Canadians need to have the antisemitism conversation | Letters to the Editor

On the evening of Sunday, Sept. 20 in Belleville, on the holiest day of the Jewish year, dozens of shots were fired outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue . A police officer guarding the building was in critical condition after the incident. This wasn’t the first attack at our places of worship, and it’s not going to be the last.

Imagine needing to pay a security service and police officers to attend mass. Imagine sitting in a baptism, holding a brochure telling you what to do in an active shooter situation. Imagine not publicizing locations of community events because it isn’t safe to say where your congregation is gathering. That is the reality for Canadian Jews.

As a society, we prioritize centring minority voices. But when the Jews of Canada repeat, “We’re not safe,” and nobody listens, that’s a failure. In the past three years, synagogues in Montreal have been firebombed. Synagogues in Toronto have been the target of shooting attacks. Jewish people have been attacked on the street. It hasn’t stopped, and it’s getting worse.

If a hate crime occurs and none of us is surprised, that is very telling. With under one per cent of Canada’s population, we can’t be the loudest voice. That’s why we need allies to speak out against the attacks. Not just the attacks, but also the antisemitism that thousands of us have faced in a country that prides itself as being multicultural.

This shooting had one victim. The next will have more. And there very likely will be a next, unless everyone around us makes a concerted effort to fight antisemitism online and in our communities.