Mounting anti-Semitism in Montreal and throughout Canada has alarmed the Montreal Board of Rabbis.
The organization has joined others in the Canadian Jewish community calling on the federal government to hold an emergency hearing to “tackle anti-Semitism head on.”
“We need action and we need it now,” they said in a statement.
“Jewish Montrealers were pelted with rocks and assaulted at a peaceful rally. Property has been damaged and defaced. Nazi imagery has resurfaced and anti-Semitic chants have been heard on our streets. Jewish youth have been threatened with rape and death on social media, and anti-Israel activists have harassed us in our own neighbourhoods. Similar incidents have taken place in other communities throughout Canada,” they stated.
They added, “This isn’t the Montreal and the Canada we know. This is unacceptable and must end now.”
A growing number of politicians at all levels of government have spoken out, including Quebec’s National Assembly, which passed a unanimous motion condemning the latest wave of anti-Semitism targeting Quebec Jews.
“We commend them for speaking up, but words are not enough.”
The Board called on the federal government to act “firmly and decisively” in the face of increasing anti-Semitism.
“We also call on civil society leaders and people of good conscience to join them in unequivocally denouncing anti-Semitism and committing to fight history’s oldest form of racism,” they said. “Join us and Jews throughout the country in speaking out against anti-Semitism.”