By Gil Troy and Richard Marceau
Canada is facing an antisemitism crisis.
Jewish schools are being shot at, synagogues firebombed and Jewish-owned businesses vandalized. Multiple made-in-Canada terror plots linked to ISIS have been uncovered, campuses have become hostile spaces where professors and students are harassed simply for being Jewish, workplaces have become infiltrated by antisemitism masked as anti-Zionism, and protests where flags of terrorist organizations fly proudly have taken over our streets.
And the response? Politicians spout platitudes like, “This is not our Canada.” Well, it is now.
If this is not the Canada we want for ourselves or for our children, then we — us and them — must act.
Responsibility lies with the authorities at all levels, who have too often remained deaf to the requests, suggestions and pleas from Canadian Jews and human rights activists. Governments and law enforcement must do more.
Municipal, provincial and federal governments must update existing regulations to meet the moment. This means banning the glorification of terrorism, listing groups that support terror and instigate extremist activity as terrorist entities, enhancing terrorism screening, updating hate crime legislation to address gaps in the Criminal Code that allow those promoting violence or inciting hate against Jews to skirt the system, and passing safe access zone legislation to protect community institutions, schools and places of worship from intimidating protesters.
Law enforcement must enforce the law. This goes far beyond hate propaganda charges. Jew-haters have broken many other laws by uttering threats, assaulting passersby, unlawfully assembling, disguising with intent, causing disturbances, committing mischief, creating nuisances and intimidating citizens.
Beyond supporting basic police work, governments must train the police and the judiciary to recognize and address antisemitism. They also need to ensure that Jewish communities do not bear the brunt of security costs. Properly funding police and providing resources to Jewish institutions is essential.
Every Canadian, too, has a responsibility to act. “Silence is complicity” is as relevant now as it ever was. No bystanders are innocent. Every person must raise their voice against hate, confront antisemitism disguised as anti-Zionism, and ensure classrooms and workplaces are free from bias and intimidation. Doing what is right is often not easy, which makes this type of leadership and courage all the more meaningful.
But it is not only the responsibility of others to stop the scourge of antisemitism. As Jews, we, too, are responsible for changing this course.
The outward-facing work — of advocating and speaking out, of educating and dispelling misinformation — is crucial. But it is not enough.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1991 to 2013, wrote, accurately: “Non-Jews respect Jews who respect Judaism, and they are embarrassed by Jews who are embarrassed by Judaism.”
This is not the time to despair for Canadian Jews. Nor is it the time only to fight. When you’re attacked for who you are, your attackers give you a chance to realize who you are as well — what you are made of and what’s important to you.
Jews young and old can learn from Jewish students throughout North America who have embraced Identity Zionism — a healthy Jewish nationalism that recognizes Jews as a people as well as followers of one faith. By celebrating this people’s ties for 3,500 years to their one indigenous homeland, the land of Israel, young Jews are discovering a more meaningful future for themselves.
Through the lens of Identity Zionism, they see the power of being an “us” not just an “I,” a lonely, isolated, often alienated island. They appreciate adding chapters to a 3,500-year-old story that is more meaningful than the me-centric, instant gratification of our shop-till-you-drop, throwaway culture. And they root themselves not just in their people, not just in their story, but in eternal Jewish values that can guide us all to live better lives and build a better world.
Here’s the great irony: Citizens flounder in post-national worlds, with no core identity, no mainstream. By doubling down on their Jewish identity, Canada’s Jews are rediscovering Canadian values, too.
The Zionist revival taking place in North America can inspire a liberal-nationalist revival here in Canada. It can return us to a Canada of proud communities that, by appreciating their own traditions and their own uniqueness, also learn to respect others.
Only by returning to our roots and understanding our true values — by being anchored as somethings, not nothings — can we unite to fulfill the Canadian Constitution’s vision of peace, order and good government. These three pillars are what we need to fight Jew-hatred and build a better Canada.
Special to National Post
Gil Troy is a Distinguished Scholar of North American History, McGill University and a prominent expert on Zionism. A senior fellow in Zionist Thought at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), Troy, the author of 15 books, recently published To Resist the Academic Intifada: Letters to My Students on Defending the Zionist Dream. He will be touring Canada, coast to coast from Feb. 2 through Feb. 13.
Richard Marceau is Vice-President and General Counsel at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). A former member of Parliament, he is the author of A Quebec Jew and the co-editor of the Canadian Haggadah Canadienne.