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Man planning to bomb Toronto synagogues 'to kill as many Jews as possible' gets house arrest as punishment
Man planning to bomb Toronto synagogues 'to kill as many Jews as possible' gets house arrest as punishment

National Post

timea day ago

  • Politics
  • National Post

Man planning to bomb Toronto synagogues 'to kill as many Jews as possible' gets house arrest as punishment

A man who said he planned on bombing every synagogue in Toronto to 'to kill as many Jews as possible' was sentenced to house arrest Monday after a sentencing hearing that heard of the terror and fear his vivid threats caused. Article content Waisuddin Akbari, 41, was ordered to stay at home for 60 days, followed by three years of probation, after voicing clear, hate-filled threats last year. Article content Article content The 'light sentence' shows the urgent need to reform Canada's hate crime laws, said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, a director with the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies. Article content 'At a time of rampant antisemitism in Canada and elsewhere, it sends an alarming message that threats to slaughter Jews and bomb synagogues may be met with leniency. That is extremely disappointing and profoundly unsettling for our community,' Kirzner-Roberts said after Akbari's sentencing. Article content The court heard community impact statements from five Jewish community groups that outlined a deep sense of fear and despair as news of the threats spread. Article content 'The result of the unprecedented rise in antisemitism has left a palpable dread hanging over the community. This atmosphere of despair is only amplified by the actions of Mr. Akbari,' Richard Robertson, a director with B'nai Brith Canada told court at the sentencing hearing. Article content 'Jewish Canadians did not and do not feel safe in their own communities. The constant threat of attack has left members of the community in perpetual fear for their wellbeing and has led to members of the community questioning their future as Canadians.' Article content Article content Edward Prutsch, judge at the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket, north of Toronto, defended his decision in his reasons for sentencing. Article content Article content 'It is important to be clear about what Mr. Akbari is — and is not — being sentenced for. He is not being sentenced for taking any material steps to act on the threats he made. There is no evidence before me of the collection of weapons, explosives, maps, planning or coordination. Article content 'Indeed, following his arrest, police conducted extensive checks and searches on Mr. Akbari to ensure the safety of the community was not still at risk. Mr. Akbari's guilt is based on empty threats he communicated to a stranger, mistakenly assuming (he) would be sympathetic to Akbari's own warped and hateful worldview. There was no effort to publicize his threats beyond the conversation,' Prutschi wrote. Article content 'That is not to say that the threats were harmless. Mr. Akbari's threats were clearly motivated by bias, prejudice and hate towards Israelis and Jews. … Hate-based threats are not just words, they are the gasoline upon which even more serious offences burn. Where hate is normalized, harm follows.'

Man planning to bomb Toronto synagogues 'to kill as many Jews as possible' gets house arrest as punishment
Man planning to bomb Toronto synagogues 'to kill as many Jews as possible' gets house arrest as punishment

Edmonton Journal

timea day ago

  • Politics
  • Edmonton Journal

Man planning to bomb Toronto synagogues 'to kill as many Jews as possible' gets house arrest as punishment

A man who said he planned on bombing every synagogue in Toronto to 'to kill as many Jews as possible' was sentenced to house arrest Monday after a sentencing hearing that heard of the terror and fear his vivid threats caused. Article content Waisuddin Akbari, 41, was ordered to stay at home for 60 days, followed by three years of probation, after voicing clear, hate-filled threats last year. Article content Article content Article content The 'light sentence' shows the urgent need to reform Canada's hate crime laws, said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, a director with the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies. Article content 'At a time of rampant antisemitism in Canada and elsewhere, it sends an alarming message that threats to slaughter Jews and bomb synagogues may be met with leniency. That is extremely disappointing and profoundly unsettling for our community,' Kirzner-Roberts said after Akbari's sentencing. Article content The court heard community impact statements from five Jewish community groups that outlined a deep sense of fear and despair as news of the threats spread. Article content 'The result of the unprecedented rise in antisemitism has left a palpable dread hanging over the community. This atmosphere of despair is only amplified by the actions of Mr. Akbari,' Richard Robertson, a director with B'nai Brith Canada told court at the sentencing hearing. Article content Article content 'Jewish Canadians did not and do not feel safe in their own communities. The constant threat of attack has left members of the community in perpetual fear for their wellbeing and has led to members of the community questioning their future as Canadians.' Article content Article content Edward Prutsch, judge at the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket, north of Toronto, defended his decision in his reasons for sentencing. Article content 'It is important to be clear about what Mr. Akbari is — and is not — being sentenced for. He is not being sentenced for taking any material steps to act on the threats he made. There is no evidence before me of the collection of weapons, explosives, maps, planning or coordination. Article content 'Indeed, following his arrest, police conducted extensive checks and searches on Mr. Akbari to ensure the safety of the community was not still at risk. Mr. Akbari's guilt is based on empty threats he communicated to a stranger, mistakenly assuming (he) would be sympathetic to Akbari's own warped and hateful worldview. There was no effort to publicize his threats beyond the conversation,' Prutschi wrote.

Jewish, Christian leaders partner to combat antisemitism
Jewish, Christian leaders partner to combat antisemitism

Winnipeg Free Press

time19-07-2025

  • Politics
  • Winnipeg Free Press

Jewish, Christian leaders partner to combat antisemitism

Antisemitism in Canada has reached record-setting levels. That's the conclusion of the latest report from B'nai Brith Canada, a Jewish service and advocacy organization. In its Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, the organization says there were a total of 6,219 antisemitic incidents in 2024 — the highest number since the inception of the Audit in 1982. That's a 7.4 per cent increase in incidents from 2023, when B'nai Brith recorded a then-record number of 5,791 incidents across Canada. Altogether, there has been a 124.6 per cent increase from 2022 to 2024. According to B'nai Brith, the rise in antisemitism corresponds to the aftermath of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. Incidents ranged from an arson attack in Vancouver, shots fired at a Jewish school in Toronto, hateful graffiti written on the walls of synagogues and other Jewish buildings in various places across the country, to personal harassment, Nazi salutes and online hate. Winnipeg was not immune to antisemitism, although it was not as bad as in some other Canadian cities. It included when a man was arrested after spray painting antisemitic graffiti on various buildings and structures in Charleswood. Since he included the initials M.Y.K., which belongs to an international antisemitic extremist group, he was charged by the RCMP with facilitating terrorist activity, participating in activity of a terrorist group and the commission of an offence for a terrorist group. In response, a group of Jewish and Christian leaders from across Canada have decided to partner together in what they call the Simeon Initiative, a new national movement to build relationships between members of the two communities to combat antisemitism. The decision to create the partnership was made in June at the inaugural Simeon Initiative Summit, which takes its name and inspiration from the encounter in the Gospel of Luke between Simeon, a devout Jew, and the infant Jesus — an encounter interpreted by some as the start of the historic connection between Christianity and Judaism. The Summit, which brought together about 100 Jewish and Christian leaders in Toronto, was sponsored by Cardus, a Christian-led think tank, and The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). It was a follow-up to the 2024 Canadian Christian Declaration on Antisemitism, which was signed by over 700 Christian clergy from across Canada. The declaration originated with Andrew Bennett, Director of Faith Community Engagement at Cardus and Canada's first ambassador for religious freedom. Through the declaration, the signers wanted to show Canada's Jewish communities that they are not alone. Through the declaration, they condemned antisemitism and pledged to peacefully stand against all 'who seek to demonize and dehumanize our Jewish fellow citizens.' For Michael Van Pelt, CEO of Cardus, the Simeon Initiative is a response to the dramatic rise in antisemitism in Canada. 'This is a devastating trend,' he said, adding that the goal is to help Christian clergy address this problem. This is something some clergy find hard to do since many Christian leaders don't know people in Canada's Jewish community, Van Pelt said. In the absence of good relations between local churches and synagogues, many clergy don't fully understand how insecure many Canadian Jews feel. As a result, 'it's easy for them to overlook the troubling realities facing Jews in Canada today,' he said. At the summit, Christian leaders had a chance to get to know their Jewish counterparts by meeting around tables while listening to keynote presentations and panels. At the end of the summit, participants committed themselves to creating joint projects between churches and synagogues in their local communities as a way to help their members to learn more about each other. While Cardus is concerned about all forms of religious hatred, including Islamophobia, the organization has decided to focus on antisemitism not only because of its 'dramatic rise,' but because of the tragic history between Christians and Jews, Van Pelt said. 'Antisemitism is a foundational brokenness in the Christian tradition,' he said, adding that Christians have a responsibility to address antisemitism because of the way Christians have historically persecuted Jews. 'That's why it requires our special attention.' Richard Marceau is the vice president for external affairs for CIJA. He welcomes the Initiative as a sign of Christian commitment to stand with the Canadian Jewish community in the face of rising antisemitism since the Hamas attack. 'Jews in Canada have been feeling under siege since then,' he said, adding the initiative 'makes us feel less alone.' Marceau is looking forward to ways Canadian Christians and Jews can work together, such as twinning churches and synagogues in various cities, or perhaps through joint projects aimed at addressing social needs in their communities. 'We want to take it down to the local pew level,' he said. 'We want to develop closer relations between our communities … we want to develop an alliance against hate.' faith@ The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba. If you appreciate that coverage, help us do more! Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow us to deepen our reporting about faith in the province. Thanks! BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER John LonghurstFaith reporter John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

WARMINGTON: PM took all day before finally saying Israel can defend itself from Iran
WARMINGTON: PM took all day before finally saying Israel can defend itself from Iran

Toronto Sun

time14-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Toronto Sun

WARMINGTON: PM took all day before finally saying Israel can defend itself from Iran

Players react to U.S. Open carnage: 'I'm too annoyed and too mad right now to think' Public service shrinks by nearly 10,000, with tax, immigration hit the hardest WARMINGTON: PM took all day before finally saying Israel can defend itself from Iran The Jewish community was shocked, hurt and disappointed that Canada took so long to weakly stand with its ally Israel in this dire time Get the latest from Joe Warmington straight to your inbox Sign Up Photo by Leo Correa / AP Photo Article content The silence in not immediately offering unwavering support for Canada's once treasured friend Israel from the Prime Minister was deafening. Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account or Sign in without password View more offers Article content And it was heard by Canadian Jews who felt all day Canada no longer had their back. Article content tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or WARMINGTON: PM took all day before finally saying Israel can defend itself from Iran Back to video tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Play Video Article content 'Cowardice' is how B'nai Brith Canada described it. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs called on people to send 'a message to the prime minister' that they expected Canada to support Israel in its war with Iran. But all day there was nothing Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Liberal government. Then, just as people were checking out for Father's Day weekend and long after Iran dropped many bombs on Israel, Carney finally yelled uncle and said what other world leaders had already said. Barely. In war, you find out who your friends really are. When it comes to who's on your side in a survive or not survive conflict, with their preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Israel learned Friday who's with them and who isn't sure. Advertisement 3 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content American President Donald J. Trump said on the 'very successful attack' the U.S. 'of course support Israel, obviously and supported it like nobody has ever supported it.' I just spoke with @realDonaldTrump on the phone. The President told me the US supports Israel and called the strikes on Iran last night 'a very successful attack.' 'We of course support Israel, obviously and supported it like nobody has ever supported it,' Trump said during our… — Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) June 13, 2025 Your Midday Sun Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. There was an error, please provide a valid email address. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Article content Advertisement 4 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content France's President Emmanuel Macron posted to X that 'France has repeatedly condemned Iran's ongoing nuclear program' and 'France reaffirms Israel's right to defend itself and ensure its security.' France has repeatedly condemned Iran's ongoing nuclear program and has taken all appropriate diplomatic measures in response. In this context, France reaffirms Israel's right to defend itself and ensure its security. To avoid jeopardizing the stability of the entire region,… — Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 13, 2025 Advertisement 5 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Also calling for a measured approach, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, 'we reaffirm that Israel has the right to defend its existence and the security of its citizens.' Canadian Conservative Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre added, 'Israel has a right to defend itself' by 'disarming Tehran's nuclear program.' Wir bekräftigen, dass Israel das Recht hat, seine Existenz und die Sicherheit seiner Bürger zu verteidigen. Wir rufen beide Seiten auf, von Schritten abzusehen, die zu einer weiteren Eskalation führen und die gesamte Region destabilisieren können. (5/8) — Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz (@bundeskanzler) June 13, 2025 Advertisement 6 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content So, what did Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney say? For hours his latest tweet was still on the Edmonton Oilers hockey game. Drag 'em back to Oil Country. #LetsGoOilers — Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) June 13, 2025 Advertisement 7 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Finally at 5:56 p.m. Carney tweeted, 'Iran's nuclear program has long been a cause of grave concern, and its missile attacks across Israel threaten regional peace. Today, I convened our National Security Council to receive an update on the situation and to ensure that all necessary steps will be taken to protect our nationals and our diplomatic missions in the region. Canada reaffirms Israel's right to defend itself and to ensure its security. We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and move towards a diplomatic resolution.' Better late than never? Or does it make it worse? Iran's nuclear program has long been a cause of grave concern, and its missile attacks across Israel threaten regional peace. Today, I convened our National Security Council to receive an update on the situation and to ensure that all necessary steps will be taken to protect our… — Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) June 13, 2025 Advertisement 8 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Carney's Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand had earlier tweeted, 'Canada is closely following the escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran' and that 'further action risks triggering a broader regional conflict with devastating consequences. De-escalation must be the priority. We urge all parties to refrain from actions that further destabilize the region. The protection of civilians must be paramount.' Advertisement 9 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Even after Iran started firing ballistic missiles into Tel Aviv in response to Israeli Defence Forces eliminating many Iranian military and political leaders, there were no further tweets asking Iran to de-escalate or refrain. Canada was trying to go down the middle and not take sides – treating the tyrannical Iranian regime and the democratically elected Israel government as equals. But they are not. Iran is led by a terrorist cult. Israel is a democracy. Canada is closely following the escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran. Further action risks triggering a broader regional conflict with devastating consequences. De-escalation must be the priority. We urge all parties to refrain from actions that further destabilize the… — Anita Anand (@AnitaAnandMP) June 13, 2025 Advertisement 10 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Advertisement 11 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Canadian Jews, who have faced nonstop antisemitic violence and threats since the Oct. 7 slaughter at the hands of Hamas from Gaza, understand what these tropes, and the lack of pushing back on them, mean for their safety. They needed a bigger and more meaningful and prompt response like Trump, Merz, Poilievre and Macron offered. 'The question many Jewish people are asking is who is our Prime Minister with? Our ally Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu or Iranian Ayatollah Khamenei?' said Meir Weinstein, of Israel Now. הטעות החמורה הזו תהפוך את הישות הציונית לאומללה ותמיר את חייה למרים. — Hebrew (@Khamenei_Heb) June 13, 2025 Advertisement 12 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content If not for the pressure from Jewish groups all day, who knows if this soft statement would have even come. 'For years, leaders have acknowledged that a nuclear Iran is an intolerable global threat,' B'nai Brith Canada said in a statement. 'Now, when Israel takes the very action, those same leaders have long warned would be necessary, some shrink back behind empty platitudes and performative outrage.' Canadian Jews need to know now, is Prime Minister Mark Carney and his government with Canadian Jews and Israel or Iran. — Israel Now (@neveragainlive1) June 13, 2025 Advertisement 13 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content B'nai Brith added: 'This is not moral leadership – it is cowardice. Israel has acted to neutralize the greatest threat facing the free world. The time for selective outrage is over. The time for principled support is now. B'nai Brith Canada calls on Canada and all democratic nations to act with moral clarity by standing with Israel in defence of global security.' An Iran armed with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles is an existential threat to the entire world. For years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has worked relentlessly to develop nuclear weapons, arm terrorist proxies with weapons of mass destruction, and openly call for the… — B'nai Brith Canada (@bnaibrithcanada) June 13, 2025 Advertisement 14 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content CIJA added 'In moments like these, it's important for countries like Canada – that value democracy and reject terrorism – to affirm Israel's right to defend its people and act decisively to end the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran once and for all.' It's important for the Government of Canada to affirm Israel's right to defend its people and act decisively to end the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran once and for all. At the G7 this Sunday, Canada has an opportunity to lead a united global response against the Iranian… — CIJA (@CIJAinfo) June 13, 2025 Advertisement 15 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content They called on people to 'join thousands of other Canadians in sending a message to the Prime Minister.' Seems he finally heard them. jwarmington@ Article content Share this article in your social network Read Next

Canadian Jewish organizations condemn Colorado attack, call for action against antisemitism at home
Canadian Jewish organizations condemn Colorado attack, call for action against antisemitism at home

Vancouver Sun

time02-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Vancouver Sun

Canadian Jewish organizations condemn Colorado attack, call for action against antisemitism at home

In the wake of another antisemitic attack in the U.S., organizations representing the Canadian Jewish community condemned the incident and renewed their call for governments to take concrete steps to prevent more like it. On Sunday in Boulder, Col., eight people were injured, some with serious burns, when 45-year-old Mohamed Sabry Soliman allegedly used Molotov cocktails and an improvised flamethrower on a small group of people assembled to raise attention for the remaining 58 Israeli hostages in Gaza. He reportedly yelled 'Free Palestine' as he did so. Soliman has since been charged with federal hate crime and other charges, and the FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism. Abraham Global Peace Initiative CEO and founder Avi Benlolo said he was saddened by the incident, but 'not surprised.' It's the byproduct, he said, of demonstrators becoming 'much more hostile, much more desperate' in an effort to seek attention. And he thinks it's only going to escalate. 'I think we're going to see more Colorados,' he told National Post Monday. In a post to X, B'nai Brith Canada called it 'a cowardly act of hate filled violence' and suggested this and other recent antisemitic attacks 'are emblematic of what happens when radical extremism is allowed to flourish and when hatred is incited without consequence.' B'nai Brith Canada stands in solidarity with the Jewish community in Boulder, Colorado. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this horrific attack. Targeting a group that was peacefully gathered to call for the release of the hostages is a cowardly act of hate filled… Less than two weeks ago in Washington, D.C., two Israeli Embassy staff members — Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26 — were shot and killed by a gunman who later yelled 'Free Palestine' while being arrested. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Hamas's infiltration of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 — during which 1,195 people were killed and 251 more were taken hostage — and the Israeli military's response have led to a wave of antisemitic attacks in Western countries, including Canada. And while there haven't been any hate crimes resulting in the deaths of Jewish people in Canada, there has been a marked increase in other offences in the 19 months since hostilities began with the terrorist group in Gaza. In 2023, of the 1,284 hate crimes targeting a religion — a jump of 67 per cent from 2022 — 900 were against Jewish people, that's over 70 per cent of all hate crimes and a 71 per cent increase over the previous year, according to Statistics Canada police-reported hate crime data. There were more than four times as many antisemitic hate crimes as the second-most targeted religious minority, Muslims. In Toronto, antisemitic hate crime spiked 76 per cent in 2023 over the year prior, with almost 68 of the 146 occurring after October, per the Toronto Police public safety data portal. That figure climbed 20.5 per cent in 2024 with 176 reported hate crimes targeting Jewish people, which represented 81 per cent of all religion bias hate offences. That includes three shootings at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School in North York — which was unoccupied at the time — and vandalism at the Kehillat Shaarei Torah synagogue , among other unpublicized incidents. In response to Sunday's events, Toronto police said Monday officers would continue to maintain a heightened presence around places of worship, community centres, schools and other faith-based locations as they have since the Washington attack. Meanwhile, in Vancouver, police data from December 2022 to December 2023 showed a 62 per cent increase in antisemitism , while officials in Montreal accounted for 212 in the calendar year following Oct. 7, 131 of which were reported before January 2024, per The Canadian Jewish News. In March, the city's Congregation Beth Tikvah was hit with a firebomb just over a year after being damaged in a similar attack that included a fire at a nearby Federation CJA building. Benlolo conceded the attacks on both sides of the border are adding to unease felt by Canadian Jews, but he said 'mobs of people' more radicalized than their southern counterparts partaking in extremist activism is a clear and present danger. 'If you're in Florida, as an example, you'll never see these kinds of rallies and obstruction of Jewish events. The authorities and, basically, the community just won't allow it,' he said, comparing the sometimes violent anti-Israel demonstrations to those seen in Germany before the Nazis rose to power. 'They are marching through Jewish neighbourhoods. They are obstructing Jewish businesses. They are trying to shut down events. They're calling venues and trying to shut them down. So, there is a complete and utter obstruction of daily life if you are a Jewish person. It feels like we're back in the 1930s.' He said Ottawa needs to start taking growing antisemitism more seriously as a threat within Canada. As it stands, he said Jewish people feel abandoned by the federal government. 'And that's been leading to us feeling now, and that feeling is growing, that there is tacit approval, particularly by this incoming government, that we haven't seen the condemnations that you would think, and the action taken that you would think,' Benlolo said. 'Sadly, it feels like a political decision by the government.' While Prime Minister Mark Carney has taken a critical stance on Israel's war efforts, he condemned the Washington shootings on X, at which time he also reiterated a campaign promise 'to introduce legislation to make it a criminal offence to intentionally and willfully obstruct access to any place of worship, schools, and community centres; and a criminal offence to willfully intimidate or threaten those attending services at these locations.' B'Nai Brith and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs also called for action in separate posts to X. 'We call upon Canadian leaders to confront the extremism and incitement compromising the vitality of our society and to take immediate action to ensure the well-being of all Canadians,' CJIA posted. 'Anti-Israel and anti-Jewish radicalization is a growing threat in North America that demands a forceful response from authorities,' B'Nai Brith wrote. 'We need decisive action to protect our community and all Canadians.' — With files from the Canadian Press and the Associated Press Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .

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