In the 1976 movie Network, Peter Finch, as veteran news anchorman Howard Beale, delivers a famous on-air tirade: “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.” Many Canadian Jews feel similarly today — angry and frightened by a Canada they barely recognize. They are weary of political figures responding to antisemitic hate crimes with platitudes like “this is not who we are” or “this is not what Canada stands for.”
Without effective leadership from government, police, universities, and school boards, the community and like-minded Canadians are left questioning: What does Canada stand for?
Recent Events
In North York, six gunshots were recently fired at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School, the third such attack on the Jewish girls’ school last year. This followed the firebombing of Congregation Beth Tikvah, the seventh attack on a Jewish institution in that city within 14 months. Around the same time, riots in Montreal erupted during anti-Israel/anti-NATO protests. Demonstrators torched cars, smashed windows, and burned Israeli flags, while one performed a Nazi salute and proclaimed, “the final solution is coming your way.”
At Queen’s University, anti-Israel protesters took over administration offices, displaying signs such as “All the Zionists are Racists” and “Glory to our Martyrs,” punctuated by the inverted red triangle (banned in Germany) used by Hamas to target its victims. In Toronto, a protester at TMU dressed as a masked terrorist.
These are only examples of the hatred on our streets and in our campuses.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow condemned the latest shooting at Bais Chaya Mushka, saying, “Enough is enough.” Yet, condemnation of antisemitic violent incidents is an inadequate response. What infuriates the Jewish community is the seeming indifference to hate-filled protests and demonstrations that embolden these attacks. Antisemitic hate speech has been normalized in Canada.
Hate Speech on Display
Since the Oct. 7, 2023 massacres, protesters have blocked roads and intersections, chanting for the elimination of Israel, by any means necessary. They claim Zionists—which include 91% of Jews—are racist, genocidal, and evil. They celebrate terrorist leaders, offering up bullets for their use and chant slogans like “From the River to the Sea—Palestine Shall be Free” and “From Water to Water – Palestine Shall be Arab.” They call for “Global Intifada,” while burning Israeli and Canadian flags.
One particularly egregious demonstration in Montreal included a prayer for the eradication of Zionist aggressors: “Allah, count every one of them, and kill them all, and do not exempt even one of them.” Despite its obvious incitement to violence, this hate-fest incurred no legal consequences.
Weekly pro-Hamas demonstrations in Toronto, at Sheppard Avenue and Bathurst Street include disturbing imagery. Yahya Sinwar’s death was reenacted in a bloody chair, and Jews were offered “free flights” to Amsterdam, the scene of a recent pogrom. Recently, a masked demonstrator wore a cloak bearing the Hamas emblem, and a sign stating that “Israel’s only friend is the gharqad tree”, referencing a Hamas charter passage about judgment day, where all other trees and stones will reveal the location of hiding Jews to be killed by Muslims.
Legal Protections and Failures
Criticism of Israel is protected speech, even when offensive or one-sided. However, demonizing Zionists and Israelis and calling for Israel’s destruction through violence is hate speech. The Supreme Court of Canada’s 1990 Keegstra decision upheld laws criminalizing the wilful promotion of hatred, emphasizing the harm it causes by emotionally damaging targeted groups and inspiring discrimination and violence.
Despite these legal protections, current laws—including those against criminal intimidation (which specifically addresses the blocking of roads), unlawful assembly, disguising with intent to commit a crime, incitement to hatred, and interference with the lawful use and enjoyment of property (mischief) —are never, or sparingly used, in cities like Toronto and Montreal. This lack of enforcement emboldens extremists, who can close down streets and intersections and preach hatred with impunity.
Why Aren’t the Police in Toronto and Montreal Enforcing the Law?
Several factors contribute to the lack of enforcement, although ultimately, non-enforcement is most readily explained by a failed approach to de-escalation and a lack of political will.
:Many police officers and prosecutors lack training on the legal tools available to combat hate. They are also unfamiliar with modern antisemitism and fail to recognize how anti-Zionism is used to demonize Jews.
Authorities may fail to recognize terrorist emblems, flags, genocidal chants, sometimes deliberately uttered in Arabic, or terrorist groups operating in Canada.
Investigations into hate crimes and related terrorism offences lack proper coordination between agencies, resulting in inconsistent or uneven results. Related to this are the inconsistent legal interpretations between various police agencies and prosecutors, which result in withdrawals of fully investigated charges.
Police in Toronto and Montreal appear to believe that preventing immediate violence constitutes successful de-escalation, regardless of the hate-filled content of protests. However, their approach merely emboldens extremists, and ignores the intrinsic harm caused by unregulated hate activities that take over our streets.
The Role of Political Will
While civilian policing oversight bodies and municipal governments cannot direct police in their day-to-day operational decisions, they establish policies that inform how police do their work. The Toronto Police Service Board has no existing policy on policing protests, demonstrations and occupations. Such a public order policy is long overdue and must be prioritized. It should demonstrate zero tolerance for antisemitic (and other forms of) hate and support the robust use of criminal offences and municipal bylaws to address hate activities.
The cities of Montreal and Toronto must show true leadership, lacking to date. Mayors and City councils must, at a minimum, not merely condemn antisemitism but make clear that it includes the demonization of Zionists (including the vast majority of Jews) and denounce chants such as “Zionists are evil, genocidal and racist” as hate. They should also set clear limits on activities permitted on city property and support the robust use of existing laws to combat hate and ensure accountability.
Education, training and policy-making should be informed by the IHRA definition of antisemitism (and the supporting federal government booklet on its application), and the House of Commons Justice Committee’s report on antisemitism.
A Call to Action
The police are not powerless to act. Existing laws, while imperfect, are more than adequate to address extremism and hate. Police in jurisdictions such as Ottawa have shown a clearer understanding of their enforcement role.
The Jewish community is entitled to be angry – not at individual officers, but at the failed approach taken to hate speech and unlawful protest activities. They should insist that the authorities enforce the law. And that leaders show the will to do so.
