There
has been a general increase of harassment toward Jewish people in Canada during
the past five years, B’nai Brith Canada reports in its latest Annual Audit of Antisemitic
Incidents.
Across
Canada – from universities to the public sphere – antisemitism has been rearing
its ugly head once again. From vandalized cars, spray-painted antisemitic
graffiti, anti-Israel boycotts and outright physical assaults, there were a
total of 1,277 antisemitic incidents documented in Canada in 2015, a slight
decrease from 1627 incidents in 2014, the worst year on record.
Harassment
constituted 88% of all incidents, vandalism accounted for 11% and violence made
up 1% of the reported incidents.
According
to B’nai Brith, online attacks and cyber harassment have become the method of
choice for antisemites in Canada. Even though institutional antisemitism and
slander against the Jewish People as a whole remained at the same level, the
number of physical assaults declined from 2014.
In
2015, 914 antisemitic incidents (71%) occurred in Ontario, followed by Quebec
with 265 incidents (or 21% of the total, an increase from 16% in 2014). British
Columbia experienced a surge in incidents in 2015, with a total of 64
incidents, in comparison to 15 in 2014.
The
Boycott and Sanctions (BS) movement, which is increasingly viewed as an antisemitic
hate movement by lawmakers, including the Canadian Parliament which in February
passed a motion condemning it in all its forms, saw an increase in Canadian
support in 2015.
In
addition to the trend of cyber harassment, two other disturbing trends were
noted in the Audit. The first is an increased attempt to hide antisemitism in
the guise of anti-Zionism, particularly in Quebec, and the second is the
co-operation between various Canadian white nationalist, Neo-Nazi and other
racist groups.
The
Audit concludes that, other than the spike in 2014 which was attributed to
operation Protective Edge, Israel’s defensive war against Hamas, antisemitic
incidents remained relatively constant since 2011, but antisemitism continues
to be an issue of concern in Canada.
