President Isaac Herzog today (Monday) held a Zoom call with leaders of the Canadian Jewish community after a series of antisemitic shooting attacks on synagogues, Jewish institutions, and businesses in the Greater Toronto Area. President Herzog expressed his shock and dismay at the latest incidents of antisemitism in Canada, following the steep rise in incidents of Jew-hatred in the country since October 7th, 2023.
Participants in the Zoom call included Adam Minsky, President and CEO of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto; Ken Tanenbaum, Chair of the Board of Directors of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto; Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA); Elan Pratzer, Chair of CIJA; and Yaron Deckel, the Regional Director of the Jewish Agency for Israel in Canada. The rabbis of the synagogues targeted in a series of recent shooting attacks also participated in the meeting, including Rabbi Daniel Korobkin of the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto (BAYT) Synagogue; Rabbi Sam Taylor of the Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue; and Rabbi Debra Landsberg of Temple Emanu-El.
President Isaac Herzog stated: “I am deeply alarmed by the shocking rise of antisemitism in Canada ever since the October 7th massacre. This most recent series of shooting attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal institutions in the Greater Toronto Area targeted our sisters and brothers in the Jewish Diaspora while Iranian missiles continue to target our people here in Israel. The lessons of previous antisemitic attacks in countries around the world, including the deadly Bondi Beach terror attack in Sydney, must be learned. All eyes are on Canada to halt this unprecedented wave of Jew-hatred."
“On behalf of the State of Israel, I send a message of resilience, strength, and solidarity to the Jewish community of Toronto. The Jewish people are all one family - in times of joy and in times of difficulty. We in Israel care for every Jew anywhere in the world. We stand together and will prevail over all the forces of evil seeking to harm us," Herzog said.