The following speech was given by General Rick Hillier this past week at the Song Shul in Toronto as they marked Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.
General Hillier is serving as Honourary Patron for the newly launched Allies for a Strong Canada (AFSC). AFSC was created by non-Jewish Canadians who are publicly taking a stand against the rise in antisemitism we have seen in Canada since October 7th.
As a collective voice, we must encourage our elected leaders to take the action that our laws demand when hatred manifests itself in the way we have seen it. This is about being outspoken about Canadian values, which call for us to stand up for the country we want it to be. Antisemitism isn’t just a threat to the Jewish community, it is a threat to our democracy.
Shana Tova.
Thank you to all of you for welcoming me into your services and making me a part of your community today as you usher in a new year.
Rosh Hashanah is a time for personal reflection, and this difficult year brings a chance for community to come together to hope for not only a fresh start but also the chance for renewal.
On October 7, 2023, we here in Canada woke up to horrific scenes on social media of brutal mayhem.
Hamas had launched one of the deadliest and most coordinated attacks on Israel in decades. Breaking through fences, paragliding in, crashing through gates, they found their targets in their homes on their otherwise peaceful kibbutzim running from a music festival for peace, hiding in fields where they were caught as they were out for a Saturday morning walk.
The attack began early in the morning with a massive rocket barrage from the Gaza Strip aimed at civilian areas across southern and central Israel. Thousands of rockets were fired over several hours, targeting Israeli cities, towns, and communities forcing families into their safe rooms.
As rockets rained down, Hamas fighters infiltrated Israel’s borders, breaching the highly fortified Gaza-Israel barrier through land, sea, and air, including by motorbikes, trucks, and paragliders.
This attack was unprecedented in its scale and complexity. Hamas fighters stormed Israeli communities near the border, including towns, kibbutzim, and military bases. Civilians were directly targeted, with militants going house to house in some locations, executing and kidnapping people. Horrific scenes unfolded in places like Kfar Aza and Be’eri, where Israeli citizens, including women, children, and the elderly, were brutally murdered.
As they rampaged throughout the south they began to take hundreds of hostages back to Gaza.
The death toll from this attack was catastrophic for Israel, with over 1,200 people killed, many of them civilians. The deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust.
The shock was not only due to the number of casualties but also the brutality of their actions. Hamas didn’t try to hide their actions—they broadcast them. Livestreaming a grandmother’s murder live on her Facebook, filming on go-pros, posting on Telegram channels.
Who would have thought that as we watched these horrors unfold it would unleash a wave of antisemitism?
For the better part of a year, we’ve seen a rising tide of violence and hate in Canada against Jewish people who call Canada home.
Schools, neighbourhoods, synagogues, community centres, and even daycares have been targeted by antisemitism. Just recently in Ottawa, protestors targeted a Jewish seniors’ centre while screaming hateful chants.
Since October 2023, this surge in hatred has manifested in various forms, from verbal and physical harassment of Jewish individuals to the vandalism of synagogues and other Jewish institutions.
Two men look at a bullet hole in the door of the Bell Yeshiva Katana school Thursday, May 30, 2024 in Montreal. Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press.
While it is not new for the Middle East conflict to be polarizing, what has become increasingly alarming is the blurring of lines between criticism of Israel and outright antisemitism. The violence in the Middle East has been mirrored by heightened tensions in Canadian cities, with pro-Palestinian protests regularly taking over downtowns, chanting hateful chants and rallying cries for violence, and occasionally being marred by acts of hate and violence directly targeting the Jewish community.
In the days and weeks following the attacks, there were reports of hate crimes targeting Jewish individuals and institutions across Canada. Synagogues in several major cities, including Toronto and Montreal, were defaced with graffiti and hate symbols, arson attempts, and smashing of windows. Jewish schools, community centres, and businesses have also been horrifically targeted, including a shooting into a girl’s school here in Toronto. Understandably this is raising concerns for the safety of Jewish Canadians.
Platforms such as X, Facebook, and Instagram have become hotbeds for misinformation, hate speech, and inflammatory content, conflating Zionism with global Jewish identity.
Many Jewish Canadians have reported feeling targeted online simply for their heritage or for expressing support for Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism, with hate speech online translating into real-world consequences.
And as we watch this wave of antisemitism hit our cities, university campuses, microcosms of society, have become a major flashpoint for rising antisemitism, often leaving Jewish students to feel unsafe or ostracized. In some cases, Jewish students have reported being harassed for their support of Israel, while others have faced hostility simply for being Jewish. Jewish students and academics have shared experiences of feeling intimidated or silenced, reporting experiences I never thought I would hear happening in this country.
Seeing all of this happening has compelled me to act.
I have proudly served this country as a soldier, including as the chief of defence staff for the Canadian Armed Forces for the majority of my adult life. I have been motivated to make my voice heard about the rising tide of antisemitism and to try and motivate other Canadians to also speak and declare that this is not acceptable. Our country is not one where hatred becomes the accepted norm. Where it becomes something that you tolerate every single day.
As a collective voice, we as Canadians need to encourage our elected leaders to take the action that our laws demand when hatred has manifested in the way that we have seen it. This is about the values we must be standing up for and the country we want to be. Antisemitism isn’t just a threat against the Jewish community, it’s a threat to our democracy,
Non-Jews must stand against antisemitism. This is a shared responsibility and essential for fostering a just and inclusive society. Antisemitism, like any form of bigotry, threatens the values of equality, tolerance, and human dignity. When one group is targeted, it can create a dangerous precedent that harms society as a whole.
Antisemitism has deep historical roots, from ancient prejudices to the horrors of the Holocaust, and it continues to persist in modern times. By standing against antisemitism, non-Jews not only help to protect the Jewish community from violence, discrimination, and fear but also reaffirm the principles of human rights. In doing so, they contribute to building a society where all minorities can live free from persecution.
Antisemitism ultimately undermines the values of equality, justice, and human dignity that form the bedrock of diverse and inclusive societies like Canada’s. Antisemitism is not merely a Jewish issue; it is a societal problem that threatens the safety, security, and well-being of everyone.
History has shown that when prejudice against one group is tolerated, it opens the door to hatred against others.
When non-Jews stand against antisemitism, they send a message that Canada is a country where everyone, regardless of their background or faith, has the right to live free from fear and discrimination.
Defending the Jewish community from antisemitism means defending the principle that no one should be targeted based on their identity. By doing so, we create a stronger, more compassionate society for all.
Antisemitism, in all its forms, threatens the very fabric of our shared humanity.
As Elie Wiesel said, “Action is the only remedy to indifference: the most insidious danger of all.” This is why I am committed to acting. And I stand before you today, marking a new year as the proud honourary patron of the Allies for a Strong Canada, a new organization that will bring voices of allies from across Canada together because there is no choice but to take action.
Please know you are not alone. This year we will not allow indifference to prevail.
