Oh (no) Canada

Since October 8, 2023, somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 Israelis left Israel “for good” and moved to Canada. It’s difficult to get more accurate numbers since every media outlet finds the polling numbers that best suit its stories. In fact, it doesn’t matter what the real number is. Either number is ridiculously large considering these Israelis voluntarily left the safest place on Earth to be a Jew to move 10,000 kilometers away to a place the Diaspora Ministry is now calling a ‘Champion of Antisemitism’. It is beyond explanation.

According to a thread on Reddit, “the number of Israelis migrating to Canada has surged dramatically since the onset of the on-going war … driven by escalating violence and political instability.”

That’s actually funny, in a non-funny way. These Israelis wanted to get away from escalating violence so they chose a country where antisemitism has surged by several hundred percent (here again, the numbers vary wildly) in the past 20 months. Even Fox News reported that antisemitism in Canada had “exploded” post October 7, 2023.

Canada is now one of the most antisemitic countries in the West according to Dr. Casey Babb, a senior fellow at the McDonald-Laurier Institute, in Ottawa. The federal government – first under Justin Trudeau and now under Mark Carney — is unapologetically pro-Palestinian and already has an arms embargo against Israel. This past week, it has threatened to do more.

The mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow, a long-time anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian supporter, recently said she felt bad that she didn’t attend an anniversary vigil for Israel held in her city seven months ago. That’s nice. It’s not true, but it’s a nice thought. According to the comments section in the same CP24 news article, she wasn’t sorry at all. She was working on some legislation for bike lanes and could not spare an hour.

Now here’s the catch. At the same time that all these Israelis are moving in and talking about how wonderful their new country is, there has been an 87% increase in the number of Canadian Jews inquiring about and opening files to make Aliyah. It’s true that not all Canadian Jews are worried and ready to make Aliyah. Their lives are good and they are staying put; Israel does not register in every Jew’s mind. However, significant numbers of Canadian Jews see the writing on the wall; they are fearful for their families and their children’s future in an increasingly unwelcoming environment. The increase in inquiries is still telling.

Then there’s the emigrants diminished sense of security. They think that living in Toronto and Montreal, with their aggressive pro-Palestinian mobs is going to make them feel more secure? In both cities there have been several attacks on Jewish schools, synagogues and Jewish children. Roving pro-Palestinian groups are terrorizing Jewish neighborhoods and harassing Jewish students on university campuses. And these newcomers think they are going to be safer there? Well marijuana is legal in Canada so that will help them perpetuate their delusions.

Sure seems like some people didn’t do their homework.

Antisemitism has always been comfortably ensconced in Canada. But that’s not what we’re talking about. Forget the 1933 Christie Pits Riots, or Canada’s prime minister in 1939 refusing to allow a boat with 900 Jews fleeing Nazi Germany to dock in Canada and publicly explaining that “one is too many.”

And forget the violent protests that broke out at Concordia University in 2002 when Bibi Netanyahu arrived to speak at a Hillel event and the organizers had to cancel it a few hours before it began for fear of his safety.

I’m talking about every day since October 8, 2023. I’m talking about the dramatic increase in antisemitic violence in Jewish neighborhoods, at Jewish day schools and synagogues in Canada as reported by B’nai Brit Canada and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. I’m talking about the federal government’s approved pro-Palestinian march on Parliament Hill in Ottawa a few weeks ago. And the government’s threat this past week, along with Britain and France, to take more drastic measures if Israel doesn’t withdraw from Gaza immediately.

This is the country that approximately 6,000 Israelis decided to go to when they left Israel for good. There must be something I can’t see. We still have to address Canada’s cold winters, the black ice on the roads, the failing single-payer, health-care system, and public transportation at rush hour. Good plan chaverim. And good luck.