New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney meets with Donald Trump in the White House on May 6, 2025. Photo: Wiki Commons.

Earlier this month, an Orthodox Jewish man in Montreal was savagely assaulted, right in front of his children. This is just the latest incident in a seemingly endless series of attacks against the Jewish community in Canada, a country that prides itself on being a tolerant, multicultural society.

Indeed, multiculturalism is even part of Canada’s Constitution.

Article 27 of its Charter of Rights and Freedoms specifically states, “This Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians.” One could easily argue that multiculturalism is Canada’s national ideology. But lately, it seems that Canada’s multiculturalism excludes Jews.

In fact, antisemitism in Canada has gotten so bad that some have suggested the Great White North isn’t safe for Jews.

Last December, for example, Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Minister, Amichai Chikli, wrote on X, saying, “Canada is no longer safe for Jews.” In response, Anthony Housefather, a Jewish member of Canada’s Parliament and the country’s special advisor on Jewish community relations and antisemitism, called Chikli’s statement “false and exaggerated.” But is it really?

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war following the October 7th massacre — the worst mass slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust –Canadian Jews have been under siege. They’ve been assaulted both verbally and physically, and their institutions have been attacked on numerous occasions, even shot at and firebombed.

According to a report released this year by Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, antisemitism in Canada skyrocketed a whopping 970% in 2024 — the highest increase of all Western countries. And I would argue that the blame for at least some of this antisemitism can be laid at the feet of the current federal government.

Canada’s current government is led by the Liberal Party, which, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, embraced woke, ultra-leftist policies. For example, the Liberals have implemented reckless immigration policies that have flooded Canada with more newcomers than it could absorb. These policies have led to soaring housing costs and a significant strain on public services. No wonder, according to a Nanos poll last fall, nearly two thirds of Canadians wanted Canada to absorb less immigrants in 2025.

No other political party in Canada uses immigrants more cynically than the governing Liberals. They encourage more immigration than the country can handle, because they believe that immigrants who come whenever a Liberal government is in power will vote Liberal if and when they become citizens. For the Liberals, more immigrants mean more votes.

The Liberals’ immigration policies have also inundated Canada with many immigrants from countries in which antisemitic attitudes are taught almost from birth — countries like Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, all of which have been among the top 10 countries of origin for immigrants to Canada in the last decade, and all of which are hotbeds of antisemitism.

Of course, not every person who comes from these countries is an antisemite, but many likely are. In addition, according to a study conducted by Robert Brym, a University of Toronto sociology professor, Muslims in Canada by far have the strongest anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiments. Thus, it is highly likely that when Canada absorbs immigrants from Muslim countries, it is importing antisemitism.

The Liberals also cater to radical left-wing extremists, another group that Professor Brym identified as a main source of antisemitism in Canada. This group includes militants like those that participate in anti-Israel rallies across the country, who frequently chant the genocidal slogan, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free,” or call for violence, shouting, “Globalize the Intifada.” It is these radicals that the Liberals pander to when they repeatedly condemn Israel for defending itself against Hamas, a genocidal terrorist group bent on wiping the Jewish State off the map.

To make a long story short, Liberal policies are adding gas to the fire that is antisemitism in Canada. So, what do we do about it? It’s very unlikely that the Liberals will stray from their current path, as doing so would put them in trouble with their leftist supporters, whom they depend on for votes. Thus, stemming the rising tide of antisemitism in Canada depends, at least in part, on electing a new federal government.

Unfortunately, it may be a while before we can do that, as the previous election was just held last April. The Liberals managed to win with a strong minority government, having convinced Canadians that their current leader and now Prime Minister, Mark Carney, is different than his predecessor Trudeau, who polls showed was widely unpopular when he resigned.

But in fact, Carney is no different from Trudeau, which is why he chose to recognize a Palestinian state, effectively rewarding Hamas for their atrocities on October 7, 2023.

Indeed, following the Montreal assault, Diaspora Minister Chikli told JNS that, “When weak left-wing governments in France, Britain and Canada reward the barbaric gangs that carried out the massacres and rapes of October 7, the message is clear: It is permissible—and even effective—to harm Jews; this is the way to achieve results.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Jason Shvili is a freelance writer and commentator on Jewish affairs, Israel and the Middle East.

People visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 11, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo

Now it’s Christianity’s turn to be mocked by the Palestinian Authority (PA).

While it’s PA policy to insult, mock, and misrepresent Jewish tradition and Jewish history in the land of Israel whenever possible, this week, it was Christian traditions’ turn to be insulted and denied by the PA.

In the words of an official PA daily columnist, Christian traditions of the Holy Sepulcher and the Holy Grail are “nonsense,” because Jesus doesn’t belong to Christian tradition — but belongs to the Palestinians.

In his words:

Official PA daily columnist Hassan Hmeid: “During the Crusades, when kings, princes, robbers, and the poor marched, they came to — of course, it was a lie and nonsense — ‘save the Holy Sepulchre’ [from the Muslims]. They wanted to search for the Holy Grail, and so on.

They forgot that Jesus is our son, he is a Palestinian and one of us.” [emphasis added]

[Official PA TV, Capital of Capitals – Damascus, Aug. 10, 2025]

The Palestinian leaders, as part of their need to invent a Palestinian history, claim that Jesus was a Muslim and a Palestinian, even though neither Palestinians nor Muslims existed in the world in the time of Jesus.

According to historical accounts and the Christian Bible, Jesus was a Jew from Judea.

Still, Palestinian officials usually leave terms like “nonsense” and other insults for their discussions of Jewish tradition.

Calling Christian tradition in Jerusalem “nonsense” and denying Jesus’ role in Christianity is unusual even for the PA.

The author is the Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared. 

An Italian flag on display in Rome. Photo: Reuters/Guglielmo Mangiapane.

An American Jewish couple visiting Venice was violently attacked and robbed by three unidentified suspects, prompting authorities to investigate if the crime was fueled by religious hatred or a random act of violence.

According to initial Italian reports, the two Orthodox Jewish tourists were sprayed with water while one of the attackers used a dog on a leash to intimidate them. As they were distracted, another assailant grabbed their cell phones, and they fled the scene.

This latest incident near the Rialto Bridge, one of the busiest areas in the city, was reported by the local Jewish community and is now under investigation by Italian police.

Authorities say it is unclear whether the attack was motivated by antisemitism, robbery, or another reason, especially since the victims, who do not speak Italian, returned to the US without filing a formal complaint, according to Italian media reports.

State police are now trying to contact the two victims to get their account of the incident, while reviewing nearby surveillance footage to clarify the circumstances of the attack and identify the three suspects, who remain at large.

Even without a formal complaint, if the incident is determined to be a robbery or an antisemitic attack, authorities can pursue the case ex officio, and the investigation will continue regardless of the victims’ involvement.

The incident comes amid a surge in antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment across Europe and around the world since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In Italy, Jewish individuals have been facing a surge in hostility and targeted attacks, including vandalism of murals and businesses, as well as physical assaults. Community leaders warn that such incidents are becoming more frequent amid growing tensions related to the war in Gaza.

Last month, a Jewish man from France and his child were verbally assaulted at a gas station near Milan by a group of pro-Palestinian supporters who shouted antisemitic slurs after seeing the child wearing a kippah, yelling phrases such as “Free Palestine” and “murderers” as they passed by.

In a separate incident, a masked individual targeted a synagogue in Rome, spray-painting a swastika and antisemitic slogans — “Sieg Heil” (“Hail Victory”) and “Juden Raus” (“Jews Out”) — on a sign near the entrance.

In May, a restaurant in Naples forced an Israeli family to leave, telling them, “Zionists are not welcome here.”

Earlier this year, a homeless Egyptian man in Rome attacked a Jewish boy and injured a shopkeeper who tried to intervene. In a separate incident, anti-Israel protesters defaced a synagogue with graffiti reading “Justice for a Free Gaza.”

Last year, a hotel manager in Rome canceled an Israeli couple’s reservation just one day before their trip, accusing them of genocide and telling them the hotel would “be happy to grant free cancellation.”

“We inform you that the Israeli people as those responsible for genocide are not welcome customers in our structure,” the hotel manager told the Israeli couple.