Beryl Wajsman: Jews must not give up hope — Canada is worth fighting for

There is today a corrosive indulgence within the Canadian Jewish community: the indulgence of fear.

Not fear itself. Fear is a rational response to real danger. Synagogues have been firebombed. Jewish schools have been attacked. Jewish businesses have been vandalized. Jews have been assaulted in our streets. No serious person denies that antisemitism has surged since Hamas’s October 7 massacre in Israel.

The indulgence lies elsewhere. It lies in the belief that every antisemitic incident must be treated as proof that Jewish life in Canada is finished; that every family that leaves becomes evidence of a national exodus; that every viral social media clip confirms that our cities are lost forever.

That constitutes a submission to the industry of fear. Like every industry, it has its incentives. Every alarming incident is amplified. Every setback becomes existential. Every outrage demands another declaration that Jews have no future here. It is emotionally satisfying, but it is profoundly wrong.

The greatest victory antisemites could hope for is not that Jews lose a political argument, but that Jews lose confidence in themselves.

History teaches that antisemitism has never disappeared. It also teaches something equally important: Jewish communities survive when they refuse to surrender to it.

In 2022, before October 7, B’nai Brith Canada recorded roughly 2,700 antisemitic incidents. The number was shocking. Yet we did not convince ourselves that Jewish life in Canada was over. We understood that hatred had to be fought, not endlessly advertised.

Today, too many people confuse awareness with effectiveness. They do not ask whether constantly magnifying every incident strengthens Jewish confidence or weakens it. It weakens it.

As I recently said in a public address, antisemitic graffiti on a bathroom stall does not deserve the same attention as a Hasidic Jew being beaten in a public park. Both are reprehensible. Both deserve condemnation. But they are not the same.

When every incident is treated as equally catastrophic, perspective disappears. So does strategy. And without strategy, fear becomes paralysis.

Montreal demonstrates precisely why this matters. For much of the past two years, Montreal deserved its reputation as the epicentre of antisemitic intimidation in Canada. Demonstrations shut down major intersections. Jewish neighbourhoods were targeted. The law was too often ignored while politicians searched for excuses.

Many concluded the city was finished. But they were wrong. Over the past year, Montreal has undergone one of the most remarkable turnarounds of any major Canadian city. Political leadership changed. Police enforcement has changed. There is evidence of more rapid and robust deployment in Montreal and suburbs as occurred at an anti-Israel protest in suburban Valleyfield this past May.

The Quebec government acted decisively by strengthening its secularism laws and making it clear that intimidation would not dictate public policy. This followed past moves to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and open a representative office in Tel Aviv — in the middle of a crisis, no less.

Equally important, Jewish organizations and activist groups changed. Instead of merely documenting antisemitism, they challenged it. Instead of lamenting hostile university administrations, they took them to court. Instead of retreating from public life, they entered it.

Instead of speaking only to themselves, they built alliances with Italian, Greek, Filipino, Hindu, Armenian, Persian and numerous other communities. Instead of asking whether Montreal still belonged to Jews, they reminded Montreal that Jews always belonged to Montreal. The results speak for themselves.

It appears to me that the organized demonstrations that once attracted hundreds and sometimes thousands now struggle to gather a few dozen. Political support for extremist activism seems to have eroded. As a Montrealer, I can tell you that the atmosphere has changed dramatically.

That did not happen because Jews fled. It happened because Jews fought.

Which brings us to perhaps the most damaging myth now circulating: that Canada is witnessing a Jewish exodus. While there have been some high-profile cases of Jews leaving Canada, it is by no means an exodus.

Some families have understandably decided to leave. Every such decision deserves respect. No one should judge parents who make difficult choices for their children. But isolated departures do not constitute a national migration. Nor should they become the defining narrative of Canadian Jewry.

Communities are not preserved by counting those who leave. They are preserved by strengthening those who stay.

Our non-Jewish neighbours are watching us. They are asking themselves whether the Jewish community believes its own future is worth defending. People do not rally behind despair. They rally behind courage.

When we built broad intercultural coalitions in Montreal, leaders from every major community came forward. Not because we presented ourselves as victims awaiting rescue, but because we demonstrated determination. They saw resolve. They responded to resolve. That is how democratic alliances are built.

Antisemitism remains a profound challenge. No one should underestimate it. But neither should we exaggerate it beyond reality. A frightened community is easier to isolate than a confident one. A panicked community is easier to intimidate than an organized one. And a community convinced that defeat is inevitable has already surrendered the battle before it begins.

The future of Jewish life in Canada will not be decided by those who hate us. It will be decided by whether we choose fear or resolve. Montreal has already shown which choice works.

National Post

Beryl P. Wajsman is president of the Institute for Public Affairs of Montreal.