Who did NOT sign “Statement on Deplorable Rise of Antisemitism in Canada”?
Open Letter to Leslie Church, MP Toronto-St. Paul’s.
CC: Prime Minister Mark Carney
Dear Leslie,
Thank you for signing that “Statement on the Deplorable Rise of Antisemitism in Canada”, written and instigated by Mount Royal (Montreal) Liberal MP Anthony Housefather. When you met with me on July 10, 2025, while you were noncommittal about the Liberal Party’s foreign policy, you were unequivocal about the need of Canada’s new Liberal government to confront antisemitism in Canada. Indeed, your public signature on that Statement is a good indication that you walk the walk.
But in our discussion on July 10, I told you that as a Jewish thought leader, I thought that the Liberal Party has abandoned the Jews. And you tried to reassure me that the Liberal Party – its leadership, its caucus – had NOT abandoned the Jews.
And yet. Of the 169 Liberal MPs constituting the government in Canada’s current Parliament, only 37 signed – 22% of the Liberal Party caucus. And the 37 did not even include party leader and Prime Minister Mark Carney. To be clear: this letter does not even mention Canada’s foreign policy positions, promise of recognition of Palestine, voting against Israel in the UN, etc. None of that. The Statement exclusively addresses the issue of rising antisemitism in Canadian society.
Here is the complete text of the statement:
“Jewish Canadians – like all Canadians – have a fundamental right to feel safe in Canada. Regrettably, right now, there is a deep sense of unease, fear, and unsafety among many Jewish Canadians across Canada.
On Thursday, a Jewish woman was stabbed in Ottawa while shopping at a grocery store in an incident police are treating as a hate-motivated crime. The man who attacked her has previously posted virulent antisemitic comments on social media. Three years ago, such an incident would have been shocking. Today, much less so. From attacks on synagogues, Jewish schools and monuments, Jewish owned businesses, Jewish community organizations and lately individual Jews themselves, antisemitism is becoming normalized.
Since Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th and Israel’s military response, anti-Jewish hatred has skyrocketed the world over. Canada is no exception. In Canada, like other countries, actions to target local Jewish communities and make them responsible for actions happening in the Middle East, are wrong, unacceptable, and anti-Semitic.
Right now, Jews make up slightly more than 1% of Canada’s population, but are the victims of 70% of reported religious-based acts of hate. This spreading hate is a call to action for all Canadians, all levels of government, law enforcement, schools, public institutions and places of work.
As Parliamentarians, we have already done work to determine what concrete actions are needed by all levels of government, schools, and police. We support the actions recommended in the December 2024 Report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, and the outcomes of the March 2025 National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism. As Members of Parliament, we stand firmly behind the Prime Minister’s commitment to quickly bring forward changes to the Criminal Code this fall to prevent unlawful fear and intimidation outside places of worship, schools and community centres.
We are committed to keeping all Canadians safe. This includes the Jewish community that has contributed so much to building the vibrant country we have today. Jews should be able to live their lives safely with their Jewish identity proudly known, on the streets, at work, at community gatherings and in schools and on campuses. Every one of us in Canada owes this to our neighbors and to one another.”
CTV News began its article on the Statement: “Nearly a fifth of the Liberal caucus has issued a letter calling for more to be done to address a rise in antisemitism after a Jewish woman in her 70s was stabbed at an Ottawa grocery store.”
What it SHOULD have said is: “Less than a quarter of the Liberal caucus has issued a letter calling for more to be done to address a rise in antisemitism after a Jewish woman in her 70s was stabbed at an Ottawa grocery store.”
Less than a quarter of the Liberal caucus? Less than a quarter of the Liberal caucus can bring themselves to publicly sign even this anodyne Statement? A Statement that has nothing to do with foreign policy and only with the civil rights of Canadian Jews?
A fellow constituent of St. Paul’s riding texted me that she heard that our MP, Leslie Church, was among the signatories to the Statement. I immediately scoured the Internet to try to find that indeed you had signed the Statement. I had a hard time finding your name posted anywhere. The reports on CBC, CTV and National Post listed a number of Liberal MPs’ names, but not yours. I went to your Facebook, expecting to see it at least there, but there was nothing. My St. Paul’s friend eventually sent me a screenshot where your name was listed.
You have fulfilled your assurance to me that you will stand up against antisemitism, at least by publicly signing this Statement. My request to you as a constituent is to please do three things to really make your signature meaningful:
- widely publicize that you signed this Statement;
- call publicly for more Liberal MPs to add their names to this Statement; and
- call publicly for the head of the Liberal Party, PM Mark Carney, to call publicly for more Liberal MPs to add their names to this Statement.
Is there a defensible reason why EVERY Liberal MP should not sign this Statement?
Thank you, Leslie, for signing. I salute you for taking a stand against antisemitism in Canadian society as you assured me you would when we met in July. But if in the end, less than a quarter of Liberal MPs can bring themselves to sign even this anodyne motherhood-and-apple-pie condemnation of antisemitism in Canada, then it seems to me that, notwithstanding your assurance that they hadn’t, the majority of the Liberal party – i.e. the Liberal Party under Mark Carney – has truly abandoned the Jews of Canada.
Respectfully submitted,
Benjamin Rubin
