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Vancouver Sun
02-06-2025
- 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 .
Calgary Herald
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Canadian Jewish organizations condemn Colorado attack, call for more action 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content Article content Abraham Global Peace Initiative CEO and founder Avi Benlolo said he was saddened by the incident, but 'not surprised.' Article content 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. Article content 'I think we're going to see more Colorados,' he told National Post Monday. Article content 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.' Article content 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… — B'nai Brith Canada (@bnaibrithcanada) June 1, 2025 Article content 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content Article content There were more than four times as many antisemitic hate crimes as the second-most targeted religious minority, Muslims. Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content Article content 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.
Montreal Gazette
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Montreal Holocaust Museum joins North American institutions in condemning fatal D.C. shootings
The Montreal Holocaust Museum has joined eight institutions across North America in issuing a joint statement condemning the attack that killed two Israeli Embassy staff members outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. The fatal shootings, which occurred earlier this week, claimed the lives of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim. Both were affiliated with the Israeli diplomatic mission in the U.S. capital. In a joint statement, the museums said they were 'devastated and heartbroken' by what they called a 'brutal, senseless act,' describing the shooting as a targeted act of antisemitic violence in a public space dedicated to celebrating Jewish history and life. 'This is a moment to stand together and say: Enough,' the statement said. 'It is a time to remind the world of some of the most important lessons of the Holocaust … that unchecked hate and antisemitic rhetoric lead to violence.' It comes amid rising concern over antisemitism in Canada. According to the latest audit by B'nai Brith Canada, 6,219 incidents targeting Jews were reported in 2024, the highest figure since the organization began tracking such data more than 40 years ago. It represents a 124.7-per-cent increase over 2022, and a 7.4-per-cent rise from 2023, which had previously set the record. The joint statement was signed by Holocaust museums in Montreal, New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Cincinnati, Skokie, Farmington Hills and St. Petersburg, Fla. It concluded with a call to action: 'Antisemitism is not just a Jewish problem. When Jews are targeted, it harms all of society.'
National Post
11-05-2025
- Health
- National Post
Racist posts flood group chat for Quebec med student applicants
Article content Warning: This story contains offensive language and imagery. Article content A group chat for Quebec medical school applicants on the popular social media platform Discord has been overrun by misogynistic, racist, homophobic and antisemitic slurs, provoking widespread condemnation by Jewish doctors' groups across the country. Article content One of the groups, Jewish Clinicians Against Antisemitism, has filed a criminal complaint with Montreal police against at least one Discord user, alleging he is a student at Dawson College. On Friday, a Dawson spokesperson confirmed the CEGEP has launched an investigation into the origin of some of the racist trolling on the Discord channel, Med serveur. Article content 'But of course, as you know, due to Law 25 (the provincial legislation protecting personal information), if the matter pertains to a Dawson student or employee, we can't reveal the person's status at Dawson, if any, (as well as) their name, and what has come of the investigation.' Article content The anonymous epithets on Med serveur — which has more than 1,400 members — date to at least February and also include threats against Jews and the LGBTQ2S+ community. Since Jewish advocacy group B'nai Brith Canada posted images of some of the slurs on X on Thursday, most of have been taken down from the Discord channel. Article content Article content But a reporter was able on Friday to view several antisemitic and misogynistic posts on the channel that is used by students to discuss the applications process in Quebec's four medical schools. Article content B'nai Brith cited several degrading remarks on Med serveur, including: 'Imagine a woman under antidepressant(s) and f—ing Ritalin who (performs) surgery on you. She'll vomit mid-surgery because it's too stressful and she needs a mental health break.' Article content A screenshot of another comment alluded to the Jewish skullcap: 'Don't worry, you can trust me as long as you don't have a kippa under your wig.' Article content Article content B'nai Brith Canada has exposed a public Discord server used by Quebec medical school applicants and attendees that became a cesspool of antisemitism, racism, misogyny, and hate. For months, a number ofaspiring doctors openly posted Holocaust denial, praise for the 'Final… — B'nai Brith Canada (@bnaibrithcanada) May 8, 2025 Article content 'There are hundreds of these posts, and we couldn't find a single objection by anybody' in the group chat, lamented retired family physician Philip Berger, of the Toronto-based Doctors Against Racism and Antisemitism (DARA). Article content 'I thought I'd seen everything. I've seen many vile posts all over the place since Oct. 7 (the massacre of Jews in Israel by Hamas in 2023), but this is beyond my imagination. I mean, slurs against people who are Black or Indigenous, transgender, women, Jews. I despise platitudes, but this one rings true: It starts with the Jews but it doesn't end with the Jews, and this is evidence of that.' Article content Article content Dr. Lior Bibas, president of the Association des médecins Juifs du Québec, called on authorities to investigate. Article content 'If these accounts are really from future physicians, we need an immediate investigation to identify those responsible and ensure they are not admitted to our medical schools or allowed to practice medicine,' Bibas told The Gazette. Article content 'It is essential that the institutions involved act swiftly, transparently, and decisively to restore public trust. Hate has no place in medicine. These reported comments are not only unacceptable — they are dangerous. Admitting individuals who hold such views into the medical profession poses a real risk to Quebec patients, especially those from vulnerable communities. Medicine must be grounded in ethics, respect, and inclusion. Those who do not uphold these values should not be entrusted with the care of our population.'
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Montreal Gazette
10-05-2025
- Health
- Montreal Gazette
Racist, sexist posts flood group chat for Quebec med student applicants
By Warning: This story contains offensive language and imagery. A group chat for Quebec medical school applicants on the popular social media platform Discord has been overrun by misogynistic, racist, homophobic and antisemitic slurs, provoking widespread condemnation by Jewish doctors' groups across the country. One of the groups, Jewish Clinicians Against Antisemitism, has filed a criminal complaint with Montreal police against at least one Discord user, alleging he is a student at Dawson College. On Friday, a Dawson spokesperson confirmed the CEGEP has launched an investigation into the origin of some of the racist trolling on the Discord channel, Med serveur. 'The matter you refer to is being investigated,' Donna Varrica, director of communications and corporate affairs at Dawson, said in an email. 'But of course, as you know, due to Law 25 (the provincial legislation protecting personal information), if the matter pertains to a Dawson student or employee, we can't reveal the person's status at Dawson, if any, (as well as) their name, and what has come of the investigation.' The anonymous epithets on Med serveur — which has more than 1,400 members — date to at least February and also include threats against Jews and the LGBTQ2S+ community. Since Jewish advocacy group B'nai Brith Canada posted images of some of the slurs on X on Thursday, most of have been taken down from the Discord channel. But a reporter was able on Friday to view several antisemitic and misogynistic posts on the channel that is used by students to discuss the applications process in Quebec's four medical schools. B'nai Brith cited several degrading remarks on Med serveur, including: 'Imagine a woman under antidepressant(s) and f---ing Ritalin who (performs) surgery on you. She'll vomit mid-surgery because it's too stressful and she needs a mental health break.' A screenshot of another comment alluded to the Jewish skullcap: 'Don't worry, you can trust me as long as you don't have a kippa under your wig.' B'nai Brith Canada has exposed a public Discord server used by Quebec medical school applicants and attendees that became a cesspool of antisemitism, racism, misogyny, and hate. For months, a number ofaspiring doctors openly posted Holocaust denial, praise for the 'Final… — B'nai Brith Canada (@bnaibrithcanada) May 8, 2025 'There are hundreds of these posts, and we couldn't find a single objection by anybody' in the group chat, lamented retired family physician Philip Berger, of the Toronto-based Doctors Against Racism and Antisemitism (DARA). 'I thought I'd seen everything. I've seen many vile posts all over the place since Oct. 7 (the massacre of Jews in Israel by Hamas in 2023), but this is beyond my imagination. I mean, slurs against people who are Black or Indigenous, transgender, women, Jews. I despise platitudes, but this one rings true: It starts with the Jews but it doesn't end with the Jews, and this is evidence of that.' Dr. Lior Bibas, president of the Association des médecins Juifs du Québec, called on authorities to investigate. 'If these accounts are really from future physicians, we need an immediate investigation to identify those responsible and ensure they are not admitted to our medical schools or allowed to practice medicine,' Bibas told The Gazette. 'It is essential that the institutions involved act swiftly, transparently, and decisively to restore public trust. Hate has no place in medicine. These reported comments are not only unacceptable — they are dangerous. Admitting individuals who hold such views into the medical profession poses a real risk to Quebec patients, especially those from vulnerable communities. Medicine must be grounded in ethics, respect, and inclusion. Those who do not uphold these values should not be entrusted with the care of our population.' Officials with the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM) were not immediately available for comment. Jillian Susi, a Discord spokersperson, vowed that the San-Franciso-based app will take swift action against the offending posters. 'Discord has a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech, which does not have a place on our platform or anywhere in society,' Susi said in a statement. 'Our dedicated teams work hard to identify and remove content that violates our policies and to prevent the misuse of our platform. Once we become aware of such content, we immediately take appropriate enforcement actions, which can include banning users and shutting down servers. Our safety team is investigating the referenced content and they will take appropriate enforcement action.' A McGill University medical student estimated there are up to 30 offensive Discord accounts on Med serveur. 'I was shocked by the individuals, the 20 to 30 people who were posting this antisemitic stuff. They were so blatant about it,' said the student, who agreed to be interviewed on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. 'What they were talking about had nothing to do with medicine, except where they were saying that Jews are controlling the applications process at McGill and you get bonus points if you're Black or Indigenous or you should dress up like a Jew for the interview.' In fact, McGill does not award so-called bonus points to applicants who are Jewish, female, Black or Indigenous. McGill does have a 'Black Candidate Pathway' and 'Indigenous Health Professions Program' to admit students from those under-represented communities, using stringent criteria for acceptance. The student also expressed dismay no one in the group chat denounced the offensive posts, given that they could have done so anonymously as well. 'Nobody was standing up against all of this on the forum, and it's a problem because 1,500 is basically the number of people in the applicant pool for medicine in Quebec. So the (Med serveur membership) is like 99 per cent of the students that are going to be applying to Quebec medical schools.' The student, who also intends to lodge a complaint with Montreal police, noted that about three-quarters of the offensive posts were against Jews, Black people and women in roughly equal proportions and the rest were targeted against the Indigenous and LGBTQ2S+ communities. The racist posts come amid heightened anxiety in Montreal's Jewish community since Oct. 7, 2023, with the entrances to synagogues firebombed, among other acts of antisemitic violence. In December, Quebec Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry launched an investigation into complaints of racist bullying from students at Dawson and Vanier colleges arising from tensions related to the Israel-Hamas war. This story was originally published May 9, 2025 at 9:32 PM.
