The reason the government of Canada has failed its Jewish citizens in its response to the unprecedented outbreak of antisemitism ever since Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, is straightforward. Since that date, the Carney and Trudeau governments have ignored their own definition of antisemitism, which they adopted in 2019.
Known as the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, the Carney government describes it as 'the leading definition of antisemitism worldwide... the product of a 16-year-long democratic process, adopted or endorsed by 42 countries (now 47),' including Canada. Carney's response at a Jewish synagogue in Toronto on Monday to the virulent rise of antisemitism was ostensibly part of his government's claimed effort to 'enhance the adoption and implementation of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism.' However, if that were true, there would be no need for yet another government committee with dubious credentials studying antisemitism, the latest being a Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion.
The Canadian government already claims to know what antisemitism is. The IHRA's examples are specific, and every one of them has occurred in Canada since October 7, 2023. The key example in the current context is 'holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.' This is the motive behind countless attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions and businesses since Hamas attacked Israel. In the minds of antisemites, it is open season on Jews everywhere because they are responsible for the actions of the Israeli government and military in Gaza and Lebanon.
Under the IHRA definition, criticism of Israel, similar to criticism of other nations, is not antisemitism, nor should it be. Some of the strongest criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu's government and his prosecution of the wars in Gaza and Lebanon comes from Jews in Israel, the Israeli media, NGOs, and hundreds of former Israeli security and intelligence officials. However, what the federal government under Carney willfully ignores is that antisemitism in Canada not only blames Jews for the actions of the Israeli government but, through that connection, for all of the world's ills.
Jews in Canada, on a daily basis—as seen on social media—are blamed by antisemites for a worldwide conspiracy that controls governments, banks, media, and the militaries of foreign nations. They are accused of exaggerating or fabricating the Holocaust, of being disloyal to Canada, and secretly working for the Israeli government. They are falsely portrayed as foreign invaders in the Middle East, where Jews have lived for thousands of years, and of committing 'blood libel'—killing non-Jewish children to use their blood in secret rituals.
The Trudeau government described a couple of Nazi flags of undetermined origin as indicative of the views of everyone who participated in the truckers' protest in 2022. By contrast, Carney and his government ignore the fact that while criticism of Israel is not antisemitic, the endless protests blaming Jews in Canada through their connection to Israel for every ill in the world is antisemitism. That is what Carney and his government have failed to confront ever since October 7, with their endless repetition of the platitude that criticism of Israel is not antisemitic. In fact, it is antisemitic when blaming Israel for its actions in Gaza and Lebanon is a dog whistle for blaming Jews everywhere for everything. Carney and his government know this. Their failure to confront it endangers Jews in Canada because silence gives consent.
