Avi Benlolo: The new year will be pivotal for the Jewish community |
Should the upward trend of antisemitism and violence continue unabated, Canadian Jewry may begin relocating
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The new year will be pivotal for Canada and its Jewish community. After two years of non-action by our government and criticism of law enforcement, the community has had enough. Its patience has waned. Its tolerance level for words over action, no longer forgiving. Our community’s usual tepid cool-headed response has turned into anger and frustration.
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According to a Statistics Canada report, the Jewish community was the most targeted group for religion-based hate crime by far in 2024 (68.6 per cent), despite the fact it makes up just 0.9 per cent of the population. In comparison, the Muslim community was affected just 17 per cent of religious based hate crime.
I fear that should inaction persist, in 2026, Canada will begin seeing a snowballing effect of Jews slowly departing to safer locations. Already, some of my friends in Boca Raton, Florida are reporting that their children’s schools are filling with Canadian children. That should be alarming to Canadian officials. Without a foreseeable future, Canadian families are seriously weighing their options, and young adults in their 20s and 30s contemplating moving to Israel.
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