Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with two prominent figures who have an enormous impact on the entire Canadian Jewish community. As reported in the Federation CJA 360 newsletter you receive each Friday, representatives of our advocacy agent, CIJA, and I met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada’s newly appointed Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, Deborah Lyons. 

In both encounters I conveyed a direct and honest message of the importance of our country’s leadership in calling out antisemitism. We have a social contract with the government that holds them responsible for our safety and security. Our community deserves to feel safe, and our leaders have a direct responsibility to ensure that we feel protected and secure where we live, work, study and congregate.

The ground is fertile with vehement antisemitism disguised as anti-Israel rhetoric. We don’t want this sparked, and it must be addressed before it spreads any further.

CEGEPs and universities are a cesspool of hatred, bigotry, and antisemitism. Yet in response, I’ve seen an inspiring response from our students who push back on campus, relying on their knowledge and strong Jewish values to combat antisemitism. 

No Jew has called for a jihad against Muslims. Jews are not chanting in the streets that Gaza will be free of Palestinians. Jews are not taking down posters of kids who have been kidnapped and tortured. There’s no equivalency. And therefore, we’re not feeling safe in this country.

I told the PM straightforwardly: if our community does not feel safe, and it does not right now, we are calling out to our government leaders to create a different future, to speak up against antisemitism forcefully and clearly.

Our expenses in protecting our community are rising exponentially, and we need financial support. We cannot and should not be expected to do this alone. Our government must be a partner in this. 

I am heartened by the comment by Ms. Lyons on our shared Canadian values where she said: “We must focus on our shared humanity and our respect for Canadian values of equality, inclusion, and justice. This must occur at all levels, from our political and community leaders to our interactions with one another on the street and online.”

Furthermore, I am encouraged by the strong stance that Premier Francois Legault’s government took earlier this week in rejecting a flawed motion calling for a ceasefire. As a community, we want peace more than anything. Yet a ceasefire will only result in more suffering to all those in the region. Peace for Israelis and Palestinians requires an end to Hamas, not a ceasefire that would give terrorists time to re-arm, re-group, and re-attack.

We must all be active in speaking out, in standing up against antisemitism. And we must all continue to live our Jewish lives freely and comfortably. I can assure you that Federation CJA, and our advocacy agent, CIJA, will continue to speak out on issues that matter to our community and will do all that is possible to ensure our government as well as law enforcement, at all levels, do what is necessary to allow us to feel safe and protected.  

Yair Szlak, LL.B
President and Chief Executive Officer,
Federation CJA