Antisemitism in Canada digest #82

Being shocked together makes it slightly more tolerable

As soon as I posted the previous digest, I was flooded with more news and incidents, almost enough to write another digest the very same day. Instead I procrastinated until this one nearly got out of control.

1. Every bad thing that happens in the world–natural disaster, act of violence, or harmful societal processes–can always be blamed on the Jews. Forest fires in Los Angeles earlier this year were said to be caused by the bombing in Gaza. In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder, I read claims that he was an antisemite, and that Israel was behind the assassination.

One of the conspiracies blames Jews for 9/11. This is what was graffitied, alongside swastikas, on three vandalized synagogues in Halifax. Gezim Topalli, the man who is allegedly responsible for the acts of vandalism, posted threats on his social media to kill Jews and people at a church.

2. Also in Halifax, Tennis Canada did not give in to the immense pressure, including calls from over 400 Canadian athletes and academics to cancel the Davis Cup tie between Canada and Israel, but citing escalating safety concerns decided the match will take place behind closed doors with no spectators.

3. The same 400 Canadian athletes and academics also urged TIFF to cancel the screening of "The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue," a movie about the retired Israeli general Noam Tibon’s efforts to save his son and family during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. Despite the pressure and the disruptive protests that required heavy police presence, the film was screened and went on to win the People’s Choice Documentary Award.

4. Some Canadians have finally had enough–a “Canada First” event took place in Christie Pits Park in Toronto. Christie Pits is a historic place, where in 1935, Jews showed the Nazis that kindness alone is less convincing than kindness with fists. This story deserves its own post.

The Canada First group waved Canadian flags, sang O Canada, and chanted “Rest in Peace, Charlie Kirk.” Modern-day Nazis wearing face coverings and keffiyehs screamed at Canadian patriots, “go home fascists.”

Among the anti-Canadian protesters was UofT Physics professor A. W. Peet with an “I love Palestine” pin and an ACAB patch on his backpack. To complete the anti-Canadian bingo card, an indigenous man screamed, “Don’t do this on my land! F— you!”

5. In Quebec, the residents of Westmount are exhausted by the unrelenting disruptions and noise on their streets. They take to the streets with the flags of Quebec not because they support Israel, but because they don’t want to see foreign flags and don’t want their city taken over by jihadi protests and prayers.

Neither this rally nor the Canada First one is directly about Jews or antisemitism. These are Canadian patriots opposing foreign flags and jihadi protests and prayers taking over Canadian cities. I welcome this is a pro-Canadian movement opposing anti-Canadian forces. Anti-Canadian and anti-Israel forces are one and the same.

6. Hamas supporters in Canada are preparing for the anniversary of October 7 and posting a variety of flyers for a wide variety of events and activities.

7.“Hamas must release the hostages and surrender” — my brave non-Jewish friend made a poster with the same message as mine, but in better handwriting, and went to counter-protest the Hamas supporters in front of the City of Coquitlam. The people who constantly complain about “Zionists doxxing them” not only posted a video of her with the poster and her full name, they also put an inverted red Hamas triangle on her face. Coming from a terrorism-supportive organization, this is a threat, but the police did not see it that way.

8. Following the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar, Al-Awda called for an emergency rally in Vancouver. Samidoun Director Dave Diewert was present and gave a speech. The crowd marched, blocking the streets and harassing local businesses. The regular chants of “Globalize the Intifada” and “Victory is very near” were followed by ones directed at me personally. I was flattered.

9. Another rally in Vancouver was organized by the Women in Black group; this group is the most striking intersection between pro-Hamas activists and those pretending to be pro-Israel.

10. On Sunday, pro-Israel Iranians in Vancouver held a rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery. A pro-Hamas individual ran up the stairs to tear down flags and posters. He appeared out of control and was holding a knife. Luckily, he did not use the knife against people, though one of the Jewish attendees of the rally was lightly injured in the scuffle while trying to protect the flag.

11. In Montreal, a man who assaulted a Hasidic Jewish father at a playground several weeks ago was found not criminally responsible. The judge ruled the crime was not religiously motivated. The perpetrator had no prior mental health diagnosis, but the judge ordered him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, which found him mentally ill.

12. Another to escape consequences is Canadian citizen of Tunisian origin, Oualid Chbichib, who allegedly made death threats toward a Jewish business owner and employees. Previously, he has attacked a police officer with a knife but was found not criminally responsible due to mental illness. Canadian judges must be confusing the Criminal Code with a Psychiatry 101 textbook.

13. I don't know whether the older man wearing a keffiyeh, who is tabling at Langara College in Vancouver in front of a huge "from the river to sea" banner, is a professor or just a random guy.

I do know that the UBC bookstore is captured by the woke, anti-Colonial, and pro-Hamas agenda. The blurb on the central book on display reads, "These pages carry the truth of our struggle and the beauty of our humanity. This is Gaza as it truly is…" I wonder how many times Hamas is mentioned in this book.

14. At Concordia, a handbook was distributed to all 35,000 students. It calls for an uprising, gives instructions on how to strike instead of attending class, how to blockade buildings and classrooms, and how to act if caught doing illegal things. It quotes a poem on the Palestinian Intifada advocating armed uprising and features a drawing of airplanes crashing into a boardroom. Instead of Canadian holidays, the calendar marks Nakba Day and Protest Against Netanyahu Day, while July 1 is labeled “Anti-Canada Day Burn the Flag.”

15. For nearly two years, private group chats of pro-Palestinian students at Western University shared antisemitic, pro-Hamas, and violent content. Selected quotes from the chats include: “Allah will burn them”, “The yahood own everything … That’s how they control everyone. Money”, “Pop some Israelis … I’ll pop them if I see them in person", "Did you get the shipment of rifles and shotguns and rocks?” accompanied by discussions about concealing weapons at protests. So far, Western University refused to take any actions.

16. The Islamophobia-condemning Motion M-103 was introduced by the Trudeau government in 2017. The 2019 report "The Rise of Political Islam in Canada" by Action4Canada warns that political Islam poses a threat to Canadian democracy and law. Long before Carney said his famous “these are Muslim values, these are Canadian values,” Trudeau too declared that the values of Islam are fully compatible with Western values. The Liberal government not only promoted policies advancing Sharia ideology, such as halal food regulations and prayer accommodations, but also welcomed returning ISIS fighters, repealed Bill C-24– which previously allowed revocation of citizenship from convicted dual-citizen terrorists–and introduced Bills C-6 and Bill C-75, speeding up citizenship and reducing sentences for terrorism offences.

Speaking of Islamophobia, in one of my deep dives into the antisemitic hell holes of the internet, I found a flyer announcing an event last Thursday at 7-8pm. The title of the event shocked me so much that I forgot to save the source of this madness. This is the title: “Remembering September 9/11 and the Rise of Islamophobia.”

As a side effect of rising Islamophobia, in June 2025 Alberta launched the first Halal mortgage through a partnership between a mosque, a credit union, and the government. Which Sharia-compliant laws will be next – wife beating? Child marriage?

17. Melanie Joly is the former Canadian foreign affairs minister who currently serves as the minister of innovation. Her statement this week was truly innovative; she wrote that it is unacceptable for an organization listed as a terrorist entity to continue to exist, and hence Samidoun must be urgently formally dissolved. Samidoun’s status still shows as “Active,” but perhaps only temporarily.

18. No more good news in Canadian politics. Current Foreign Minister Anita Anand ignored the protesters outside her home clearly explaining they don’t want a two-state solution. She reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to recognizing “Palestine” and “reevaluating ties with Israel,” whatever that means.

Carney predictably joined the pro-Hamas voices, and condemned the Israeli strike on the Hamas leaders in Qatar. In his opinion, hosting terrorist leaders does not risk escalating the conflict; it is the striking of those leaders that is the problem.

19. Amelia Boultbee is a BC Conservative MLA for Penticton-Summerland. In theory, the BC Conservative Party used to support Jews and Israel, but Amelia is not really Conservative. To be fully honest, the entire BC Conservative Party is no longer really Conservative either – but that’s a story for another time.

The English expression says, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.” The Russian version says, “stay silent and you may pass for a smart one.” MLA Boultbee did not stay silent. She posted a long rant about the genocide in Gaza. She enjoyed a brief moment of glory with a dozen grateful comments from pro-Hamas commentators. Later, she deleted her post. Did she change her mind and no longer believe that there is a genocide? Then an apology is in order. Or does she still think there is a genocide? Or maybe she has no opinion?

20. A “March to Ottawa” is happening September 15-19 on Parliament Hill. Considering the number of accounts crossposting it–Gaza Families First, Gazan Canadians, Palestine Solidarity, IJV, Yipeng Ge, and others–I expected it to be a much bigger event. NDP MPs Heather McPherson and Alexandre Boulerice, and Liberal Salma Zahid have been joining them to read the names of Gazan children. According to their website, Taleeb Noormohamed promised to join and later changed his mind–this is the worst possible strategy. He is compromised for having considered it in the first place and he is also hated for not showing up.

21. Radio-Canada suspended journalist Elisa Serret after she made on-air remarks suggesting Jews control U.S. politics, cities, and Hollywood. I had more respect for NationalPost before they posted an article about this with the word “antisemitic” in quotes when describing Serret’s remarks.

This reminded me of CBC – their journalistic guidelines tell them to only refer to Hamas as terrorists when quoting someone. Following this guideline, CBC manages to describe a murderous Hamas terrorist attack in Jerusalem without ever writing the word “terror.” It’s an art!

22. And to close this issue, I want once again to recoil at the banality of evil. Jessica Décarie-Robillard is a Montreal-based singer and she looks like a normal young woman, yet she praises Sinwar, Hamas, and martyrdom.

A Toronto actor and comedian, Ali Badshah, describes Jews as a society that is "genociding" and exploiting the world for generations and declares that “their (the Jews) time is coming to an end.”

Also in Toronto, Lily Musa explains that the Zionists own all the banks, all the courts, the UN, big pharma, and the internet. According to her, in order to live longer and look younger, Zionists drink the blood of 10-12-year-old boys before the Jewish holidays. Also, Zionists are robots!

If you take the keffiyeh off of these people, they look like normal human beings. It would have been impossible to guess what’s going on in their heads had they not recorded themselves and posted it online for everyone to see. I don’t know which part is most shocking.

PS: Dear readers, I turned on paid subscriptions for my account, but all my posts remain free. I am very grateful for your interest in my work, whether you are a free or a paid subscriber. I wouldn’t be able to stop writing these digests even if I were paid to stop… but being shocked together makes it slightly more tolerable.