I was born and raised in Ottawa. My career began here as a social worker at the Jewish Community Centre, long before I became CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Over the years, I worked closely with Ottawa Crown attorneys as an expert witness in hate crime cases. I have seen firsthand how this city has often led the way in using the law to confront hatred. That experience also taught me that while laws matter, they are not always enough. Read MoreThe recent stabbing of a local Jewish woman — which is properly being treated as a hate crime — is a harrowing reminder that the threats Jews face are not abstract.
The recent stabbing of a local Jewish woman — which is properly being treated as a hate crime — is a harrowing reminder that the threats Jews face are not abstract.
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I was born and raised in Ottawa. My career began here as a social worker at the Jewish Community Centre, long before I became CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Over the years, I worked closely with Ottawa Crown attorneys as an expert witness in hate crime cases. I have seen firsthand how this city has often led the way in using the law to confront hatred. That experience also taught me that while laws matter, they are not always enough.
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Antisemitism is often described as the world’s oldest hatred, but its persistence is not a matter of history alone. It remains a present challenge in Canada, taking forms both familiar and newly adapted to the digital era. Graffiti on synagogue walls, harassment of Jewish students on campus, and conspiracy theories circulating online are only part of the picture. Increasingly, hostility to Israel has become a vehicle for expressions of antisemitism, blurring the line between justifiable political criticism and prejudice.
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Criticism of Israeli government policy is legitimate. But when that criticism denies Israel’s right to exist, compares Israel to Nazi Germany, or invokes blood libel imagery, it crosses into antisemitism. This shift became pronounced in the early 2000s, with the collapse of Middle East peace efforts and the rise of the Second Intifada. Two decades later, the pattern is well established.
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The recent brutal stabbing at a west-end Loblaws — the city’s largest purveyor of kosher foods — drives home the urgency. The attack is being investigated as a hate crime. For Jewish families in Ottawa, including those of us who grew up here, this was more than an act of violence: it was a chilling reminder that the threats we face are not abstract. I knew the woman who was stabbed from childhood, and the attack strikes painfully close to home.
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Spiegel: Increase in antisemitism shows Holocaust education is failing us
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Ottawa soldiers under investigation for Facebook group filled with hate speech and nude photos
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Yet it is also important to note that Ottawa police and the justice system, as well as Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, responded quickly and properly. The case is being pursued with seriousness, and in many ways Ottawa’s handling of such crimes has become a model for other jurisdictions.
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This is not the first time Ottawa has been tested. Our city is home to Canada’s National Holocaust Monument, a symbol of memory and resilience. When it was desecrated, police acted swiftly and the perpetrator was charged. That response, like the investigation into the Loblaws stabbing, shows how Ottawa can set a standard for dealing with antisemitism decisively. And as Canada’s national capital, Ottawa carries a special responsibility to show leadership in protecting its Jewish community and confronting hate with resolve.
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1 Comment
The latest blood libel
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/emrtGNOlPac
What does the Sudan massacres have to due with either the UAE or Israel. Blood Libel Slanders all about death rather than life. People who blindly and immediatel believe stories of death wherein Jews are blamed for completely unsubstantiated crimes against humanity, expose the tuma nature of their evil eye and spirits.
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Richard Falk
agorichardfalk.wordpress.com
“”Decontextualization of October 7 produces a distorted imagery of good and evil. Without taking account of the oppressive occupation of Gaza that preceded and the excessive response that followed the Hamas-led attack are both integral to moral judgment. Without context a condemnation of October 7 becomes a private form of state propaganda. This is especially true given the ambiguity surrounding the attack consisting of ignored, repeated warnings, incomprehensible failings of Israel’s surveillance
capabilities.”
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How has Sudan thrown its support to the RSF? The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – a paramilitary group in Sudan, originally formed from the Janjaweed militia, known for its involvement in the Darfur conflict. The RSF has emerged as a significant force in Sudan’s ongoing civil war, which began in April 2023, primarily fighting against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
What does the Sudan massacres have to due with either the UAE or Israel? Reports have confirmed that UK military equipment, originally sold to the UAE, has been found in the possession of the RSF. Analysts suggest that the UAE has vested interests in Sudan, particularly in mining and security, and views the RSF as a crucial ally in pursuing these objectives. In early 2025, Sudan initiated a case against the UAE at the International Court of Justice for alleged complicity in genocide, citing support provided to the RSF during the ongoing conflict.
Israel through the US President Trump Abraham Accords has engaging in normalization talks with various Arab states, including the UAE. The dynamics in Sudan could impact Israel’s relationships with these nations and their approaches to regional stability. The consequences of UAE recognition of Israel and signing a peace treaty, Israel may face international scrutiny regarding its position on the conflict, especially as reports of human rights violations and ethnic cleansing emerge from Sudan? This irrational slander makes no sense.
Israeli diplomatic engagement with Arab states sparks a cursed Blood Libel Richard Falk lie. Potential shifts in regional dynamics consequent to Israel and Arab countries joining an expanded Abraham Accords blamed for political chaos and anarchy in Africa? This Richard Falk blood libel seeks to arouse the need for scrutiny over humanitarian impacts in Sudan like he unilaterally declares the guilt of Israel for the Oct 7th 2023 massacre of 1300 Israelis by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the UNWRA! The Red Cross never made any attempt what so ever to carry out their mandate and visit Israeli stolen hostages held in underground tunnels for years! Richard Falk early in the war promoted the slander that an Israeli missile struck an Arab hospital killing 500 people!