Open letter, senate motion calls for 2nd national antisemitism summit

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OTTAWA — Rising antisemitism in Canada since the Oct. 7 Israel terror attacks has triggered a call to convene a second national antisemitism summit.

That call came via an open letter signed by 200 politicians, community and spiritual leaders, along with a motion that will be tabled in the Senate later this week.

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Marvin Rotrand, a retired politician and interim director-general of United Against Hate Canada, said during Monday morning’s press conference that while a lot of good came out of Canada’s 2021 antisemitism summit, more needs to be done.

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“We think the situation now is more critical, and we point to police statistics to make our case,” he said.

“We feel that our demand will be well received by elected officials, it’s critical to get stakeholders all at the same table.”

The open letter calls on Canada’s antisemitism envoy Deborah Lyons to to convene the meeting, continuing the work of the country’s first summit, held in July 2021 by Irwin Cotler, Canada’s first special envoy on combating antisemitism.

That summit convened shortly after Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin crossed the aisle from the Green Party to the Liberals after making divisive anti-Israel statements.

In the wake of last October’s terror attack that saw scores of Hamas terrorists wage a murderous rampage against Gaza-adjacent communities in Israel, incidents of antisemitism skyrocketed in Canada.

In Toronto, where antisemitism has been the city’s most reported hate crime for years, incidents of hatred against Jews more than doubled compared to last year.

Other cities reported significant increases in anti-Jewish hate since October 7.

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Just hours before Monday’s press conference, the downtown Ottawa office towers home to the Israeli embassy were temporarily locked down after vandals spray painted anti-Israel graffiti on the outside of the building.

At the same time, a handful of anti-Israel protestors briefly shut down an intersection immediately south of the embassy, reportedly part of a coordinated effort to create “economic blockades” against nations seen to be in support of Israel.

The open letter was signed by over 200 people, including sitting and retired politicians at all levels of government, mayors, school trustees, cultural and ethnic groups, and faith leaders.

Also speaking at the press conference was Independent MP Kevin Vuong, who said combatting antisemitism requires action, rather than more words and platitudes.

“We know that an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,” he said. 

“if someone hates a person for being Jewish, they’re going to hate me for being Chinese, someone else for being Filipino, and so on.”

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An example of this action, he said, includes making both law enforcement and government officials understand the meaning behind many of the slogans commonly used by anti-Israel activists — including “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

“In Hamas terms, it is a call for genocide and a call for ethnic cleansing,” Vuong said of the phrase.

“The action summit must address the alleged confusion about what that chant means and remove the excuse for inaction, so that the people we trust to keep us safe and uphold our laws can do so with full clarity.”

Monday’s call for a summit will be supported by a motion to be tabled in the senate later this week by Sen. Leo Housakos.

“We cannot allow antisemitism to become normalized, and we cannot allow the haters to believe they can act with impunity,” Housakos said in a statement to the National Post.

“It is totally unacceptable that the Jewish community, whose history dates to the foundation of our country and who have contributed so much to Canada’s wellbeing and success, should feel unsafe in their own communities.”

When asked about timelines for the summit, Rotrand said they want to see it convened no later than the summer.

“The fight against antisemitism is everyone’s fight,” he said.

National Post

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