On July 31, I joined several of my comrades from Jews Say No To Genocide, Independent Jewish Voices, and If Not Now Toronto in an attempt to attend an event entitled “An Evening of Solidarity Against Hate,” hosted at the Pride of Israel Synogogue.
The event featured Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, Councillor James Pasternak, MPs Melissa Lantsman and Anthony Housefather, eight other politicians, and a representative from the Toronto police.
We were concerned that this so-called rally against hate would not address “hate” at all, but would instead blame instances of antisemitism in Toronto on Palestinians and their allies, as well as equate any criticism of Israel with threats to the safety of Jewish people.
As we approach and pass the anniversary of Oct. 7, I’ve been reflecting on the ways in which politicians, including our mayor, have stoked the fires of fear in Toronto’s Jewish community. Using Oct. 7, as well as historical Jewish trauma, they feel supported to say racist, xenophobic things, enact policies that target predominantly racialized communities, and ignore the very real dangers of rising Islamophobia.
At the synagogue that evening, we showed up wearing our shirts that said “Jews Say No To Genocide” and “Jews for Palestinian Liberation.” We were immediately denied entry to the event, and in protest we linked arms to block the entrance, repeatedly pointing out the hypocrisy of our Jewish collective being turned away. As we sat on the steps and chanted, we were dragged from the entrance by police and threatened with arrest.
We remained outside, later being joined by a group of Palestinian comrades and allies. Some people who had come to attend the talks hurled insults at us, attacking our identities as Jews and even making attempts to physically intimidate us. This lasted until the talks inside began.
Later, when I listened to a recording of the talks, I was profoundly disturbed by the ways in which this crowd at the Pride of Israel Synagogue was emotionally manipulated by the speakers, stoked their fears of some kind of imminent danger to Toronto’s Jewish community and validating their biases against Palestinians and their allies.
There was notably no criticism of Israel and its genocidal offensive in Gaza and increasingly the West Bank as well.
But the audience was told again and again that protests against the genocide were “hate rallies.”
All 13 speakers lamented against “hate,” but stopped short of providing any concrete examples, other than graffiti and vandalism.
The event had been called after a window at the synagogue was broken following other vandalism incidents. These are concerning, especially when it appears people are targeting Jewish institutions simply for being Jewish, such as smashing windows in a place of worship, as opposed to opposing shows of support for Israel, like graffiti-ing over pro-Israel posters.
Toronto police have made few arrests regarding vandalisms (let alone convictions in court), so it is very difficult to know who is behind them.
But acts of antisemitism, like the reported bomb threats to Jewish day schools, were attributed by most of these speakers to Palestinians and their allies, despite the lack of evidence.
Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman lamented against a “loud and radical minority” who “don’t respect the rules of this country.” Lanstman went on to say “somebody needs to say that out loud” and was met by loud cheers from the audience.
Councillor James Pasternak stated that “people are scared to speak up, and gripped by fear,” despite no material evidence of anyone facing consequences for speaking up about antisemitism, unlike the very real consequences of speaking up for Palestinian rights, as we have seen with a rash of firings, suspensions and academic probations as a result.
At no point did any speaker acknowledge that recent acts of antisemitism could have been perpetrated by white Canadians or non-immigrants.
Mayor Olivia Chow spoke and was met with boos from the audience. While she pledged her support to Pasternak and also claimed that people were being “targeted” for being Jewish, she did not elaborate further, and spoke vaguely in support of the event.
Almost every speaker used the analogy of “dark versus light,” suggesting the Jewish community itself is “the light” and many others are darkness.
Conservative MPP Michael Kerzner insisted that antisemitism “has no parallel movement,” as though it is somehow independent of other forms of discrimination. Many of these speakers positioned antisemitism this way, as though it is a unique threat.
Although antisemitism has some distinct characteristics, it’s broadly the same as other forms of discrimination and scapegoating.
There were multiple references to historical events like Kristallnacht and the Christie Pits riots, comparing acts of vandalism and graffiti to events that resulted in mass death or grave bodily harm. Liberal MP Marco Mendicino referred to the weekly protests in the winter where people waved Palestinian flags over highway overpasses as “the Kristallnacht of the 21st century.”
Conservative MPP Stan Cho said “a genocide is coming,” referring to a genocide against Jews, without even acknowledging the literal ongoing genocide against Palestinians. Newly elected Conservative MP Donald Stewart said that the recent protests against Israel incited violence against Jews, despite no evidence of such a correlation.
Essentially, the discomfort that this audience likely experiences around justifiable critiques of the state of Israel was exploited and validated, stoking fears that merely existing as a Jewish person in Toronto is dangerous, and that the danger comes from Palestinians and other Arabs.
It should also be noted that several MPs spoke of “diversity” in the Jewish community by mentioning Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish people, yet none of them acknowledged the existence of Arab Jews.
Inspector Roger Desrochers from the Toronto Police Service intelligence division spoke of a rise in “violent extremism” but also mentioned that many of the calls his department received about “hatred” did not constitute a hate crime. Desrochers even clarified that a recent act of arson in which some signs near a Jewish day school were set on fire was investigated and found to not be an act of antisemitism but a simple act of vandalism.
Most speakers were supportive of the police but wanted them to crack down more. Liberal MPs Mendicino and Housefather both lamented that legislation around prosecuting hate crimes is a barrier, and they want to make it easier to do.
What I learned from listening to these speakers, and what I have concluded as I reflect on this past year, is that the Jewish community in Toronto must face what is blatantly sitting in front of our faces. We are quickly becoming the very force we supposedly fear.
Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims in Toronto are unfairly shouldering the blame of antisemitism, much like Palestine and Palestinians continue to pay the price of the European antisemitism that caused the Shoah.
I understand that antisemitism is scary, but I will not let myself forget that solidarity is the best weapon against hate. When we position ourselves as people who experience some kind of unique hatred, we lose the ability to see the forest through the trees — that antisemitism is a facet of white supremacy, the real enemy in this story.
At one point that evening, we thanked a Palestinian comrade for being there. “Well, you’re welcome, but we can’t really be here without you, it’s not safe for us,” he responded.
This horrified me, both as a Jew and as a citizen of this city; in what world does a “rally against hate” become a dangerous place for Palestinians? If we perpetrate the very hatred we claim to stand against, what will happen to us?