Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) on Sunday issued a warning to Jews and Israelis in Canada, urging them to exercise caution in response to “calls for violence” emanating from anti-Israel rallies.
The NSC increased its travel alert to a level 2 (potential threat level), citing an “increased threat by terrorists against Israelis and Jews in Canada.”
“In the past 18 months, there have been several attacks against Jewish institutions and centers, including shooting incidents, Molotov cocktails, and threats against Israelis/Jews in the country,” they detailed, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The report specifically addressed anti-Israel protests and demonstrations taking place in Ontario, Canada’s most populous Province: “In the past few days, the discourse surrounding these events has become more radical, including what could be understood as calls to violently harm Israelis and Jews at these events.”
The NSC further recommends that individuals within Canada “avoid displaying Jewish and Israeli symbols in public and remain extra vigilant.”
The alert comes after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney joined forces with the UK and France last week to publicly condemn the Jewish State. The trio went as far as to threaten sanctions on Israel should the government not halt its military operations against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
The Israeli Prime Minister immediately denounced their statements but doubled down on his rebuke two days later when Israeli embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were executed at close range by a pro-Palestinian gunman in Washington, DC.
During his video statement on the horrific killing, the Prime Minister added: “I say to President Macron, Prime Minister Carney, and Prime Minister Starmer: When mass murderers, rapists, baby killers, and kidnappers thank you, you’re on the wrong side of justice.ย You’re on the wrong side of humanity, and you’re on the wrong side of history. Now, these leaders may think that they’re advancing peace. They’re not. They’re emboldening Hamas to continue fighting forever. And they give them hope to establish a second Palestinian state from which Hamas will again seek to destroy the Jewish state.”
Israel’s Minister of Diaspora and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, directly linked the three leaders to the shooting, writing shortly after the attack that their statements served to legitimize the violent rhetoric against Jews and Israelis: “We must also hold to account the irresponsible leaders in the West who give backing to this hatred โ whether through appeasement, double standards, or silence. French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have all, in different ways, emboldened the forces of terror through their failure to draw moral red lines. This cowardice has a priceโand that price is paid in Jewish blood. We will continue to fight antisemitism everywhere โ with clarity, courage, and zero tolerance.”
When previously confronted at a campaign rally by a demonstrator falsely accusing Israel of “genocide,” Carney alarmingly agreed with the statement, replying, “I’mย aware. That’sย why we have an arms embargo [on Israel].” The Prime Minister later claimed to be unaware of what the pro-Palestinian protester was sayingโan excuse that did not quell the criticism of his comments.
Robert Gottselig, the Executive Director of the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry Canada, recently highlighted a startling article published by the Free Press, warning that a violent uprising against Jews could be brewing in Canada.
The report cited an extensive list of antisemitism attacks in the country since October 7th, 2023. It also noted that 1,500 anti-Israel rallies have taken place in Toronto alone over the span of one year, with Canadian leaders “downplay[ing] the extremist nature of these rallies.”
โCanada has become one of the most antisemitic countries in the Western world,โ the article cautioned. โWhile the outbreak of antisemitism throughout the West has been precipitous in virtually every countryโthe tenor, violence, and extremist nature of Jew-hatred in Canada has ratcheted up in a way few other places on Earth have experienced.โ
If the previous silence by Canada’s leadership served to embolden radicalism and antisemitism, one can only imagine the dangerousโand possibly violentโoutcome of Carney’s aggressively anti-Israel statements last week.
“What in the world is going on in Canada?” Robert Gottselig questioned. When youโre coming against Godโs chosen people, you are poking God right in the eyeโ‘Whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye‘ (Zechariah 2:8).”
“It is very simple: if you want a blessing for you and your country, then bless Israel and the Jewish people,” he implored. “If your mandate is to persecute them, woe unto youโyou are causing yourself and your nation to be cursed by God (Genesis 12:3).”
It’s worth noting that during the Nazi Holocaust during World War II, antisemitism in Canada was alarmingly high. America’s neighbor to the north accepted the smallest number of Jewish refugees of all the Allied nations (fewer than 5,000 between 1933 and 1948).
The fact that the NSC was compelled to issue the alert on Sunday, coupled with the anti-Israel posture of the Liberal government (under Trudeau and Carney), is to the shame of Canada. When confronted with the ugliness of rising antisemitism, the nation’s leadership has once again failed the test.
