At a time when antisemitism, extremism, and the glorification of terrorism are becoming frighteningly visible, organizations like CIJA are more important than ever.
What I appreciate about CIJA is that it gives a strong public voice to Jewish Canadians and refuses to treat antisemitism as something society should simply learn to live with. Jewish families should never have to wonder whether their children will be safe at school, whether they can enter a synagogue without fear, or whether openly identifying as Jewish will make them a target.
Fighting terrorism and antisemitism is not only a Jewish responsibility. It is a responsibility for every person who believes in democracy, human dignity, freedom, and peaceful coexistence.
We must support Jewish communities when they are threatened. We must support education that teaches the history and consequences of antisemitism. We must support the rule of law and the protection of places of worship, schools, and community centres. We must support responsible efforts to prevent radicalization, terrorist recruitment, financing, intimidation, and violence. And we must have the courage to reject the celebration or justification of terrorism, regardless of who is responsible for it or what political cause is being invoked.
At the same time, opposing antisemitism should be part of a broader commitment to rejecting hatred against every innocent community. People can disagree passionately about governments, wars, borders, and politics without threatening civilians or holding Jewish people collectively responsible for the actions of a government.
History has shown us what can happen when hatred is normalized while decent people remain silent.
Supporting organizations such as CIJA means supporting the principle that Jewish Canadians deserve to live openly, proudly, and safely in their own country. Terrorism must never be romanticized. Antisemitism must never be excused. Violence must never become an acceptable substitute for political disagreement.
Silence does not defeat hatred. Courage, education, solidarity, democratic institutions, and the willingness to stand beside people who are being targeted do.
Thank you, CIJA, for continuing to speak when speaking is difficult, and for reminding Canadians that protecting Jewish life and confronting antisemitism are not concerns for one community alone—they are a test of the kind of society we all want Canada to remain.
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Yesterday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that he will be travelling to New York next week for the United Nations General Assembly.
This comes just days after Canada joined an initiative led by new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to announce plans to adopt a policy of economic punishment toward Israelis. Prime Minister Carney has said that he will co-chair a meeting at the UN with his British and French counterparts to “advance our efforts and pursue peace.”
Canada is advancing a policy approach it doesn’t take with any other democratic country on earth. At the same time, it is deepening relations with some of the world’s worst regimes as it contributes to the singling out and isolation of Israel:
https://actionhub.ca/alert/stop-the-double-standard/
This month, it emerged that Canada has reopened military talks with China and is pursuing closer economic ties with Turkey. That’s the same China that threatens Canadians, interferes in our elections, persecutes its citizens and destabilizes the Pacific. And that’s the same Turkey that just conducted mass arrests of LGBTQ+ leaders, the latest among many human rights abuses.
Prime Minister Carney has said that “lecturing countries from afar is an ineffective strategy. If this is Canada’s policy, why is Israel an exception?
That’s what makes next week’s UN meetings so concerning.
This is an organization that platforms brutal regimes while systematically singling out the Jewish state. According to UN Watch, from 2015 to 2024, the UN General Assembly adopted 173 resolutions against Israel — more than twice the 80 adopted against all other countries combined.
We share the objective of pursuing a peaceful and secure future for Israelis and Palestinians. But the government's approach reflects a dangerous double standard that has serious consequences here in Canada, where our own security officials are warning that hostility toward Israel is being weaponized against Canadians.
As Prime Minister Carney heads to the United Nations to discuss the pursuit of peace, Canada should bring an approach that is consistent, constructive, and grounded in Canadian interests. That begins with fairness—and ending the double standard toward Israel.
Tell the Prime Minister to End the Double Standard on Israel:
https://actionhub.ca/alert/stop-the-double-standard/
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As we approach a new Jewish year, we do so at a time of enormous challenges in the Jewish world. We are living in times that test the strength and resilience of our national Jewish community.
While there are many reasons to be concerned, Rosh Hashanah reminds us that we each have agency to shape the year ahead. Maimonides teaches that “virtues will not be attained by the magnitude of one great deed, but by the multitude of deeds,” and that we should consider each small deed capable of tipping the scales for the entire world.
Real impact isn’t a one-time phenomenon. It’s something that happens when we consistently show up and take small actions every day.
And on Rosh Hashanah, the shofar blast calls on us to reflect and to act.
This Rosh Hashanah our community has a choice: we can be defeatist, or we can be defiant.
I have seen what this community can accomplish when we act together.
As part of CIJA’s advocacy, our community called for greater resources to protect Jewish institutions, and the federal government more than doubled funding for the Canada Community Security Program.
Together with organizations across our community, we successfully advocated for the Combatting Hate Act, giving law enforcement and prosecutors additional tools to protect targeted communities.
Thousands demanded stronger enforcement following a hate protest featuring Nazi-era propaganda and imagery in Toronto, in addition to Jewish organizations coming together to call for authorities to enforce the law. Eight individuals have now been arrested and charged.
In Montreal, thousands took action and answered our call when an opposition brought back a motion at City Council containing deeply incendiary and divisive provisions, helping change the outcome. Montreal City Council ultimately adopted a significantly amended version of Projet Montréal’s motion, removing its most harmful and divisive provisions.
And when Boy George faced calls for cancellation in Vancouver after expressing solidarity with the people of Israel, thousands of Canadians thanked the venue through CIJA's ActionHub for standing firm.
Each individual action was small, but together, they made an impact.
Our work is far from finished. Just this week, we saw another example of the government’s diplomatic double standard toward Israel with the announcement of sanctions. Hate crimes remain at unacceptable levels. Institutions continue to be weaponized against our community by extremists. Too often, laws and policies exist on the books but are not enforced.
The generations that came before us achieved the promise of Canada through hard work and perseverance, organizing, voting and building institutions in the face of adversity. They understood that determined civic engagement matters.
With our community and the promise of our country under threat, the responsibility to fight for a brighter future now belongs to us.
Rosh Hashanah is a time of teshuvah. We take stock of our actions and commit to change in the year ahead. This year, I am asking each of us to commit to a few small acts that can have an outsized impact.
Help our community become the most involved in Canadian civic life. If there is an election where you live, be sure to vote — and bring others with you. All levels of government – from the school board to the cabinet table – matter in pushing back against the extremism threatening our community and our Canadian way of life.
If you want to become more politically active, organizations like CJPAC can help.
Speak to your friends, neighbours, and colleagues. Help them understand that the extremism threatening Jewish Canadians threatens the values, institutions, and freedoms all Canadians depend on.
And be ready to act. Sign up for CIJA text alerts so that, when there is an opportunity to make your voice heard, you can be part of a broader movement for change.
These may seem like small acts. But when tens of thousands of us act together, these small acts become a powerful force for change.
On behalf of all of us at CIJA, I wish you and your families a sweet, healthy, and impactful 5787.
Sign up for CIJA text alerts:
https://www.cija.ca/text_messages
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54 Years After the Munich Massacre: Karen James’ powerful story:
Thank you to everyone who joined us for Witness to Munich: The Karen James Story, presented by CIJA and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, supported by Jewish Federations across Canada.
We are deeply grateful to Karen for sharing her firsthand account of what she witnessed 54 years ago today, when members of the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September took members of Israel’s Olympic team hostage and ultimately murdered 11 Israeli athletes and coaches.
If you missed the event or would like to watch it again, you can view the recording here:
https://www.cija.ca/recording_witness_to_munich_the_karen_james_story
We are also grateful to Jed Margolis and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame for partnering with us to share Karen’s story and for their important work preserving the stories and achievements of Jewish athletes around the world. Click here to learn more about the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame:
https://jewishsportshof.org/
Today marks 54 years since the Munich Massacre. But Jewish communities in Canada and around the world are once again confronting antisemitism, extremism, and terrorist threats.
Our synagogues, community institutions, and businesses have been shot at and firebombed. Canadian authorities have disrupted terrorist plots, while security services have warned about threats from Iran’s Islamic regime and other extremist actors.
That is why CIJA, together with the Canadian Families of Victims of October 7, is calling on the Government of Canada to get tough on terrorism and ensure terrorists and their proxies find no safe haven in this country.
The most meaningful way we can honour those murdered by terrorism is not only to remember them, but to demand action in their memory.
Take two minutes today to add your voice:
https://actionhub.ca/alert/victims-of-terrorism/
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It works!
When we stand together to support what we must support, it works. Here's the email from CIJA admitting this:
Thank you for standing with Boy George & the PNE
Last week, we asked you to stand with Boy George and thank the PNE for refusing calls to cancel his upcoming Vancouver concert.
The response was overwhelming.
Thousands of you took action, sending messages of support to the PNE and making clear that artists should not face demands for cancellation simply because they express solidarity with Israelis or commemorate the victims of terrorism.
At a time when too many voices seek to silence, exclude, and intimidate, you chose to speak up for artistic freedom and the right of audiences to decide for themselves.
The PNE stood firm. The show will go on. And because you took action, they know they have the support of thousands of Canadians behind them.
Boy George and Culture Club will take the stage in Vancouver on September 7 — and many members of our community will be there to welcome them.
This is what community advocacy looks like: thousands of individual actions, together sending one unmistakable message.
Canada welcomes Boy George.
Please stay tuned for more ways you can drive change through actionhub.ca.
Sincerely,
CIJA
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