Calls are mounting for Ottawa to convene an urgent national forum on hate crimes, terrorism and antisemitism

When Canada’s first emergency summit on antisemitism was held virtually on July 21, 2021, none of the attendees could have imagined that, just a couple of years later, antisemitism would reach new heights in this country and around the world. Back then, in the aftermath of a brief conflict between Israel and Hamas, the emergency summit convened federal politicians and anti-racism officials to hear from Jewish leaders who testified about their daily realities. There was never a second emergency summit. Canadian Jewish leaders didn’t push for one, not wanting to simply hear repeated platitudes. But now, following recent riots in Montreal that saw anti-NATO and anti-Israel protesters smash windows, burn cars and throw Nazi salutes, lobbying efforts are at a fever pitch to make Summit 2.0 happen soon. However, as The CJN Daily‘s Ellin Bessner learned while attending a Jewish community town hall in Montreal this week, leaders are insisting that any such forum must be tightly focused on law enforcement, an arena where they urge Canadian agencies to staunch terrorism and crack down on hate crimes. On today’s episode, we hear from Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, the prime minister’s special advisor on the Jewish community and antisemitism; Deborah Lyons, Canada’s special envoy on combatting antisemitism and preserving Holocaust remembrance; and Richard Marceau, a vice president at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

Related links

• Read about the first emergency antisemitism summit in July 2021, in The CJN.
• Read more on the House of Commons Justice Committee’s new report on antisemitism, released Dec. 10, 2024, in The CJN.
• When Benjamin Netanyahu’s effigy was burned during the November Montreal riots, in The CJN.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Dov Beck-Levine

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