To most people, Canada is as American as apple pie. The two cultures are virtually indistinguishable from each other. Toronto and Chicago are culturally almost identical. If that's the case, why has antisemitism exploded in our neighbor to the north?
I hate to sound like a broken record, but I blame Canada's liberal political philosophy. Canada has always set itself up as morally superior to the United States in a variety of ways. I first noticed that during the Vietnam War. One of the ways that some young Americans dodged the draft was by fleeing to Canada, which was more than happy to host them.
Canada was against the war - easy for a country to say that relies on its neighbor’s military strength to protect them. They didn’t have to worry about drafting their young men because the U.S. drafted their own young men to in essence fight for both countries. So, Canada could protest the war without a single Canadian being drafted to fight. This made them believe they were morally superior - expressing their sense of moral outrage. Not out of fear of losing a Canadian son in battle.
At the time the U.S. believed it was protecting itself and its neighbors to the North from the spread of communism. Whether that danger was real or not - Canada benefited from that protection without losing a drop of blood. The point is that Canada got to be morally superior to the U.S. without it costing them anything.
The latest policy they have embraced is condemning Israel at the United Nations and announcing that they would arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu if he set foot in their country. Canadians apparently agree with their recent prime minister and have demonstrated that agreement with a 970% increase in antisemitism.
It used to be the right. But I think it’s time to recognize that the rise in antisemitism is now almost exclusively generated by the left. Much as the right did in the past, the more extreme elements on the left blames the Jews for all the troubles in the world. They see Israel (or as they like to call it – the Zionist entity) as a colonialist state that oppresses its indigenous peoples via a harsh military occupation. And by ‘definition’ all Jews are Zionists. They therefore believe Israel deserves to be destroyed so Palestinians can ‘reclaim’ their land.
According to the more extreme element, European
Jews stole the land, with the ultimate goal of dominating the world. Which they
have already begun doing by ‘controlling the banks, the media, and Hollywood.’
I believe much of that 970% increase in antisemitism in
Canada stems from a core of far leftists who think this way.
This is not to let other countries off the hook, including
the United States, where there has been a 200% increase in antisemitism. But 970%
is a horse of an entirely different color.
All that being said, one might think that I have changed my
mind about the status of Jews in the U.S., and that we are indeed reliving pre-Holocasust1930s Germany all over again in
the US.
I haven’t. I still believe that Jews are, by and large, respected by the majority of the American people - on both sides of the political aisle. Recent efforts to combat antisemitism by Trump and virtually all Republicans surely demonstrate that. And even among Democrats, I do not believe there is widespread animus toward the Jewish people. Consider the number of Jewish members of the House of Representatives, most of whom are liberal Democrats elected largely by non-Jewish constituencies.
What about the 200% increase in antisemitism in the U.S.? I
believe it comes mostly from the far left, which hates the Zionist entity and,
by extension, the Jewish people - all of whom they see as Zionists. Their numbers may have
grown, fueled by the war in Gaza and the way the mainstream media has reported
civilian casualties. But I still believe the majority of Americans are not
antisemitic, and that most criticisms of Israel are not based on antisemitic
feelings, but rather on perceptions shaped by media coverage.
I also believe that the vast majority of Americans who
consider themselves politically conservative continue to strongly support
Israel and reject the left’s distorted take on the conflict.
As for Canada, a 970% increase seems to suggest that many
more people there have become antisemitic - perhaps even a majority.