This week, we are launching our Introduction to Online Advocacy series of webinars to combat anti-Israel and antisemitic social media messaging. We joined the Israeli Embassy in Ottawa to celebrate 75 years of Canada-Israel diplomatic relations and the integral role played by former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. We advocated for standardized reporting of hate incidents, and we are calling on the Canadian government to condemn the false and malicious equivalency inherent in the recent ICC decision to apply for arrest warrants for both Hamas and Israeli leaders. 

Read on to learn more. 

CIJA

Are you tired of scrolling through antisemitism and other hate in your social media feeds? Do you want to do something about it? So do we.  

Over the course of four webinars from June 4 to June 25, Intro to Digital Advocacy will host a roster of international experts who will provide insight into how to fight contemporary antisemitism online. You’ll gain the fundamental knowledge required to identify, monitor, and report antisemitic and anti-Israel content. At the end of four sessions, you’ll be able to call yourself a digital activist engaged in the fight against online antisemitism and hate. 

This webinar is a follow-up to October’s Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It conference held in Ottawa. 

REGISTER NOW

This week, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan filed applications for warrants of arrest for both senior Hamas terrorists and senior Israeli officials. This application draws an absurd moral equivalence between Hamas’ terrorist attack and Israel’s obligation to defend against it. It intentionally disregards what the prosecutor himself acknowledged as Israel’s robust legal structures in place that govern IDF conduct and its documented efforts to ensure humanitarian aid is distributed to Gazan civilians.  

We are grateful to the elected officials, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ministers Mélanie Joly and Chrystia Freeland, MPs Melissa Lantsman, Anthony Housefather, and Michael Chong, who spoke out in the House of Commons against the ICC Prosecutor’s application to seek arrest warrants against Israeli leaders.

We join Canadians of good conscience in asking Canada to register its opposition to the application. Not to do so risks the total discrediting of the ICC. Read our full statement here.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the Embassy of Israel in Canada co-hosted a celebratory symposium marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Canada-Israel diplomatic relations and highlighting the legacy of the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson, the 14th prime minister of Canada, and the diplomatic role he played in the context of the Israeli-Arab conflict in the Middle East. Speakers and panelists presented perspectives on the past, present, and future of Canada-Israel bilateral relations as well as other aspects of the broader international environment. Learn more.

In this op-ed in The Orca BC, CIJA Vice President Nico Slobinsky and Steven Ngo from Fix Police Reporting and the Vietnamese Professionals Association of BC explore the need for standardized hate crime reporting in British Columbia.

Community Calendar

Communities are gathering in cities across Canada in support of the people and land of Israel. Find an event near you.

May | Jewish Heritage Month
June 5 | Yom Yerushalayim
June 9 | UJA Walk with Israel
June 12-13 | Shavuot
June 24 | Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (Quebec)
July 1 | Canada Day

CIJA in the News 

Le DPCP ne poursuivra pas Adil Charkaoui (TVA Nouvelles + syndication QMI) 

Petition urges governments to consider antisemitic protest chants 'hate speech' (National Post + Postmedia Syndication) 

Antisémitisme: «Après les Juifs, ça va être le Québec qui sera sous attaque», selon le CIJA (QUB Radio) 

Le Canada souffle le chaud et le froid quant au possible mandat d’arrêt contre Nétanyahou (Le Devoir) 

Jewish groups commend Ontario’s passing of Bill 166 - 8:57-10:37 (The News Forum) 

Le CIJA demande au Canada de rejeter la décision du procureur de la CPI - 1:47-2:31 (ICI Radio-Canada Première) 

Un suspect arrêté en lien avec les coups de feu tirés sur une école juive (La Presse) 

Suspect charged in shooting that targeted Jewish school in Montreal (Toronto Sun, + Postmedia Syndication) 

Canada’s Crackdown on Digital Hate: Effective, or Just Loud? (The Tyee) 

First read on Pierre Poilievre (Politico) 

‘It’s not enough’: Israeli official calls on Canada to be a more steadfast ally (Toronto Star Toronto Star, + Metroland Media Syndication) 

An arrest was made in connection with one of the November 2023 shootings directed at Yeshiva Gedola in Montreal (The Canadian Jewish News) 

Antisemitism envoy tells MPs foreign conflicts need not lead to Canadians fighting one another (The Globe and Mail) 

Montreal police arrest man in connection with yeshiva shooting (The Jewish Chronicle) 

SLOBODIAN: Trudeau's weak response... does he think Netanyahu's a war criminal? (Western Standard)  

United Church moderator, other church leaders march on Parliament Hill to call for Gaza ceasefire (Broadview) 

Israël déplore le changement de ton du Canada à son égard (Le Devoir) 

L’UQAM se tourne à son tour vers les tribunaux (La Presse) 

Pushing back against antisemitism (Jewish Independent) 

An emotional remembrance (Jewish Independent) 

Opinion: It’s time to standardize hate-crime reporting in B.C. (The Orca) 

Community Careers

National senior professional, External Affairs - CIJA
Associate Director, University Relations - Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, CIJA
Associate Director Advocacy, Public and Independent Schools - Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, CIJA
Hillel Director - Jewish Federation of Edmonton
Chief Executive Officer - Calgary Jewish Federation
Vice President/Director of Development - Jewish Federation of Ottawa/Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation