Jews ‘under siege’ in Trudeau’s Canada amid soaring antisemitism

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TikTok star details why she is working to fight antisemitism via her social media activism

Montana Tucker said in the social media age it is ‘unfortunately popular to be anti-Jew,’ but as a Jewish person she plans to continue speaking out against antisemitism. 

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Antisemitism in Canada has reached soaring levels as the country’s Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces intense criticism for capitulating to anti-Israel activists and abandoning the Jewish state.

A survey of some statistics of outbreaks of antisemitism shows what is expected to be an unprecedented spike in Jew-hatred in Canada when the full data is released in the summer. A March 18 report from the police in Canada’s largest city, Toronto, showed that of the 84 registered hate crimes in 2024, a startling 56% of the crimes were animated by antisemitism. Jews make up approximately 1.4% of the country’s population.

In February, Toronto experienced the highest number of antisemitic incidents in the last three years.

In November, a Montreal synagogue and Jewish center were firebombed. Shots were also fired at two Jewish schools in Montreal in the same month as the arson attack. A suspected arson attack on a Jewish-owned grocery store in Toronto took place in January. The antisemitic slogan “Free Palestine” was scrawled on the rear doors of the business. Assaults targeting Jews have also unfolded across Canada.

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People attend Canada’s Rally for The Jewish People at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Over 20,000 individuals participated in Canada’s Rally for The Jewish People at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. The event was organized by UJA (United Jewish Appeal), which aims to uphold and enhance the quality of Jewish life in Greater Toronto, Canada, Israel, and globally through philanthropic efforts, volunteer work, and professional leadership. It also shows support for Israel, fights antisemitism, and calls for the release of all hostages held by Hamas. (Photo by Shawn Goldberg/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Richard Marceau, Vice President, External Affairs and General Counsel, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in Canada, told Fox News Digital, “Canada’s Jewish community has not only been grieving the horrific October 7 massacre perpetrated by Hamas, but we are also worried — for good reason,” he said.

“For the past six months, the community has been under siege, confronting levels of antisemitism unseen since the Holocaust that has manifested in firebombings of synagogues, community centers and Jewish-owned businesses; shootings and bomb scares at Jewish schools; harassment of community members; intimidation of Jewish students and faculty on campus; cheerleading of Hamas by unions; and many other hateful iterations.”

Marceau continued that “antisemitism isn’t solely a Jewish problem, and we need everyone to stand against this toxic hate. Governments need to implement safe access zones around Jewish institutions and introduce online hate legislation; law enforcement needs to protect Jewish community members and institutions and manage rowdy anti-Israel protest crowds that spew hate-filled vitriol and glorify terrorists; schools and businesses need to better tackle antisemitism as soon as it manifests.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue hosting ‘Israeli Real Estate Event’ in Thornhill, north of Toronto, Ontario on March 7, 2024. (Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images)

When approached by Fox News Digital about the criticism that Canada has failed to combat antisemitism and contributed to the rise in the world’s oldest hatred by stopping arm sales to Israel during its existential war against Hamas, Laurent de Casanove, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Trudeau said, “Our government is taking very seriously the rise in antisemitism and other forms of hate.”

He continued, “We have put forward a number of key measures, from holding the first-ever national summit on antisemitism to making historic investments in combating racism and hate. We invested an initial $5.6 million (Canadian dollars) for the creation of the office of a special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism to push back against religious discrimination, hateful rhetoric, and racism at home and abroad.”

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau addresses local Liberal Party supporters at a private fundraiser organized in the Edmonton Convention Center, on August 26, 2023, in Edmonton, Canada. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Trudeau’s spokesperson continued that “Last fall, we also appointed Ms. Deborah Lyons, a respected diplomat with 25 years of experience, as Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism to lead efforts on that front at home with communities and around the world, adding a continued support of $1.2 million. In addition, we launched in January a ‘Building Community Resilience’ call to action to empower communities by facilitating events that strengthen connections, foster unity, build resilience. We’re also currently working to soon launch Canada’s first-ever Action Plan on Combatting Hate.”

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People gather to stage a demonstration for Palestinians in Ottawa, Canada, on November 25, 2023. (Photo by Kadri Mohammmed/Anadolu via Getty Images)

De Casanove declined to answer questions about Trudeau pulling the plug on arms sales to Israel and whether anti-Zionism, the view that Israel should be abolished, is an expression of modern antisemitism.

Casey Babb, who teaches courses on terrorism and international security at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs in Ottawa, told Fox News Digital, “Antisemitism in Canada is as bad as it’s been in three-quarters of a century, and what’s been fueling these successive waves of antisemitism over the last number of years — long before October 7 — is anti-Zionism.”

He continued, “While it is well-known that Jew-hatred comes from a variety of ideological backgrounds, it is most acute in Canada within the country’s Arab population and the far-left, which is precisely why decision makers here have done so little to address it: They’d rather Jews feel vulnerable and unsafe than offend groups of people which are either off-limits politically or who represent potential votes. Because of this — because there is no political or social will to address these things — we’ve seen a sort of Hamasification of Canadian society.”

Babb said that “we’ve seen pro-Palestinian protesters call for the erasure of Jews from Israel, and we have groups like Samidoun, a registered Canadian not-for-profit with a direct link to a listed terrorist entity, operate with impunity here. Frankly, it’s hard to describe the moral decay we’re seeing here.”

The German government outlawed the pro-Palestinian NGO Samidoun after the Hamas massacre on October 7 of 1,200 people in southern Israel because of claims that the group aids Palestinian terrorists.

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Babb said that “decision makers in Canada have signaled to Hamas, other terrorist organizers, and the countless thousands of supports and sympathizers they have in this country, that not only does terrorism work — but that Israel isn’t allowed to win a war — a war which was forced upon them in the most sadistic manner possible. From calling for a ceasefire almost immediately after Israel started making gains, to funding UNRWA again despite its perverse terrorism problem, to pulling arms sales to Israel when they need it most, the elite in Canada have made it clear which side they’re on.”

UNRWA is an acronym for the scandal-plagued United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Israel accused UNRWA employees of participating in the October 7 massacre. The United States government suspended funding to UNRWA after pumping $1 billion into the agency since 2021.

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Emily Schrader, an Israeli-American human rights activist who campaigns against antisemitism, told Fox News Digital, “I’m alarmed and appalled by the sharp rise in blatant antisemitism in Canada. This is the byproduct of weak government policies that refuse to defend the liberal values that make Canada a freedom-loving and human rights-respecting democracy. For years, Canada has allowed foreign interference and the unchecked immigration of individuals associated with terrorist groups like the IRGC, and they have used the very values of liberal democracy to undermine it.”

Schrader added, “Trudeau’s publicity stunt catering to these radicals by stopping arms sales to Israel, as well as his support for UNRWA, emboldens the supporters of terrorist organizations and gives a green light to continue this campaign of antisemitism throughout Canada as well. Combating extremism requires deterrence — Trudeau is instead rewarding them and their thuggish bullying tactics.”

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal.