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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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.