Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has tapped a Jewish lawmaker to the role of Special Advisor on Jewish Community Relations and Antisemitism.
The appointment of MP Anthony Housefather, Member of Parliament representing the riding of Mount Royal, on the island of Montreal, was announced on Friday.
“In recent months, we’ve seen a disturbing rise in antisemitism across the world, including right here in Canada. This must not continue. Whether it’s at a synagogue or a Jewish business or school; whether it’s wearing the Star of David or a Kippah – Jewish Canadians deserve to feel safe, supported, and welcomed. They deserve to live openly and proudly Jewish lives, without intimidation or fear. Too often in recent months, Canadians have been threatened, harassed, and excluded because of their faith, their identity, or because they support the Jewish people’s right to self-determination. That is unacceptable and must stop,” Trudeau said in a statement announcing Housefather’s appointment.
Housefather’s role, the Canadian Prime Minister explained, “will be to advise the Prime Minister and ministers on the development and co-ordination of the Government of Canada’s work to combat antisemitism and ensure Jewish Canadians are able to live with vibrancy, security, and dignity. This will include working with Jewish Canadians from across the country.”
Housefather “will help advance actions throughout the federal government to combat antisemitism, enhance the protection of Jewish Canadian communities, and address the unacceptable discrimination against them – both historical and current. In this role, Mr. Housefather will work closely with Jewish communities and relevant stakeholders across the country and Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, Deborah Lyons,” said Trudeau.
“Antisemitism is not a problem for the Jewish community to solve alone. We will continue to take action – across government – to make Canada safer, more inclusive, and better for everyone,” the Prime Minister added.
Canada has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, including in Montreal.
Housefather himself was targeted this past week with a poster that appeared on a Montreal lamppost asking him to “get out of Canada”.
Images of the poster online showed it displaying the Israeli flag next to the flag of Nazi Germany, calling Housefather a “neo-Nazi” and describing Zionism as “terrorism.”
“My family has been here since the 19th century and we have indeed helped build this country,” Housefather wrote in a post on social media site X.
“I am not going anywhere. Sorry antisemites. You may not like what I have to say but I will keep saying it and I will keep being a proud Jew and a Zionist,” he added.
In late November, a firebomb was thrown against the door of a Jewish community center in Montreal.
At the beginning of that month, Congregation Beth Tikvah in Dollard-Des Ormeaux was hit by firebombs.
Several days later, two Jewish schools in the city were hit with gunshots. Another Jewish school was riddled with bullets three days after that.
In mid-June, Montreal police launched an investigation after holes that appear to have been caused by a projectile were found in the front windows of a restaurant owned by an Israeli.
Last weekend, a Jewish cemetery in Montreal was vandalized, with the vandals arranging stones over the graves into the shape of a swastika.