Canada’s Jews are under attack, their safety is all of our concern

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Imagine having to corral a dozen or more cops to hold a news conference in public on a busy Toronto street – or having to ensure that police and private security are at every single community event you hold.

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That’s the reality for Toronto’s Jewish community.

It was like this, to a degree, before Oct. 7, but it has only increased since then.

I’m not sure people who aren’t Jewish can understand the lengths their fellow citizens need to go to in order to feel safe these days. As a non-Jew who has been to several events, synagogues and community meetings over the last several months, it’s quite shocking.

A point I keep making is that I’ve been going to Mass at Catholic churches across the country my entire life, I’ve never seen a cop at Mass unless they were attending. Most Canadians don’t see cops in their places of worship, but for Canada’s Jews it’s now standard – people don’t think about it but they should.

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On Monday, several Jewish groups held a news conference to announce they were seeking intervenor status in the court case to remove the pro-Hamas encampment at the University of Toronto. Standing on Harbord St., I could easily count a dozen Toronto Police officers in my line of sight and there were more on the side streets and behind the building.

“I think it’s difficult for people outside of the Jewish community to appreciate the sense of vulnerability that we have,” Rabbi Seth Goren said when asked about the large police presence.

“When our places of worship are attacked, when our schools have been shot up, when we have people who have been physically assaulted, it raises concerns.”

Goren called it a “sad sign of the times” and “disturbing but necessary” for these security measures to take place.

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The news conference was just over a week after a Jewish girl’s school in the north end of Toronto had several bullets shot into it. There have been multiple synagogues attacked, Jewish businesses attacked and that is on top of the attacks on individuals ranging from young students to senior citizens.

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow were all asked what concrete steps they were taking to deal with anti-Semitism. While Trudeau and Ford spoke in general terms about their efforts, Chow got down to the nitty gritty.

She spoke of her roundtable on safety, local community safety walks, and more.

“Whether it is shatterproof glass, fencing, lighting, or trimming of bushes, or cameras. We assist because we have the knowledge and best practices,” Chow said.

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Her list of assistance brought out a strong response from Premier Ford.

“You just heard the mayor say shatterproof glass. Really?” Ford asked. “We have to have this in schools, in Ontario? Where have we gone?”

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Ford wasn’t criticizing Chow, or her program, he was criticizing the idea that any school in Ontario should have to consider shatterproof glass on the windows, lest someone shoot through it.

That’s the reality of the Jewish community in Canada now.

As someone who has been close to the Jewish community in several cities across this country for more than 20 years, I can say as an outsider that it wasn’t always like this.

Now though, when there are events in the Jewish community, it is often the case that everyone must register ahead of time, everyone must present government ID to get in, and the location of the event is only revealed within 24 hours before it takes place.

This weekend, the United Jewish Appeal is hosting a Walk with Israel event to raise money for those impacted by the war including evacuees. That event is under threat by people who don’t want Jews to have a place in public life in Canada.

Anti-Semitism is more than slogans and hate speech, it’s making our fellow citizens feel unsafe, that they aren’t welcome, in their own community, their own country.

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