With the first anniversary of Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israeli civilians last Oct. 7 approaching, Canada’s Jewish community will again be under assault from what the media euphemistically describe as “pro-Palestinian” demonstrations.
Many of these demonstrations, while claiming to protest the actions of the Israeli government and military in Gaza and now Lebanon, will target Jews across Canada, as they have been for a year.
This year, it will happen during the holiest time on the Jewish calendar — the period between Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
Even when there isn’t an ongoing war in the Mideast, many Jewish communities across Canada as a matter of course, now hire off-duty police officers to protect themselves while at prayer in their places of worship during these Jewish high holidays.
But that won’t be enough this year as made clear by Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw, to cite one example, who on Wednesday announced enhanced police measures to protect the city’s Jewish community, where hate crimes against Jews are up 69% compared to a year ago.
These measures include establishing police command centres in three Jewish neighbourhoods across the city, increasing patrols by uniformed and plainclothes officers and, where warranted, arresting demonstrators who assault police.
Investigations will also be carried out and, where warranted, arrests made, Demkiw said, for those suspected of committing hate crimes against Jews, including flying the flags during demonstrations of organizations listed by the federal government as terrorist entities.
Police in Toronto will also have a fourth mobile command centre deployed to various mosques in the city and to be clear, we support efforts to protect Canada’s Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities from hate crimes in Canada as well.
But that said, it is clear that for the past year, Canada’s Jewish community has endured the lion’s share of hatred emanating from these so-called “pro-Palestinian” demonstrations, many aimed at Jewish places of worship, Jewish neighbourhoods, Jewish businesses, Jewish schools, Jewish community centres and Jewish university students.
Finally, police efforts to stop this will only succeed if mayors and city councillors across Canada support them, which in many cases has been woefully lacking up to now.