Canada’s reluctance to enforce its laws has led anti-Israel protesters to believe they have a free hand, according to Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) CEO Shimon Koffler Fogel.
Toronto-based CIJA, the advocacy agent of the Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA, representing the diverse perspectives and concerns of more than 150,000 Jewish Canadians, has a relationship with intelligence services and law enforcement.
“There is a need to ensure that governments allocate the appropriate resources and that they recognize their responsibility in ensuring the safety and protection of at-risk communities. The Jewish community heads that list, especially in the last year,” Fogel told JNS in an interview this week.
Regarding the direct threat to Jewish communities, institutions and individuals, Fogel said that law enforcement takes it very seriously, has been very responsive and is committed to working closely with the community to achieve maximum protection.
“Our frustration concerns the coordinated, choreographed, violent public protests that anti-Israel elements within Canadian society have undertaken,” he said.
“We have found that law enforcement has been hesitant to ensure public order and to diminish any potential threat to the Jewish community,” he continued.
“Police trying to de-escalate situations have been sending the wrong message. Some behavior which is aggressive, intimidating and which led more than once to direct attacks or assaults on Jews is a consequence of protesters thinking they have a free hand,” he asserted.
In the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas onslaught on Israel, the number of anti-Jewish hate crimes and incidents has skyrocketed throughout Canada.
As a result, Fogel said that the community is seeking legislation to protect Jewish institutions.
“Parents shouldn’t have to be worried about escorting their children to Jewish day schools because there is a violent protest literally outside the building. Synagogues shouldn’t have to worry about people coming for services because protesters have decided to gather outside,” he said.
However, he continued, “We have been challenged in getting governments to move more forcefully and put into place that kind of legislation.”
In March, a court injunction banned pro-Palestinian protesters from specific Jewish community buildings. However, Fogel stressed that injunctions are temporary and do not uniformly cover all Jewish community institutions. Meanwhile, the community has adopted a low-profile approach.
“We shouldn’t have to hide what we do, where we do it and why we do it, we should have confidence that we can gather as a community, express our support for Israel, assert our connection to the Jewish state without fear that others will swoop down to scare, intimidate and put those participants at risk,” said Fogel.
“It’s not simply a Jewish problem. It’s a non-Jewish problem and we shouldn’t be the ones who have to develop all sorts of contrivances and secret plans to undertake activities that are essential to our sense of pride and identity,” he added.
In its battle for a safer community, CIJA has gone against those who stir up hatred, including the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn.
“Hahn has a very long record of ugly and antisemitic inclination disguised as opposition to the Jewish state,” said Fogel.
“His behavior, his words, his social media activity all point to something that isn’t related to criticism of policies of the State of Israel or the government of Israel,” he continued. CIJA filed suit against Hahn last November.
In the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks, Jewish communities across the country mobilized and managed not only to express their support for Israel but also adopt tangible ways to demonstrate it.
“I don’t have the latest figures, but well over $100 million have been raised to support Israeli communities,” said Fogel.
“There’s been an unwavering and continuous sustained commitment on the part of Canadian Jewry to signal not just their support for Israel, but their understanding that we have a direct responsibility to partner with those on the frontlines to preserve and strengthen all of Israel,” he added.
However, Fogel is not satisfied with the positions that the federal government has pursued concerning Israel, the Gaza conflict and some larger issues.
Canada is one of the only members of the G7 forum whose prime minister or president has not visited Israel since the Hamas attacks, and was the first of Israel’s friends, together with Australia and New Zealand, to support a ceasefire at the United Nations.
In March, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau following Ottawa’s decision to halt arms sales to the Jewish state.
“There is no expectation that Canada is going to be uniformly supportive of the Jewish community and Israel at the expense of some of the other considerations. Nobody should be dismissive of the suffering of the Palestinian people,” said Fogel.
“The Canadian government, however, has to be clearer in recognizing that it is Palestinian leadership in Gaza who are responsible in so many different ways for the suffering of the Palestinian people,” he continued.
CIJA, along with Canadian families of Hamas victims, is filing suit against the Canadian government over its decision to resume funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
“UNRWA has failed its mission. It has not been faithful to the appropriate objectivity and neutral stance a U.N. agency is supposed to adopt. We have called not just for the reformation but the dissolution of this group who no longer plays a constructive purpose,” said Fogel.
“UNRWA not only perpetuates the refugee status, it enables those who are opposed to reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians.
“We recognize and support humanitarian efforts that assist Palestinians. Where we differ is on what instruments should be used to provide humanitarian assistance and we believe UNRWA is not one of them,” he added.
Conversely, CIJA has criticized the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) decision to revoke the Jewish National Fund (JNF) Canada’s charity status.
“We are hopeful that some settlement could be reached with CRA before they go to trial. We think JNF deserves it and that CRA has been deficient in the way in which it worked with JNF to address whatever technical faults JNF had allowed to its practice,” he added.
Since Oct. 7, CIJA has run several political missions for political leaders and public influencers to visit Israel.
“They have met with families of hostages, those who have suffered terrible losses, they had political meetings, they had the opportunity to witness what Israelis are experiencing,” said Fogel.
“These initiatives also allow Israelis to feel the love and support not just of the Jewish community, but of political leadership and individuals who care about Israel and want opportunities to express their support and solidarity with the country,” he added.
While CIJA has been organizing missions for decades, after Oct. 7 the number of such initiatives has diminished not for lack of demand but due to logistical challenges.
Fogel said that over the next year and ahead of Canada’s federal election in 2025, CIJA’s activities will be focused on trying to generate a consensus within the political sector that is supportive of Israel that understands the threat of antisemitism and that CIJA will encourage Jewish constituencies to become active.
