The Montreal riots should be a wake up call for Canadians to take antisemitism seriously

The juxtaposition couldn’t have been more damning. On Friday night, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was filmed dancing in Toronto at a Taylor Swift concert. At the very same time in Montreal, where he is an MP, there were mass riots by pro-Palestinian mobs where an effigy of Benjamin Netanyahu was set on fire, small explosive devices and metal barriers were thrown at the police, shop windows were smashed, and cars set ablaze. It was violent chaos, with police injured, arrests made, and people wearing keffiyehs and masks screaming abuse. Perhaps the most chilling comment wasn’t screamed but spoken quite calmly. One woman walked in front of a peaceful gathering of Jewish counter-protestors and said slowly and deliberately, “The final solution is coming your way, the final solution. You know what the final solution is?”

Israel and Jews weren’t the only targets of the violent mob. 300 NATO delegates are in Montreal, and rioters roared about NATO and waved Russian flags. Benoit Allard from Divest for Palestine said it was all about NATO's "complicity with Israel's military while it's conducting its genocide in Gaza, war crimes in Lebanon, Syria" and that "it's enforcing illegal occupation of Palestinian territories." Well of course that was what is was about!

Trudeau did eventually take to social media, stating that, “What we saw on the streets of Montreal last night was appalling. Acts of antisemitism, intimidation, and violence must be condemned wherever we see them.”

Fine words, but this is hardly the first time that the Jewish community has been targeted. Dozens of bomb threats were sent to synagogues in 2024, and Jewish schools and community centres have been vandalized, fires started outside, and even shots fired at them. There have also been attempted boycotts at Jewish-owned shops where any Israeli connection is discovered. Canadian Jews report being screamed at and abused, and many say that they no longer wear anything publicly that would make their Jewishness obvious.

The governing Liberal Party, traditionally the political home of the Jewish community, isn’t unsympathetic but is seen by many as not taking the problem sufficiently seriously. Montreal Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, who is Jewish, wrote after the mob protests. “Tonight in Montreal it appears protests have veered into lawlessness. I have consistently asked mayors to advise police that criminal law and municipal bylaws need to be applied. Tolerating behaviour like this to avoid escalation emboldens those breaking the law and scares others.”

There are around 350,000 Jews in Canada, out of a population of 40 million. Antisemitism was a major issue until the 1950s, with quotas, refusal to hire and rent, and social racism. But things have changed radically since then, until October 7th. Here, as well as internationally, it was as though all of the dark toxins of Jew-hatred were suddenly allowed to flow into far too willing bodies.

While almost all of the Canadian political establishment and governing class condemn antisemitism, there’s been a noticeable change in where Jews see their place of safety. Just as in Britain, the Conservative Party has repeatedly spoken out in support of the community and of Israel, especially under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. New leader Pierre Poilievre said to Justin Trudeau after the riots, “You act surprised. We are reaping what you sowed. This is what happens when a Prime Minister spends nine years pushing toxic woke identity politics, dividing and subdividing people by race, gender, vaccine status, religion, region, age, wealth, etc.”

Just days before, while Trudeau had said that Canada would be obliged to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he came to Canada, Poilievre responded that this was ridiculous. “The prime minister of Israel is a democratically elected leader whose country is responding to an unprovoked invasion, by thousands of well-armed, Iranian-funded terrorists who … carried out mass rape and other atrocities deliberately targeted at civilians.”

It is, by the way, extremely likely that the Conservatives will comfortably win next year’s general election.

Canada is still a tolerant and compassionate country and it would be wrong to over-react to all of this, but equally irresponsible to remain passive when the situation may well get worse.

More than a decade ago I was speaking about Israel at York University in Toronto. As I left, an anti-Israel zealot tried to attack me. Fortunately, a young Israeli friend with years of military experience dealt with the situation. The culprit was notorious, and the head of security at the university urged me to report the incident to the police. It was, he said, “a clear case of assault.” I made the report but heard nothing. When I eventually called the police, a rude woman detective told me that I was wasting her time.

So, the problem is there but there are still too many people who refuse to give it the attention it deserves until, perhaps, the next time - when it might be much worse.