After the Belleville Synagogue Attack: Five Measures to Combat Antisemitic Hate
Yet again, a synagogue – this time in Belleville – has been targeted for violence. Indeed, this attack on a synagogue filled with congregants could have been catastrophic, but for the actions of a heroic police officer, who was seriously injured by the assailant.
Yet again, this attack took place on a Jewish holiday, reminiscent of both the 1973 Yom Kippur surprise attack and the October 7, 2023 barbarities on Simchat Torah. There is a long line of such attacks worldwide occurring on Jewish holidays or Shabbat when the assailants know that Jews have gathered for worship or celebration.
And yet again, political leaders, including the Prime Minister and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, were quick to offer their sympathies and prayers.
According to Statistics Canada, Jews represent the most targeted group for hate crimes across the country both in raw numbers (surpassing the appalling numbers of crimes targeting each of the Black and the 2SLGBTQ+ communities) and perhaps more significantly, in disproportionate impact. For example, in 2024, one out of every 366 Jews was the target of a hate crime, making Jews over five times as likely to be victimized as the next most targeted group. Jews have also been targeted in 69-71% of religiously based hate crimes and in most alleged terror plots that have been thwarted in Canada. Examples in 2023-2025 include:
Two 15-year-olds arrested for conspiring to conduct a mass-casualty attack against the Jewish community in Ottawa
The arrest of Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, living in Toronto, while attempting to enter the United States to carry out a Daesh-inspired mass-casualty attack against American Jews
The arrest of a Montreal young person in connection with a Daesh-inspired terrorist plot
The arrest of Ahmed and Mostafa Eldidi in the advanced stages of planning of a mass-casualty event in Toronto
Tracking by authorities of two suspects respecting an imminent assassination attempt on Irwin Cotler orchestrated by the Iranian regime
These terror plots – like the latest event in Belleville – are particularly troubling because they represent repeated attempts to kill Jews. No ambiguity there.
Indeed, very shortly before the Belleville attack, Durham Regional Police arrested Alexander Parfitt, 19, after an investigation into messages posted on an online message board allegedly threatening to carry out a shooting at a synagogue in Durham Region; he has been charged with threats motivated by hate, one of the new offences created by Bill C-9.
The Broader Context of Antisemitic Hate
The spiralling numbers correlate to the continuing conflict in the Middle East. We have both witnessed and experienced the dramatic increase in crimes targeting Jews in the aftermath of October 7.
As the ultimate obscenity, antizionists have blamed Jews for our own victimization ostensibly because we continue to regard Israel as part of our core identity and thus are held collectively responsible for everything Israel does. And demonized for supporting Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.
This isn't some neat philosophical debate over ideology. This is about an existing state with half of the world's Jewish population.
The antizionist narrative is toxic for so many reasons. It conflates Zionism, the belief in Jewish self-determination in our ancestral lands, with the conduct of Israel or its government. Leave aside for a moment (sometimes difficult to do) the double standards, selective targeting and disinformation that infect the antizionist worldview, including their staggering indifference or lack of attention to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Muslims and Christians in Syria, Sudan, Nigeria, and Iran, antizionist rhetoric places Jewish lives in danger here and around the world because it perpetuates the trope of Jews as the personification of absolute evil.
Antizionists (not merely critics of Israeli government, policies or conduct) often see no distinction between the systematic extermination of six million Jews by Nazi Germany and the tragic loss of life in Gaza in a war where Israel's enemies hide behind civilians and welcome the loss of civilian life as a propaganda tool.
Their protestations that they aren't against Jews, only Zionists, ring hollow when it is remembered that the vast majority of Jews support Israel's right to exist, which should be beyond reasonable dispute after 78 years, and that the antizionists too frequently align themselves with unabashed Jew haters. Ironically, they have done little or nothing to alleviate the plight of innocent Palestinians. Their failure to actively promote a Palestine free from Hamas or a Lebanon free from Hezbollah or to meaningfully stand up for those murdered or tortured by the Iranian terror regime – gives comfort and cover to Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah and the Houthis and the Iranian hit squads as they continue to spread terror. And inspire the harassment, intimidation and yes, whether intended or not, violence against Jews in Canada.
Avi Lewis, NDP’s federal leader, stated in his Yom Kippur message that “we failed to do our part to stop on ongoing genocide committed in our name.” This irresponsible messaging, as Robyn Urback noted in the Globe & Mail, “placed a target on the back of any and every Jew living in Canada.”
Political Leaders Must Confront Contemporary Antisemitism
Prime Minister Trudeau, despite his many shortcomings, at least declared himself to be a Zionist and that no one should ever be afraid to call themselves a Zionist. In the wake of yet another synagogue shooting, we need all Canadian political leaders – other than conventional expressions of sympathy and prayers, to say one simple thing:
"Regardless of one's views on the Middle East conflict, there will be zero tolerance in Canada for demonizing, marginalizing or attacking anyone, including members of the Jewish community, whether in government, on campuses, on the streets, in schools, unions or the professions for supporting Israel's right to exist. For being Zionists.”
Mayor Chow has never said it. Frankly, I don't care terribly much what her views are on the Middle East conflict. They are largely irrelevant (although unhelpful). If she truly wishes to address antisemitism, if she truly cares about her Jewish constituents, as she says she does, she must call out hatred against Jews for being Zionists.
Prime Minister Carney spoke at Holy Blossom about how Canada is failing its Jewish community. But he chose not to refer to Israel or Zionism. He doesn't have to love Israel or its government to call out those who attack Jews for being Zionists.
It isn't good enough to call out antisemitism without acknowledging what contemporary antisemitism looks like. This isn't incompatible with addressing Palestinian rights or caring about humanitarian issues. The IHRA definition of antisemitism reinforces these points. This is about standing against radicalism and the continuing delegitimization of our community.
This is one litmus test for me.
The Commitment to Address Unlawful Conduct
Another is related to the first: whether governments are committed to address unlawful activity.
The Ontario Court of Appeal recently substituted a conviction for an acquittal of one of the Freedom Convoy leaders on a charge of intimidation by orchestrating the blockage of roadways in Ottawa. The trial judge believed that the blocking of roadways was permissible political protest. Ontario's highest court disagreed. It stated that this conduct undermines the rule of law, is incompatible with peaceful protest and constitutes unlawful intimidation. Moreover, it regarded the premeditated effort to undermine the rule of law as an aggravating circumstance in sentencing.
It is time for political leadership to stop characterizing protests that interfere with vulnerable infrastructure and undermine the rights of others and the rule of law as protected speech or lawful activity.
It is time for political leadership to differentiate between lawful "pro-Palestinian activities" (a term indiscriminately used by media and others even when the activities descend into hate speech, intimidation, and harassment) and those activities that provide material support for terrorist groups and that advocate for violence against Jews and Israelis.
Sadly, Canada is justly regarded as a haven for terror entities.
Exhibit A is Samidoun, a banned terrorist group in Canada that continues to operate with impunity, now in partnership with Masar Badil and populated by the same supporting cast of villains. It is truly outrageous that Canada-based Charlotte Kates and Khaled Barakat (the latter also named as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and acting on behalf of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) have avoided criminal liability for their well-documented conduct in Canada. The fact that Samidoun, a banned terrorist entity is comfortable trumpeting its role in an upcoming Canadian hate conference in November speaks volumes.
The federal government and the police are well situated to respond. This too is a litmus test of our government's commitment to fight antisemitism and extremism in Canada.
Five Measures Governments Can Take Now
Here are just five measures governments can take to immediately address antisemitic hate crimes:
1. Unequivocal statements of zero tolerance for demonizing Zionists, regardless of one's views on the Middle East conflict.
2. Zero tolerance for unlawful protests and demonstrations that interfere with infrastructure, intimidate or harass, or whose calls for action transcend protected speech and advocate for violence and terror.
3. Timely designation of groups materially supporting terrorism as terrorist entities under the Criminal Code, together with the designation of individuals, as contemplated by the Code but rarely done. The designation of individuals, rather than just organizations, addresses the terrorist shell game of inventing new organizations to escape sanction.
4. Ensuring adequate training of police and prosecutors on the full range of legal measures to combat all forms of hatred, coupled with an understanding of contemporary antisemitism.
5. Supporting introduction of the crime of wilful promotion of terror, conduct incompatible with protected freedom of expression.
We have seen some improvements in policing in a number of jurisdictions across the country. We also know that police officers expose themselves to grave danger in protecting our community for which we are eternally grateful. Law enforcement and national security agencies have, to date, thwarted mass murders plotted against Jews in Canada.
But antisemitic hate crimes will continue unabated unless governments now show their unequivocal commitment to combatting antisemitism – not in some abstract way – but through recognizing and responding to how it is being experienced by Canadian Jews.
We can say only so many times that an event such as the shooting in Belleville must be a wake-up call. There have been too many instances worldwide where these wake-up calls went unheeded or came too late.
We have an opportunity now to act. Will we? What will you do personally to ensure that your government representatives hear this wake-up call and respond to it?
To paraphrase a great Canadian song, tears are not enough.
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About the Author
Mark Sandler, LL.B., LL.D. (honoris causa), ALCCA’s Chair, is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading criminal lawyers and pro bono advocates. He has been involved in combatting antisemitism for over 40 years. He has lectured extensively on legal remedies to combat hate and has promoted respectful Muslim-Jewish, Sikh-Jewish and Black-Jewish dialogues. He has appeared before Parliamentary committees and in the Supreme Court of Canada on multiple occasions on issues relating to antisemitism and hate activities. He is a former member of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, a three-time elected Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, and recipient of the criminal profession’s highest honour, the G. Arthur Martin Medal, for his contributions to the administration of criminal justice.