Moral Shortcuts and Historical Distortions Fuel Antisemitism Surge in Canada
Professor Yang Meng has issued a stark warning about the structural factors driving the alarming rise of antisemitism across Canada. Drawing from personal observations spanning a decade, Meng identifies how political leaders and educators who engage in moral shortcuts and historical distortions are contributing to a climate of fear within Jewish communities.
From Stability to Fragility: A Decade of Change
In 2015, Meng traveled from Berlin to Montreal to attend an Israel studies conference, marking his first visit to North America. What immediately struck him was the visible confidence of Jewish communal life in Canada compared to continental Europe. Jewish institutions appeared deeply embedded in the social fabric, with Montreal's Shaar Hashomayim Synagogue representing stability rather than spectacle.
Returning to Canada ten years later during a record-breaking snowstorm season, Meng encountered a profoundly different reality in Toronto. Instead of overt hostility, he observed a pervasive sense of fragility within Canada's Jewish community that has emerged despite the country's reputation for moral clarity and social protection.
The Structural Crisis of Antisemitism
While Jewish communities worldwide have faced their most serious crisis since the Holocaust over the past two years, Meng notes that Canada's antisemitism surge has exceeded levels seen in the United States. This cannot be explained by political temperament or enforcement style alone. The problem is fundamentally structural, occurring when political leadership, intellectual discourse, and security realities fail simultaneously.
At multiple antisemitism-related events across Canada, Meng observed a troubling pattern: audiences consisted overwhelmingly of older Jews with younger generations largely absent. This absence doesn't indicate indifference but rather reflects the social cost young Jews face when expressing concern about antisemitism within progressive coalitions.
The Price of Silence and Problematic Comparisons
Meng argues that when an entire generation feels compelled to mute itself to prove moral acceptability, that silence becomes a warning sign rather than neutrality. Antisemitic rhetoric, particularly online and in activist spaces, has become increasingly youth-driven, creating a dangerous dynamic where those most affected feel unable to speak out.
Against this backdrop, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow's decision to juxtapose Chinese suffering during Japan's Second World War invasion with the humanitarian toll of the Gaza war becomes especially troubling. This comparison, made during a speech at a National Council of Canadian Muslims fundraising gala in early November, represents a moral shortcut that removes history from its cause-and-effect framework, according to Meng's analysis.
When Leadership Fails Communities
Meng emphasizes that when political leaders distort history and educators lend authority to blood libels, communities have every right to be fearful. The speech by Mayor Chow was hurtful to both Jewish and Chinese people, demonstrating how careless historical comparisons can exacerbate existing tensions rather than foster understanding.
The scholar's observations reveal a Canada where even well-organized and historically rooted communities can become vulnerable quickly when multiple protective systems fail. This requires urgent attention to how political rhetoric, educational approaches, and community dynamics intersect to either combat or enable antisemitism in a nation that prides itself on multicultural harmony.
