Noah Shack: After Belleville, it’s time to restore peace, order and good government

While Americans pride themselves on “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” Canada’s Constitution is grounded in “peace, order and good government.” Those words express a foundational Canadian promise: laws will be enforced consistently, institutions will uphold basic standards and disagreements will be resolved peacefully — not through violence.

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For Jewish-Canadians, that promise has too often fallen short over the past three years.

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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The Hamas-led terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, not only marked the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, they unleashed a global wave of antisemitism on a scale not seen in generations. Here in Canada, the impact has been felt across the country and in every part of life.

Jewish federal public servants are facing harassment and discrimination at twice the rate of other communities. Hateful protests feature open calls for violence and Nazi-era propaganda, while police look on. Jewish-owned businesses have been targeted.

Almost every Jewish university student has experienced or witnessed antisemitism. The National Holocaust Monument was desecrated. Jewish workers face hostility from the very unions meant to represent them. Synagogues and Jewish schools have been firebombed and shot at.

In many cases, a familiar pattern emerges. Governments, institutions and authorities fail to take responsibility, enforce their own rules or hold perpetrators to account.

Too often, the response changes when an incident is wrapped in the language of criticism of Israel or the conflict in Gaza. Conduct that would be recognized as intolerable in any other context, or for any other demographic, is suddenly treated as acceptable.

As Prime Minister Mark Carney stated in June, Canada’s civic compact — which holds our diverse, democratic society together — is failing Jewish-Canadians. He added that when our institutions fail to uphold basic standards for Jews, they fail all Canadians.

While the prime minister never explicitly mentioned Zionism, he delivered the speech at Toronto’s Holy Blossom Temple, with Canadian and Israeli flags behind him.

For anyone who has been inside a synagogue, the scene was entirely familiar. The Jewish people’s connection to the Land of Israel is woven into our religious, social and cultural life.

This is hardly unique to our community. Walk into a Greek Orthodox church and you will see the Greek flag. Visit a Ukrainian Orthodox church and you will see the Ukrainian flag.

For those of us who are not Indigenous, it is the quintessential Canadian experience: our families came from somewhere else, bringing their own histories, traditions and connections to other lands.

Yet Jews face a very different reality. Synagogues, Jewish schools and community institutions require levels of security only seen at airports and other high-threat venues. The recent attack on a synagogue in Belleville, Ont., showed us just how important those protections are.

Had it not been for the extraordinary bravery of constables Jeff Smith and Michael McCurdy, Canadians would have witnessed the kind of mass-casualty terror attack seen in Boulder, Colo., Washington, D.C., Manchester and Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

Their heroism must be a rallying cry for leaders across society to confront the hatred and violent extremism that has taken root in Canada before it is too late. There are, thankfully, signs of progress.

In a BBC interview following the United Kingdom’s announcement of sanctions related to Israeli settlements, former CSIS director David Vigneault said criticism of Israeli policies has been exploited by extremists to radicalize Canadians toward antisemitism and even terrorism.

In her review of antisemitic incidents at Toronto Metropolitan University, Judge Mary Lou Benotto warned that administrators cannot resolve the conflict in the Middle East. But they can enforce their own policies, protect students and hold those responsible for misconduct accountable.

Ontario’s new anti-racism and anti-hate directive strengthens the responsibility universities have to address hate and discrimination on campus. It also provides for financial consequences when institutions fail to comply.

At a conference on antisemitism at the start of the academic year, Melanie Woodin, president of the University of Toronto, outlined the measures that her institution is taking. She pointed to a new resource the university produced, which specifically says that harassment and discrimination “do not cease to be problematic because the word ‘Jewish’ or ‘Israeli’ is replaced with the word ‘Zionist.’ ”

Last week, Justice Minister Sean Fraser and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree affirmed this reality in their “Progress Report on the National Commitments to Combat Antisemitism.” The report explicitly recognizes that antisemitism includes anti-Zionism.

And in a statement about the report, the ministers positioned antisemitism as a national security concern that “threatens social cohesion and democratic values.” In addition, Fraser is leading a process to bring the provinces and territories together to advance the consistent enforcement of new and existing laws.

These are important steps forward. Yet, chillingly, Canada remains one policing or intelligence failure away from a massacre. Leaders at all levels should not need another wake-up call.

Universities and all public institutions must enforce their rules and take action to end radicalization. Governments must ensure that authorities enforce the law and are resourced to do so. And leaders must speak with the moral clarity required when the basic rights and safety of Canadians — regardless of religion or ethnic background — are under threat.

This is not about choosing sides in a foreign conflict. It is about restoring peace, order and good government — for Jewish-Canadians, and for all Canadians.

Noah Shack is CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

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