National Post (National Edition)
Standing against antisemitism
Aside from a few pockets, most of Canada is still morally calibrated against antisemitism.
That's my takeaway from a study that came out earlier this month on Canadian attitudes toward Jews and Israel by University of Toronto sociologist Robert Brym. He found, through surveys taken in early 2024, that Canadians with the most negative sentiments toward Jews were Muslims, Quebecers and non-Jewish university students. Those with the most negative sentiments toward Israel, meanwhile, included Muslims and non-Jewish university students, as well as NDP supporters.
Anyone who's had an eye on the post-Oct. 7 protests could hypothesize something similar. In Toronto, regular marches have loudly proceeded through the streets, with Arabic speakers and signs and marshals who hold up the Qur'an. Universities have been home to similar protests.
The data on Muslims — taken from a survey sample of more than 300 — show distinct distrust and negativity toward Jews. For example, only five per cent of Canadian non-Jews reported believing that “Jewish people are largely to blame for the negative consequences of globalization” — among Muslims, this figure rose to 48 per cent. Eighty-three per cent of non-Jewish Canadians disagreed that Jews have too much power in the country; Only 34 per cent of Muslims believed the same.
On Israel, the skepticism was similar to varying extents: 30 per cent of Muslim respondents disagreed with the statement that “There is no justification for Palestinian suicide bombers targeting Israeli civilians,” compared to 11 per cent of non-Jewish Canadians generally.
Fifty-four per cent of Muslims believed that Israel was an apartheid state, compared to 34 per cent of the general population, and 60 per cent of Muslims thought Zionism was racism, with only 38 per cent of non-Jewish Canadians agreeing.
Eighty-one per cent of Muslims thought the current war in Gaza was genocide, a view shared by 49 per cent of non-Jewish Canadians generally.
The discussion as to why is more interesting. Brym believes that the Israel-Hamas war plays a part — surveys elsewhere in the world show that Muslims' negative sentiments toward Jews rise whenever war breaks out. But he also points to local factors: of Canada's religious groups, Jews are the highest earners and are the least impoverished, while Muslims earn the least and are impoverished the most. Nearly two-thirds of Muslims, but less than one-third of Jews, are immigrants. And on average, Canadian Muslims are much younger than Canadian Jews.
Both groups are quite urbanized, which adds additional pressure: “Real estate prices have soared in recent years, placing the dream of owning a house out of reach of many young people, especially, of course, those in less favourable economic circumstances, such as Muslims on average,” Brym notes.
It all seems rather predictable in hindsight. It would follow that an influx of people who are more likely to hold negative attitudes toward Jewish Canadians would cause these sentiments to be more pronounced in society. Especially so if that society's economy doesn't bring about prosperity.
Of Canada's 1.8 million Muslims, about half immigrated in 2011 or later, according to Statistics Canada. Canadian authorities weren't interested in the values-in-immigration-policy conversation back then, nor did they spare a thought for how the tightening housing market and declining prospects of the young would squeeze new immigrants and exacerbate social tensions. Perhaps that would have been wise. We didn't need blanket bans on religion and Israel critics, but a more measured approach to overt antisemitism would have been prudent.
What matters is ensuring newcomers to Canada understand that sectarian violence is wrong, wherever they come from and whatever their religious background.
Those who did try to start a conversation about this did so poorly: in 2016, Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch proposed to screen immigration applicants for Canadian values. Only, she didn't demonstrate a need for such a policy, her communication was awkward and her campaign ended in colossal failure. She was scorned by the media, the political left and even her leadership competitors.
Perhaps there was some wisdom behind it, though, seeing how in 2024, there have been large marches openly supporting the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks and calling for violence against commercial ships in the Red Sea. Such things didn't happen back in the wake of 9/11.
Survey results on university students seemed about as predictable. Non-Jews in school had greater negative sentiments toward Jews and Israel than the rest of the non-Jewish Canadian population. Universities aren't “hotbeds of antisemitism,” says Brym, but the results called into question the idea that higher education increases tolerance for others.
It's really not surprising at all. Universities, especially in the past decade, have increasingly leaned toward activism, away from free inquiry. They sound off on social issues; they promote the ideology of “anti-oppression”; at the University of Guelph, they've even started an “activist-in-residence” program. They often teach that colonialism is morally indefensible, that those of European ancestry are born with mystical social power and that indigeneity is the only legitimate foundation for nationhood.
It's no wonder that the youth who pass through those institutions are generally more skeptical of Jews and Israel. Many Jews are European in heritage; the Israeli state is a successor to the British colony (as was its neighbour, Jordan). That's enough to fit the mould of privilege and intersectional “oppressor” status believed in by much of the academy.
The rest of Canada is much more relaxed, which is the good news. Conservatives — including mainstream party supporters, as well as “hard-right” self-identifiers — were the least negative on Jews and Israel. Liberals were a little more skeptical. Non-Jewish NDP supporters were negative on Israel, but that didn't apply to Jews.
“Contrary to the picture painted by many media outlets, these results do not suggest that a wave of antisemitism has engulfed the general population,” Brym concluded.
At very least, we have confirmation that the morals of the general Canadian public are still calibrated against antisemitism.
THE MORALS OF THE GENERAL CANADIAN PUBLIC ARE STILL CALIBRATED AGAINST ANTISEMITISM.