Canada Is No Longer Safe for Jews

I grew up in Canada. Sure, there were antisemitic incidents here and there, like most communities in the Diaspora. But for the most part, I felt safe and patriotic. I never had to look over my shoulder, and if something did happen, I knew the police had our backs.

But it never quite felt like home for me. When I finished high school, I left for Israel, where I still live. Yes, Israel has its problems, but watching what has happened to Canada, I have never been more grateful I made that choice.

On Monday night, Prime Minister Mark Carney stood at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto and told the crowd that Canada's civic compact is "failing Jewish Canadians." In truth, Canada, its government, and Mr. Carney himself have been failing Jewish Canadians for a long time.

6,800 Incidents, One Advisory Council

B'nai Brith Canada recorded over 6,800 antisemitic incidents in 2025, the highest number since tracking began. Synagogues firebombed, Jewish schools targeted by gunfire, Holocaust memorials vandalized, Jews physically attacked in the street.

The Prime Minister's response was an advisory council.

Conservative MP and Deputy Conservative Leader Melissa Lantsman put it plainly: "Carney spoke at a synagogue about antisemitism three years into a documented crisis. Gunshots into schools. Firebombs into businesses. Effigies of Jews hung in the streets. Full incitement of hatred against Canadians, weekly, in their own neighborhoods."

B'nai Brith Canada called the speech a "missed opportunity," saying the community was hoping for "true tactical changes that could positively be actioned to change the lived experience of Jewish Canadians."

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Carney should offer "a big apology" for "the violence, the terror and the fear that his party and his government have allowed to happen over the last decade."

An apology would be a start. What Carney offered instead was a committee.

The Man Who Validated "Genocide"

At a Calgary campaign rally in April 2025, a protester shouted that there is a genocide happening in Gaza. Carney responded by thanking the protester and saying, "I'm aware, which is why we have an arms embargo."

The mayor of Hampstead called it "a disgraceful betrayal of moral clarity." Conservative MP Roman Baber called the Prime Minister out directly: "When the Prime Minister says on the campaign trail that he knows there is genocide in Gaza, he fuels Jew hatred." 

Carney later claimed he hadn't heard the word "genocide" over the crowd noise. A convenient response.

Yes, Prime Minister, Canada is failing its Jews. You are the proof.

Three Toronto synagogues were shot at in a single week in March. The community demanded enforcement and leadership. Carney’s response: he made a post on X.

Carney recognized a Palestinian state on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, rewarding the brutality of Hamas on the night of the Jewish New Year. Canada, under the Liberal Party that Carney now leads, halted arms sales to Israel in January 2024. Carney also stated he would arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he ever set foot in Canada. These policies and statements pour fuel on the fire of Jew demonization.

The Council That Proves the Point

The new antisemitism advisory council is chaired by Marc Miller, a minister who championed legislation that critics said could criminalize certain Torah readings as hate speech, and who signed off on a $133,000 federal grant to Laith Marouf, a man who openly called for violence against Jews. This is who the government chose to lead the fight against Jew hatred.

Mr. Carney, one cannot validate the language of genocide at a campaign rally and stand in a synagogue months later claiming to be the guardian of Jewish life. One cannot turn a blind eye while antisemitism in your country hits new records, and then act surprised at the results.

The Jewish community in Canada, together with all Canadians, deserves a leader who means what he says, consistently, when nobody in the crowd is applauding.

Watching from Jerusalem, I see a country that was once a safe home for Jews becoming a place where Jews are afraid to walk the streets and show who they are. Some high-profile Jewish Canadians are already making their choice. Both renowned author and Professor Gad Sa'ad and the chief of cardiac surgery at the Jewish General Hospital Dr. Emmanuel Moss, have recently decided to leave the country, citing antisemitism as a cause.

Mr. Carney, allowing antisemitism to fester in one's country is a choice. The results are heartbreaking for all Jewish Canadians.