Iddo Moed: The hero of Belleville represents what Canada should stand for

On Sept. 20, Yom Kippur eve, the holiest night of the Jewish year, Const. Jeff Smith put his life on the line to save Jews in Canada. Bravely, decisively and without indifferent delay or hateful rationalization, he placed himself in harm’s way, sustaining significant injury, to prevent the loss of innocent lives. At considerable cost to himself, Smith acted and averted the tragedy of Bondi Beach in Australia.

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The shooting and armed confrontation at the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ont. was not, of course, the first of its kind for Canada, nor did it occur in a vacuum. It was just the latest hate crime in the inflation of such events to their highest level since recorded statistics in Canada. In the past year alone, 70 per cent of all religiously motivated hate crimes, nearly 800 incidents, were directed against the Canadian Jewish Community.

Columnist Jesse Kline keeps you up to date with what’s happening in Israel and the effects of antisemitism on life here in Canada. Friday mornings.

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For the Belleville synagogue, it remains to be seen if Israel and anti-Zionism, the most common excuse for such events, will emerge as cause or attempted justification. This is of no small concern, considering that the overwhelming majority of Canadian Jews support their right to self-determination in their ancestral land of Israel, what Zionism is. Anti-Zionism has become Canada’s new Jew hatred, antisemitism evolved for this digital age of disinformation and artificial realities. New tools have been applied and old libels resurrected to be heated by virtue-signaling, ignorance and malevolence into a drug to which the world has become addicted.

These issues are foremost for Jews in Canada and everywhere as we observe the most solemn period of the Jewish New-Year and as we contemplate the year gone by and the year to come. We ask questions and we search for answers and like many others my mind turns to the event one year ago to this date. One year ago, on Sept. 21, 2025, Canada became the first free democracy to announce on the international stage that it would “post-conditionally” condone and reward the proceeds of terror with recognition. To Canada’s Jews and Jews everywhere Canada had broadcast to the world that it had chosen Palestinian self-determination over self-determination for Israel and the Jews.

Formal recognition of one group committed to the destruction of the other. Condemnation of a free democracy, the one-and-only Jewish homeland and the majority of Jewish Canadians who support it. It sent the message that Canada’s values are extremist values, and in the year that has followed Canadian rhetoric if not policy has continued to single out and expose the one-and-only Jewish state to this double-standard of condemnation. Appeasement and capitulation to terror did not yield dividends of peace for Canada’s Jews or the Middle East. And despite Canadian leadership’s claim that recognition does not legitimize terrorism, in Canada and reinforced by inaction, it has permitted, emboldened and tacitly condoned rising violence against its Jews. The floodgates of hatred have opened upon Canadian Jewry of all walks of life, in public and in private, across institutions and in some places, at all levels of government.

This past June at a Toronto synagogue, Canada’s prime minister quietly failed to address the demonization of Israel in the evolution of rising anti-Zionist Jew-hate and violence in his country. While his predecessor had stated publicly that he is a Zionist, this prime minister will not publicly mention the country’s name. Jewish concerns are instead relegated and displaced for placation through funding and partial-promises taken from a pre-existing Senate report. Israel, the root excuse and false justification for anti-Zionist Jew-hate, was absent from the prime minister’s prepared statement. This did not go unnoticed by Canadian Jews or by their haters. And in the wake of this event, silence has continued to breed ascent and inaction has provided permission to target Canadian Jews.

And what have become of the “post-conditions” for recognition laid out by Canada’s leadership? Have these conditions been met? No, they have not. The condition of general elections to be held in 2026 where Hamas plays no role has not been met. Democratic governance changes, and demilitarization of the future state, did not occur. The regime has instead announced increased funding and recommitted to the future of their pay-for-slay terror program. Canadian leadership statements that recognition does not compromise its support for Israel’s security, but rather empowers those seeking peaceful coexistence and the end of Hamas, have instead been met with the resurgence of Hamas and political support for those seeking the destruction of Israel.

With Canada often at the lead, Israel has been uniquely and repeatedly singled out for condemnation and delegitimization. While Countries like Finland have ceased financial support for UNRWA following proof of ongoing terrorist activity, funding from Canada continues. Canada has joined an international coalition which is attempting to force a statehood solution on Israel that Israel has already categorically rejected. Just this week the Canadian prime minister co-chaired a United Nations forum dedicated to economic sanction intended to coerce this outcome. In statements made, he referred to generations of Canadian leaders who supported a two-state solution without recognizing at the same time their support, or adding his support, for the Zionist Jewish homeland. Recent events have shown us that not only Israel, but Canadian Jews suffer dark dividends from such lop-sided transactional politics. Canada’s leadership would do well to consider to that to sanction the one-and-only Jewish homeland is to sanction the overwhelming majority Canadian Jews.

Perhaps Canada’s leadership at all levels should learn from the example of Const. Smith who at the time of this writing remains listed in hospital in critical condition. If Canada’s leadership is truly accountable to Canadian values at home and on the international stage, it must do so in word and in deed. It must send a message and follow with actions: Extremist values are not Canadian values, Const. Smith’s values are Canadian values. Canada must emulate and praise the heroism of those like Smith, rather than cower and reward violence and terror at home and abroad. We wish Const. Smith, and Canada, a full and speedy recovery.

Iddo Moed is Israel ambassador to Canada.

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