Safety of Ontario's Jews needs to be taken seriously by Queen's Park, CIJA says
· Toronto Sun
As the Ontario legislature’s spring session kicked off Monday after an extended break, a Canadian Jewish group demanded Queen’s Park take the safety of the community seriously.
In a statement issued Monday, Michelle Stock — Ontario vice-president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) — said the trio of GTA synagogue shootings earlier this month highlighted the urgency of immediate and effective action.
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“Recently, three synagogues in the Greater Toronto Area were struck by gunfire,” she said in the statement. “Extremist protesters openly threatened violence, glorified terrorism and displayed imagery portraying Jewish people as sub-human. And last week, one of Canada’s own intelligence agencies warned that a violent extremist attack against the Jewish community is a realistic possibility.
“What we have seen is deeply alarming and part of a broader pattern of escalating antisemitism that has left many Jewish families questioning their safety.”
Attacks should be wake-up call for politicians
The attacks, Stock said, should serve as a stark wake-up call for every elected official in the province.
Anti-Israel and far-left activists in Toronto embarked on a campaign of harassment and intimidation almost immediately after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, even before that country began its campaign of self-defence against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
That left Toronto Police to deal with over 800 demonstrations since then, as well as frequent vandalism of Jewish-owned businesses, loud and disruptive holiday protests in busy stores and shopping malls, as well as marches through Toronto’s Jewish neighbourhoods with participants harassing and intimidating residents.
Canada’s explosion of unchecked antisemitism is sparking concern around the world with Israel’s deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel telling the Toronto Sun earlier this month that the RCMP need to take charge of the investigation before Canada finds itself the target of an Islamist terror attack — similar to what occurred in Bondi Beach, Australia, late last year.
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Harassment, intimidation becoming ‘new normal’
In the wake of those attacks, Stock said CIJA expects Premier Doug Ford and his government to fulfil commitments made to the city’s Jewish community that concrete action will take place.
Stock made three requests of the Ford government — increase security for Jewish schools, synagogues and community centres, ensuring existing hate crime laws are enforced and offenders held accountable, and holding school boards and administrative bodies to account for maintaining safe learning environments for all students.
“For more than two years, extremists have targeted Jewish neighbourhoods, institutions and community members across Ontario ,” Stock said. “Harassment, vandalism and intimidation have become disturbingly routine.
“This cannot become the new normal.”