Avi Benlolo: The extreme rise in antisemitism is hardening the Jewish community

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A number of years ago, I participated in a press conference alongside a group of Holocaust survivors to denounce the heinous and barbaric gassing of entire villages by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Following the so-called Arab Spring and his own citizens’ calls for freedom, al-Assad had murdered between 350,000 and 500,000 men, women and children, which constituted a genocide.

Surprisingly, there were no demonstrations on the streets of the Middle East. There were no rampaging mobs converging on London Bridge or burning tires in the suburbs of Paris. In Toronto and major cities across America, there were no demonstrations by pro-Palestinian groups calling out what was undoubtedly a real genocide. All was quiet.

When Egypt cracked down on dissidents, when mobs of people rampaged through Libya and Tunisia calling for their freedom but were murdered by their own governments by the dozen, our university campuses remained silent. Unions hardly raised a fuss, if any. There were no hate-crime incidents, and students in schools did not dress up like Hamas terrorists for Halloween. It was as if the world had turned a blind eye.

Nonetheless, we spoke out in the dead of winter on a bitterly cold day, surrounded by every media outlet available to our city. These Holocaust survivors, having walked in the shadow of death, now in their 80s and 90s (most have now passed away), found the courage and righteousness to speak out for Syrians — a Muslim nation that has been at war with Israel for 75 years.

We have always stood up for others. Even now, you see some Jewish groups speaking out for Palestinians in Gaza, albeit mostly misinformed. But now, with surging antisemitism here at home and around the world, we boldly wonder, where were the school walkouts for the 1,400 Jews who were brutally massacred on Oct. 7?

Where are the pro-Palestinian demonstrations demanding that Hamas return the 242 Israelis and foreigners held in medieval-like conditions in Gaza? Where are the candlelight vigils and the calls to stop bombing Israeli cities and towns with crude rockets aimed at civilian populations? Where are the so-called international human rights organizations that eagerly promote the Hamas narrative but remain silent over the 500,000 displaced Israeli civilians?

The world hasn’t been silent; but not in a good way. Instead, it has given voice to extraordinary antisemitism. This week, a woman was filmed in Toronto tearing down posters of children who had been kidnapped by Hamas. This unfathomable, antisemitic loss of a moral compass is a stark reminder of the boycotts the Nazis practised before the Holocaust.

Speaking to a U.S. Senate panel this week, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that antisemitism is reaching “historic levels” in America. While Jews make up only about 2.4 per cent of the U.S. population, they account for 60 per cent of all religious-based hate crimes, he said. Nearly every major city is reporting sharp increases, in some cases doubling or more, as has been the case in Toronto.

Threats made against Jewish students have caused Cornell University to cancel classes today. At Harvard, a group of students was filmed harassing a Jewish student. Here in Canada, students at Toronto Metropolitan University’s law school and York University have published declarations that promote violence, leaving Jewish students wondering if they are safe.

Director Wray’s warning that “the Jewish community is targeted by terrorists (really) across the spectrum” emphasizes the looming threat to America and Canada. The growing radicalism on our campuses and in our streets is inspired by Hamas and may lead to homegrown violent extremists and foreign terrorist organizations jeopardizing the safety and security of our nations, not just the Jewish community.

The extreme rise in antisemitism is hardening the Jewish community. We see those on our campuses and streets who sympathize with Hamas and emulate its virulent hatred as being not much different from the Nazis. Our only recourse is to strengthen our resolve and determination and stand firm with Israel. Holocaust survivors are now almost gone, but we are here to carry forward their fight in the name of Never Again.

National Post