A former colleague of mine recently sold his home in Montreal and made aliyah by moving to Israel with his wife. Aliyah, a Hebrew word, literally means rise or ascent, but Jewish people define it as immigrating to Israel.
My former colleague is not alone. More and more Jews are leaving Canada for Israel. According to the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, Canadian aliyah rose a record 51 per cent in 2025 from 2023. They are leaving this country at record rates, and many are also relocating to the United States.
My ex-colleague, Henry Topas, had been a successful businessman in Montreal and doubled as a cantor at Beth Tikvah, one of the most hallowed synagogues in the city. The synagogue was the target of antisemitic firebombing attacks twice. Both attacks came after the Hamas terrorist invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023. Topas, now 75, and his wife had considered making aliyah even before October 7 because he has children and grandchildren in Israel, but the couple became so fed up with Montreal and Canada in general that they moved to the Jewish state permanently last March.
I became increasingly disillusioned with the level of security for the Jewish community, Topas told me from his new home in Israel. It was extremely frustrating.
Organizations have documented a rise in vile antisemitism in Canada. Only last week, there were two more shootings outside synagogues in Toronto.
The truth is, the wave of antisemitism in contemporary Canada is not only a matter of fearing for our safety in the synagogue, said Sam Eskenasi, an Orthodox Jew in Thornhill, Ontario, and a father of six. It has much broader impact on us, as well. It has affected my family and me in the pocketbook. So are we thinking about moving to Israel? Absolutely.
Eskenasi revealed that, before the October 7 rapes and murders in Israel, he had a working relationship with a number of schools and community centres that expressed fondness for his plan to construct a portable museum. It was designed to educate Canadians about what Jewish life was all about, as many had, and still have, no frame of reference.
Once the job was completed, and this was after October 7, the others decided to quietly back out. I was informed that there was reluctance because the museum was perceived by them as too much of a political statement. The museum is now sitting in my garage, he said.
So I am sure you can see what I mean. Will I have to worry about my visibly Jewish children getting a fair shake in Canada?
It is a fair question, really. Jewish life in Canada, as we know it, is being systematically targeted by a number of vocal, anti-Israel groups who are campaigning to shut down Jewish schools and camps. And, as the National Post reported in March, eight Canadian Jewish non-profit organizations have been stripped of their charitable status by the Canada Revenue Agency.
