Joint Letter Responding to the Prime Minister's Speech on Antisemitism

Dear Prime Minister,

Your address to the nation on antisemitism was a significant moment for our country. At a time of deep fear and frustration for Jewish Canadians, many in our community listened with a measure of hope. You rightly affirmed that antisemitism in Canada is “specific, severe, and demands a targeted response.” You also acknowledged that Canada is failing its Jewish citizens. That statement mattered. It created a launchpad for serious action. That is why the announcement that followed was so disappointing.

Instead of urgent, concrete measures, the government announced an advisory council, tasked first with further evaluating a crisis that has already been studied extensively, and which includes individuals who are not suited to lead government action on antisemitism. For many Jewish Canadians, this felt like the rug being pulled out from under us.

We have serious concerns about both the formation and composition of this council. Extensive media reporting has raised alarming questions about the suitability of certain members, including their positions on terrorist organizations and their support for campaigns that have made public institutions and campuses hostile to Jews. These positions are diametrically opposed to the principles articulated in your speech and are in contradiction to your message that antisemites “drove Jewish students from the common spaces on our university campuses.”

This has destroyed the credibility of the Advisory Council and undermined the force of your government’s stated commitment to confront antisemitism.

The House of Commons and the Senate have both conducted comprehensive studies on antisemitism in Canada. The federal government has held two national summits on the issue. Jewish community organizations and experts have put forward dozens of practical recommendations. The problem is not a lack of information. It is a lack of urgency, coordination, and enforcement.

There is real concern that this council will delay or even obstruct the federal action that is needed now. The threat facing Jewish Canadians is acute. This moment calls for immediate, coordinated action across the federal government. Further deliberation by a committee housed at Canadian Heritage will not meet the urgency of the crisis.

On behalf of Jewish communities across Canada, we call on you to move forward with urgency and focus the government's efforts on concrete action rather than further study.

We are calling for immediate action on the following priorities:

Name the problem clearly. Antisemitism in Canada is being driven in significant part by anti-Israel and antizionist hatred. Too often, extremists hide behind the language of “criticizing Israel,” using it as cover for conduct that would never be tolerated against any other community. Canada’s foreign policy impacts domestic safety. Disproportionate condemnation of Israel confers social license to antizionist extremists in Canada who are targeting Jewish Canadians. Jewish Canadians have a strong connection to Israel, their ancestral and spiritual homeland. Demonizing or targeting them because of that connection is unacceptable. The government must be unequivocal: nothing justifies discrimination, intimidation, hate, or violence against Jewish Canadians.

Focus on enforcement. Canada needs a consistent national approach to law enforcement, prosecution, sentencing, and removal. The federal government should urgently convene provincial and territorial attorneys general, along with law enforcement agencies, to establish clear principles, guidelines, and action plans so that those who break the law are held accountable.

Confront terrorism and radicalization. Canada must ensure that terrorist organizations, their proxies, and their adherents cannot operate here. This requires action against the promotion, recruitment, and financing of terrorism, as well as the radicalization that fuels violence. The government should also advance further bail reform that reflects new hate-crime laws and direct CSIS and the RCMP to treat antizionism as a serious driver of extremism, as they already do for Islamist extremism.

End government-funded hate. The federal government must review programs across all departments and agencies to ensure public funds do not support organizations or initiatives that promote hatred against the Jewish community. This must include addressing the weaponization of national institutions, including the Canada Revenue Agency and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Canada’s Integrated Threat Assessment Centre has confirmed what Jewish Canadians already know: the threat is real and urgent. Prime Minister, Jewish Canadians do not need another process that slows action. We do not need to wait for the worst to happen. We need leadership, action, enforcement, and accountability. We urge you to correct course.

Sincerely,

Noah Shack, CEO, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
Adam Minsky, President and CEO, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto
Yair Szlak, President and CEO, Federation CJA (Montreal)
Ezra Shanken, CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver
Yoram Abisror, Executive Director, Atlantic Jewish Council
Rob Nagus, CEO, Calgary Jewish Federation
Stacey Leavitt-Wright, CEO, Jewish Federation of Edmonton
Dean Lavi, Executive Director, Jewish London
Adam Silver, President and CEO, Jewish Federation of Ottawa
Marion Zeller, Executive Director, Windsor Jewish Federation
Jeff Lieberman, President and CEO, Jewish Federation of Winnipeg

B’nai Brith Canada
Hillel Ontario
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