A federally-funded “anti-hate” organization says its relative silence on weeks of antisemitism has been because it only has the resources to focus on hate from the “extreme right.”
Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN) founding chair Bernie Farber made the admission on X in response to a post criticizing the organization for its silence on the recent wave of antisemitism following a terrorist attack on Israelis.
“It’s been a month since the terrorist attack on Israelis. This is the first post from anti-hate since then. I know your views because I’ve grown up knowing you. But it’s not just me calling this out,” posted the user, Ariella Kimmel.
“Ariella, antihate.ca focuses on the extreme right. That is what it does. I wish we had the resources to do more. We just don’t,” replied Farber.
The organization has faced weeks of criticism for its sparse reporting on the ongoing anti-Israel protests engulfing Canada.
Farber’s admission sparked a backlash on social media. True North’s Andrew Lawton criticized Farber’s selective focus.
“Canada’s leading anti-hate activist, Bernie Farber, says (CAHN’s) silence on a month of antisemitism has been because they only focus on the ‘extreme right.’ Thanks for admitting this is all coming from the left then, Bernie!”, posted Lawton.
True North founder Candice Malcolm also joined in the criticism pointing to the fact that anti-Israel rallies across Canada were staged by the extreme left.
“As Andrew Lawton points out, the boss over at ‘anti-hate’ let the cat out of the bag. The reason they’re not covering the anti-Israel hatefests throughout Canada is because those rallies are led by the Left (including Islamists) not the scary Right,” wrote Malcolm.
The accusations against CAHN come amid nationwide demonstrations by supporters of Hamas. Major anti-Israel demonstrations have been held in cities such as Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Montreal following Hamas’ attack on Israel.
Despite the rise in antisemitic incidents during these protests, CAHN has not published any reports or public comments on the threats faced by Jewish communities from the far-left specifically.
The issue of antisemitism is not confined to Canada. In the United States, a 69-year-old Jewish man died following a confrontation with pro-Palestinian demonstrators in suburban Los Angeles. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.
