Since October 7th, the rise in antisemitism has been alarming in its spread throughout Canada. The Trudeau government has done far too little to stop it and too much to countenance it.
As Israel first responded to the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust, the government’s reaction was unreliable. It said different things to different audiences and generally relied on perfectly crafted talking points to avoid taking a clear position on Israel’s right to defend itself.
Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, Mélanie Joly, alongside our prime minister, Justin Trudeau, soon exposed its inner bias when Joly continued to question the bombing of a hospital in Gaza long after international allies had confirmed it was the result of forces hostile to Israel. It was an early sign of the one-side-ism that has come to reflect the government’s position on the ongoing conflict.
One would have thought that an appreciative message from Hamas in late December would have been enough to shame the government, but that clearly hasn’t been the case. Instead, the government has effectively doubled down on its messaging, calling for a ceasefire and then saying that the government could recognize a Palestinian state.
Most recently, through insouciance or naïveté, Minister Joly failed to recognize the borders of Israel after the shocking attack on a children’s soccer field by Iranian-funded Hezbollah terrorists. She subsequently issued a follow-up statement but her initial reaction was rather telling.
The Canadian government’s refusal to consistently support the only democratic country in the Middle East has irrevocably altered our foreign policy in a way that is detrimental to the security of our country. It’s causing allies to question our priorities. It’s also giving permission structure to the rise in antisemitism that we are witnessing in our communities.
The government’s moral ambiguity about Israel has enabled protestors to take over our streets. To be clear, the lawlessness and expressions of hate that we are witnessing in our streets, in front of hospitals, places of worship and in universities in the name of Gaza are not protected free speech. Protests and expressions of free speech are not unlimited against the backdrop of other rights. These expressions are permitted within the boundaries of the law. Full stop.
The unwillingness to enforce the law is shocking. It reflects a left-wing relativism that effectively says civil disobedience (and worse) is acceptable as long as those in leadership roles agree with the message. But we shouldn’t become sensitized to the message here. It is one of hate for Jews and for Western values. When people are debating whether a position or statement is antisemitic or antizionist, it is antisemitism.
In addition to the overt acts of antisemitism, there is also the sinister creep of Jew hatred trying to disguise itself as self-righteousness over the actions of a state. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s refusal to participate in the Israeli flag-raising because it would be too divisive is a good example. Israel is a state recognized by the United Nations and home to Jews, Arabs, and Christians. The only division is the one being created by a civic leader promoting the message that Israel’s current borders are illegitimate or that it ought to be subject to far higher standards than those who wish to destroy it.
Some Liberal members of Parliament are taking a stand against their own party for its weak position in the face of the developments, but they’re being drowned out by their own radical colleagues who clearly have more clout in this wayward government. While those MPs supporting the Jewish community should be applauded for their moral clarity in a sea of fog, the reality is that they’re voiceless in their own party.
One Liberal MP wants to pass a protection zone boundary law that keeps MPs and their constituency offices safe from threatening behaviour, all the while being willfully blind to the fact that the Liberal government itself allowed and enabled the threatening behaviour to continue unchecked in the first place. It is not just constituency offices that should expect to be free of threatening behaviour. All of us should be free from threatening behaviour, including Canadian Jews.
So, when Liberal candidates claim that, unlike the Liberal prime minister, the Liberal cabinet and much of the Liberal caucus, they’re fighting for the Jewish community and against antisemitism, Canadians are right to be skeptical.
As a Conservative candidate, I’m proud to point to our party’s proud tradition of fighting antisemitism and supporting Israel’s place in the world, which goes back to Prime Ministers John Diefenbaker, Brian Mulroney, and Stephen Harper and is embodied in our current leader, Pierre Poilievre.
