary devices into synagogues and attacked community centres. He said he targeted Jewish-owned businesses and chased Jewish students from common spaces on university campuses.
Mr Carney said anti-Semitism plagued Europe, Australia and the US. But he said the anti-Semitism crisis in Canada is “unique and serious, and requires a targeted response.”
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, 2023, anti-Semitic incidents have increased rapidly around the world.
“Something important has happened. Canada has finally said the quiet parts loudly,” Harley Finkelstein, a prominent Jewish Canadian and president of e-commerce company Shopify, posted on social media.
Noah Schack, CEO of the Center for Israeli and Jewish Affairs, said before speaking that the Canadian government needs to do more to strengthen community safety and combat hate.
Mr Carney said the government had introduced legislation over the last year to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred. He said the $75 million (US$54 million) funding will provide faith-based organizations with security infrastructure and additional security personnel, among other things.
“It hurts that we had to spend $75 million on this,” Carney said.
The Prime Minister also said a new ministerial advisory committee on rights, equality and inclusion would investigate the nature, scale and drivers of anti-Semitism. He said his office will continue to measure the impact and invest in education, prevention and community safety.
“I want to be clear about what these potential measures are and what they are not. They are not restrictions on freedom of expression. They do not restrict legitimate criticism of the government anywhere and on any subject,” Carney said.
“These are the fundamental standards we hold each other in the public institutions we share to ensure that Canadian communities are not excluded from public institutions through hatred.”
