ANNUAL AUDIT OF

ANTISEMITIC
INCIDENTS

2020
 THE AUDIT
Since 1982, the Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents has served as the authoritative
document on antisemitism in Canada.

The data expressed in the Audit, produced each year by B’nai Brith Canada’s advocacy arm, the
League for Human Rights, reflect the level of antisemitic incidents reported to, and monitored
by, the League, including through its Anti-Hate Hotline as well as data collected from police
and law enforcement agencies.

Cited regularly by Canadian and international mainstream media outlets, public officials,
NGOs, and government bodies, the Audit focuses on antisemitic incidents that both meet,
and fall short of, the Criminal Code definition of a hate crime. This is essential for capturing
the climate of antisemitism in Canada, which requires independent tracking and assessment.
As such, the Audit serves as a barometer for antisemitism as a phenomenon in Canada.

© 2021 B’nai Brith of Canada League for Human Rights.

Design and layout by Jayme Kalpin.
Printed in Canada. All Rights Reserved.

This publication may be quoted with proper attribution

Copies may be made for personal, limited use only.

All cover photos illustrate samples of antisemitic imagery in Canada in 2020.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE AUDIT
4 Executive Summary
5 Introduction

METHODOLOGY
7 The IHRA Definition
9 The IHRA Working Definition of
Holocaust Denial and Distortion
10 Definitions of Antisemitic Incidents

ASSESSING THE DATA

14 Incidents by Type: Harassment
15 Incidents by Type: Vandalism
16 Incidents by Type: Violence
17 Incident Breakdown by Month
20 Antisemitism in the Global Context

THE CANADIAN CONTEXT

23 COVID-19
24 Antisemitism on Campus
26 Antisemitism in Canadian
Primary and Secondary Schools
27 Online Hatred
29 Advocating for the Community
32 B’nai Brith’s Eight-Point Plan to Tackle Antisemitism
34 Conclusion
35 Credits

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2,610 recorded incidents
The third consecutive year in which
the 2,000 plateau was exceeded.

Fifth Record-setting year

2020 was the fifth consecutive record-
setting year for antisemitism in Canada.

AN 18.3% INCREASE
of recorded antisemitic
incidents compared to 2019.

MORE THAN 7
antisemitic incidents
occurred every day in 2020.

OVER 44% The German phrase “Arbeit macht frei” is best

of violent incidents in 2020 known for appearing at the gate of Auschwitz.
were COVID-19-related. Graffiti of this antisemitic slogon was found in
June on a metal post in Montreal, QC.

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 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

INTRODUCTION
A Letter from the Special Advisor to the League for Human Rights

As we exit the tumultuous year that was 2020 and enter the third decade of the 21st century, we do so with both a
sobering reckoning that 2020, yet again, suffered from two viruses: that of the novel coronavirus which ravaged Canada
and the rest of the world alike, and the spread of the virus of antisemitism, which reached yet another record-breaking
height for the fifth year in a row.
Of the 2,610 incidents of antisemitism documented in 2020, each represents an individual affront to the fraternity,
humanity, and decency expected of all Canadians. Antisemitic incidents increased by over 18% since 2019, translating
to some 217 incidents per month, 50 incidents per week, and 7 antisemitic incidents per day. Unfortunately, the most
recent 2019 police-reported hate-crime data inform us of the same trend—that Jews remain the most targeted religious
community for hatred in Canada.
In the context of COVID-19, what is arguably among the most worrying findings is the way in which fellow citizens turned
against their neighbour, with approximately 1 out of every 10 incidents related to either the peddling of antisemitic
conspiracy theories, vandalism, or violence associated with the pandemic. In fact, of the total recorded incidents of
antisemitic violence in 2020, 44% were related to COVID-19-related prejudices, with Jews being spat on and otherwise
assaulted, including with the use of weapons.
The hallowed halls of Canada’s postsecondary institutions played host to virulent antisemitic expression, including the
equation of Jews with white supremacists, the invitation of terrorist sympathizers who slander the Jewish State and
blame it for acts of violence targeting African Americans in the United States, and student unions meant to represent all
university students boycott Jewish and Israeli students, refusing to work with Jewish student groups unless they deny
their own indigenous and ancestral connection the Land of Israel, among other examples of antisemitic discrimination.
At the time of this writing, there have been no consequences for these purveyors of hatred. Thus, even in a country such
as Canada, inhabited as it is by a principled majority who believe in justice and equality for all, the rot of antisemitism
continues to stubbornly take root.
However, 2020 was also the same year that a host of municipalities and even the Province of Ontario adopted the
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, joining a growing chorus of countries,
municipalities, and various organizations around the world who have committed to identifying and combatting
antisemitism whenever it arises. The federal government appointed Canada’s first ever Special Envoy on Preserving
Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism to lead the fight against antisemitism in Canada and abroad—
demonstrating a growing acceptance of the phenomenon of antisemitism and the need to tackle it head on.
Canadians know hatred when they see it, and they support actions that make Canada a welcoming country for all
of its citizens. While the efforts of those who promulgate antisemitism are growing and translating into real-world
consequences for all Canadians, so too are the efforts of those committed to its eradication, and the eradication of all
hate, bias, and prejudice from society. We all know what needs to be done; the numbers are bare for all to see. Armed
with this knowledge, we can take the steps necessary to push back against the forces of hatred with all the tools at our
disposal. Now is the time. As the Talmudic Sage, Hillel the Elder famously asked: If Not Now, When?

RAN UKASHI
Special Advisor to the League for Human Rights
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 METHODOLOGY
Antisemitism has long been called the world’s “oldest hatred,” as it has existed in one form or
another since antiquity. Justifications for antisemitism range from malicious accusations against
Jews and Judaism, from far-right antisemitism informed by (dis)utopian ideologies that label Jews
as malignant actors seeking to dominate humanity, to far-left antisemitism that targets Jews under
the guise of criticism of the State of Israel, and so forth. If one thing can be said about antisemitism,
it is that it is a malleable prejudice.

To delineate the parameters of antisemitism and identify its root causes, B’nai Brith Canada uses
the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism,
the world’s most expert and consensus-driven definition of antisemitism, and the same definition
used by the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, and an increasing number of
municipalities across the country. IHRA is an intergovernmental organization formed in 1998 with
the aim of uniting governments and experts to advance and promote Holocaust education.

Incidents recorded in this Audit include those made known to B’nai Brith Canada through our Anti-
Hate Hotline, data gathered from law-enforcement agencies and other sources. This Audit does
not claim to account for every single antisemitic incident that has transpired in Canada over the
past year.

Top: A swastika found scrawled on a Montreal post in July.

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 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

The IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism

Promoting Holocaust
Education, Research
And Remembrance
Since 1998

IHRA defines antisemitism as follows:

“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward
Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish
or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions
and religious facilities.”

Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used
to blame Jews for “why things go wrong.” It is expressed in speech, writing, visual forms and
action, and employs sinister stereotypes and negative character traits.

Contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace,
and in the religious sphere could include, but are not limited to:

• Calling for, aiding or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical
ideology or an extremist view of religion.

• Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing or stereotypical allegations about

Jews such as the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the
media, economy, government or other societal institutions.

• Accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing

committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews.

• Denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the
genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its
supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust).

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 • Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel
as a state, of inventing or exaggerating
the Holocaust.

• Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal

to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews
worldwide, than to the interests of their own
nations.

• Denying the Jewish people their right to

self-determination, e.g., by claiming that
the existence of a State of Israel is a racist
endeavour.

• Applying double standards by requiring of

it a behaviour not expected or demanded
of any other democratic nation.

• Using the symbols and images associated

with classic antisemitism (e.g., claims of Jews
killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterize
Israel or Israelis.

• Drawing comparisons of contemporary

Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.

• Holding Jews collectively responsible An antisemitic Facebook post made in November.

for actions of the State of Israel.

Antisemitic acts are criminal when they are so defined by law (for example,
denial of the Holocaust or distribution of antisemitic materials in some countries).

Criminal acts are antisemitic when the targets of attacks, whether they are
people or property – such as buildings, schools, places of worship and cemeteries
– are selected because they are, or are perceived to be, Jewish or linked to Jews.

Antisemitic discrimination is the denial to Jews of opportunities or services

available to others and is illegal in many countries.

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 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

THE IHRA WORKING DEFINITION OF

HOLOCAUST DENIAL AND DISTORTION
In addition to this working definition of antisemitism, IHRA also has put forward a Working Definition
of Holocaust Denial and Distortion, adopted by all 34 member countries, including Canada.

“Holocaust denial is discourse and propaganda that deny the historical reality and the extent of
the extermination of the Jews by the Nazis and their accomplices during World War II, known as
the Holocaust or the Shoah. Holocaust denial refers specifically to any attempt to claim that the
Holocaust/Shoah did not take place.”

Holocaust denial in its various forms is an

expression of antisemitism. It may include
publicly denying or calling into doubt the
use of principal mechanisms of destruction
(such as gas chambers, mass shooting,
starvation and torture) or the intentionality
of the genocide of the Jewish people.

Forms of denial also include blaming the

Jews for either exaggerating or creating it for
political or financial gain, as if the Holocaust
itself was the result of a conspiracy plotted
by the Jews. In this, the goal is to make
Jews culpable and antisemitism once
A Facebook comment posted in
again legitimate.
April referencing gas chambers.

Distortion of the Holocaust refers to:

1. Intentional efforts to excuse the impact of the Holocaust or its principal elements,
including collaborators and allies of Nazi Germany;

2. Gross minimization of the number of the victims of the Holocaust in contradiction

to reliable sources;

3. Attempts to blame the Jews for causing their own genocide;

4. Statements that cast the Holocaust as a positive historical event; and

5. Attempts to blur the responsibility for the establishment of concentration and death
camps operated by Nazi Germany by putting blame on other nations or ethnic groups.

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 DEFINITIONS OF ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS
Harassment: Refers to verbal or written actions that do not include the use of
physical force against a person or property. This includes (but is not limited to):

• Promoting hate propaganda and/or hate mail via social media (Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, etc.), the Internet, telephone, or printed material.
• Verbal slurs, statements of hate and bias, or harassment.

• Stereotyping members of the Jewish community or commenting on ‘Jewish characteristics.’

• Systematic discrimination in the workplace, school, or on campus.

• Verbal threats of violence, where the application of force
does not appear imminent, or no weapon or bomb is involved.

Vandalism: Refers to physical damage to property.

This includes (but is not limited to):

• Posting of graffiti, swastikas, and similar racist

emblems and slogans, at times accompanied by
other criminal acts including thefts and break-ins.
• Damage to religious objects such as mezuzot
on the door posts of private homes, hospitals,
and other facilities.
• Desecration of cemeteries and synagogues.
• Fire-bombing and arson.

Violence: Refers to the physical use of

force against a person or group of persons.
This includes (but is not limited to):

• Bodily assault.

• Assault with a weapon or accompanied by

threat of the imminent use of a weapon.

• Threats of violence directed against a particular Examples of harassment,

person or group where there is reasonable cause vandalism, and calls to
to believe that bodily harm is imminent. violence found in 2020.

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 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

ASSESSING THE DATA

With the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic and a host of political and social movements,
and economic crises across Canada, the United States and the world, the year 2020 was without
question among the most tumultuous in recent decades. As with all periods of severe social strife
and widespread hardship, antisemitism conjures itself as a vehicle to ascribe conspiratorial blame
to the Jewish community, blaming Jews as a collective for a myriad—if not all—social ills. In 2020,
such conspiracies included, but were not limited to, claims that Jews created and/or disseminated
the novel coronavirus to deliberately infect non-Jews; that Israel deliberately withheld treatments
or medical care from Palestinians as a form of exercising Jewish-oriented dominance; that Jews are
responsible for abuses by elements of U.S. law enforcement against African-Americans, and so forth.

True to this trend, 2020 was the fifth record-setting year for antisemitism in Canada, with total
incidents increasing by a whopping 18.3% since 2019. This new total amounts to over 217 antisemitic
incidents per month, over 50 incidents per week, and 7 incidents per day.

According to the Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, police-reported hate-
crime data for 2019 indicate that Jews, though only some 1% of the population of Canada, account
for 15% of all hate crimes in Canada, and remain the country’s most targeted religious minority.

Top: Antisemitic graffiti defaces private property in Toronto, ON in October.

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 FIGURE 1: Total Incidents Between 2014 and 2020
Year
INCIDENT TYPE
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
HARASSMENT       

VANDALISM       

VIOLENCE       

TOTAL       

In 2020, there were decreases in all provinces except for Ontario and Atlantic Canada (which
includes New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island).
While Ontario and Quebec, which have the country’s largest Jewish populations, had the largest
respective number of incidents, 2020 marked the first year in which the number of incidents in
Ontario exceeded 1,000—an over 44% increase in incidents over the span of a single year, accounting
for over 43% of all total incidents in Canada.

FIGURE 2: Regional Breakdown Comparison Between 2019 and 2020

Total Incidents DIFFERENCE (%)
REGION by Year 2018 2019 2020 BETWEEN 2019 and 2020

ALBERTA, NORTHWEST
TERRITORIES & YUKON    

ATLANTIC CANADA    

BRITISH COLUMBIA    

ONTARIO    

PRAIRIES & NUNAVUT    

QUEBEC    

CANADA-WIDE    

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 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

Additionally, Atlantic Canada, which

has historically been the region
FIGURE 3: National Breakdown of Incidents by Percentage
with the lowest recorded incidents Total Incidents
2020 percentage (%)
of antisemitism in the country, REGION by Year
OF NATIONAL TOTAL INCIDENTS
experienced an enormous rise of
ALBERTA, NORTHWEST
over 226% in antisemitic incidents TERRITORIES & YUKON  
over the previous year. This was
the first time since the Audit began ATLANTIC CANADA  
documenting the phenomenon of
antisemitism in 1982 that such high BRITISH COLUMBIA  
numbers of incidents were recorded
out of Atlantic Canada, which is ONTARIO  
a trend that will be monitored
in the future in search of causal PRAIRIES & NUNAVUT  
factors. All incidents in Atlantic
Canada were either harassment or QUEBEC  
vandalism, and excluded violence,
but the dramatic rise in antisemitic
expression is uncharacteristic, and
CANADA-WIDE  
cause for concern.

However, Alberta experienced a noteworthy reduction in recorded antisemitic incidents by over

27%, continuing what may indicate a downward trend in antisemitism in that part of Canada. The
Prairies & Nunavut experienced a very slight and not statistically significant drop in incidents, but
remains higher than the numbers reported over the past half-decade, suggesting a new overall
baseline for antisemitism in the Prairies & Nunavut. Moreover, Quebec, which was the top region
for antisemitic incidents in 2019, with nearly 800 incidents, dropped down to under 700 in 2020.
However, Quebec was also the region with one-third of recorded violent incidents in Canada,
largely targeting the visibly observant Jewish community, including a particularly galling incident
of vandalism against a Jewish house of worship, discussed elsewhere in this Audit.

There was more than a 70% increase in “Canada-wide” incidents of antisemitism, referring
to those online incidents that could not be linked directly to a particular region of Canada. For
instance, this category includes cases where otherwise unidentified social-media users indicated
Canada to be their country of origin and engaged in antisemitic harassment, or where harassment
had taken place on Canadian forums or platforms. These incidents are recorded but not designated
with a specific region. Such “Canada-wide” incidents account for just under 8% of total incidents
for 2020. It is unsurprising that this form of online antisemitism is growing given the anonymity
provided to users on these forums.

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 INCIDENTS BY TYPE: HARASSMENT
Incidents of harassment constituted over 95% of total incidents over the past year, rising 4% since
the previous year. Remarkably, of the total number of harassment incidents to transpire over the
past year, 71% occurred online, representing an over 11% increase in online harassment since
2019. Moreover, in-person forms of antisemitic harassment saw a growth of 83% from the previous
year. This sharp increase in face-to-face harassment over the past two years, jumping from 8.6%
of harassment incidents in 2018 to one-in-four in 2020, was surprising given that physical/social
distancing measures were in place for large segments of time across Canada. It appears that such
measures had less of a mitigating impact than could otherwise be expected.
Nevertheless, it is unsurprising that the most common vector of antisemitic harassment is the
ubiquitous use of social-media platforms, emails, text messages, chat forums and other online
domains that effectively serve as the public square of the 21st century. This is especially the case
given that various national lockdown measures likely relegated harassers to spreading their hatred
via online forums.
Of the total recorded incidents of harassment, both in-person and online, about 33% of all incidents
involved some form of conspiracy theory including Holocaust denial and/or distortion, COVID-19-
related conspiracy theories, claims that “Jews hate Blacks,” among other conspiracy theories that
related to events in the past year. The ongoing growth of such conspiratorial thinking as it pertains
to Jews was present among all age ranges, as demonstrated by data in which the ages of such
individuals could be identified. This finding demonstrates again the universal nature of antisemitic
conspiracy theories, their perniciousness, and unfortunate endurance across the political milieu.

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 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

INCIDENTS BY TYPE: vandalism

Vandalism accounted for 4.5% of total recorded
incidents in 2020, which is the lowest recorded amount
of vandalism in years, returning to levels approximating
those of 2015. However, where in previous years,
vandalism has largely been recorded occurring in public
spaces, such as parks, school buildings, and public
property, 2020 demonstrated a more “intimate” trend
of vandalism against private residences, and sacred
spaces. While this has certainly been a trend in the past,
the degree to which this has transpired in 2020 was
disturbingly noteworthy.
For instance, in one of the most brazen attacks in recent
memory, the Montreal-area Kol Yehouda Synagogue was
ransacked with ritual items ranging from Torah scrolls to
prayer shawls and phylacteries (also known as T’fillin in
Hebrew) either being strewn about the building and the
floor, or having been thrown in the toilet. Accompanying
this desecration of a Jewish house of worship was
cryptic graffiti at the scene. In Winnipeg, two mausoleum
windows were smashed at a Jewish cemetery, while a
separate synagogue in Winnipeg had its recycling bin
vandalized with a swastika. There were also several
cases of mezuzot (ritual amulets affixed to doorposts
of Jewish homes and institutions) being ripped off, or
otherwise damaged, as well as private residences being
“tagged” with antisemitic graffiti, blaming Jews for the
COVID-19 pandemic and other conspiracy theories.
Nearly 13% of all recorded incidents of vandalism
transpired at a primary, secondary, or post-secondary
institution. Of the entirety of recorded incidents of
vandalism in 2020, more than 82% related to white
supremacist or neo-Nazi hate propaganda.
However, it should be noted that increasingly, the use of
swastikas, phrases such as “Heil Hitler”—among other
antisemitic terms typically associated with the far-right—
are increasingly being employed by individuals on the
far-left as well, demonstrating a merging of ideological
fervor among extremist elements across the political
and religious spectrum.

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 INCIDENTS BY TYPE: violence
Violent incidents in 2020 decreased to their lowest levels in years but were characterized primarily
by COVID-19-related discrimination, with over 44% of incidents being related in one fashion or
another to the pandemic. The majority of incidents targeted Hasidic members in Broisbriand, Que.,
after misinformation was reported surrounding a local Hasidic community not abiding by legally
mandated COVID-19 measures. As such, even individuals who were not affiliated with that particular
community, but appeared to be by manner of dress, were denied access to vendors and subjected
to harassment and violence.

Examples of such assaults include being shot at with pellet guns, being spat on by passersby, an
assailant hurling a bottle from an apartment window at a family and then headbutting a member of
that family after they sought out an explanation for the attack, among others.

While other incidents were suspected of being COVID-19-related discrimination, such as a man being
spat on and called a “dirty Jew” in a Montreal grocery store, this could not definitively be classified
as such. The prevalence of these separate incidents, however, demonstrates the degree to which
such misperceptions or dangerously false beliefs alleging, were severe enough to engender public
violence in broad daylight.

In Winnipeg, unrelated to the pandemic, a student was attacked by seven other students after they
told the teenager that Jews should “go back to the ovens.” In Toronto, an assailant randomly
assaulted a visibly observant Jewish person by smacking them in the face and shouting “f--- Jews
and f--- the State of Israel,” in what is an increasing trend of Jewish individuals, businesses, and
property being targeted by antisemites.

Such assaults follow a disturbing historical trend whereby the most visibly observant Jews tend
to face the brunt of physical attacks. Conspiratorial hatred motivates such brazen attacks, which
have been exacerbated by the prevalence of disinformation on a variety of online forums, websites
and social-media platforms. Such disinformation campaigns in the “virtual world” have all too real
effects in the “real world.”

Antisemitic threats of violence sent

over social media in September.

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 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

Incident Breakdown by Month

January (244 Incidents)
• A Toronto woman found the mezuzah (an amulet placed on doorposts
of Jewish homes) on her front door was ripped off and stolen.
• The National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa was defaced with eggs.
• A student’s workbook was vandalized with a swastika and the
words “dirty Jew” in them at a Montreal-area high school.

February (256 incidents)

• A Jewish high school student in Winnipeg was physically assaulted by several
students who also shouted at the student to “go back to the ovens.”
• A man aggressively rang the doorbell of a Jewish homeowner in Toronto, and proceeded
to rip off the mezuzah on the doorpost when the homeowner did not open the door.
• Graffiti was scrawled outside of Montreal’s Concordia University
stating that “Hitler was right, Jews are a virus to humanity.”

March (161 incidents)

• A Thornhill-area Jewish woman had her
mezuzah ripped off her doorpost with
graffiti scrawled over where it was placed.
• A red swastika was painted on the hood of a
car parked near a Hamilton-area synagogue.
• Graffiti with the words “f--- you” and
“Zionists are not welcome” was written on
a Toronto-area restaurant (pictured on right).

April (150 incidents)

• A visibly observant Jewish patron at a store in Boisbriand, Que., was ejected from the store
after being told Jews are not welcome due to COVID-19 and was spat on by a passerby.
• A visibly observant Jewish individual was verbally and physically
accosted by a passerby near his home in Boisbriand, Que.
• Graffiti proclaiming “Blame the Jews” was painted on a garage in an alley in Toronto.

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 may (173 Incidents)
• An individual in Toronto was randomly smacked in the face
by a man shouting “f--- Jews and f--- the State of Israel.”
• A Montreal-area synagogue was vandalized and had ritual items desecrated,
with Torah scrolls strewn about the floor and religious articles found in the toilet.
• The phrase “all hail [sic] to Hitler” alongside a swastika
was drawn in chalk at a local school in North York, Ont.

june (317 incidents)

• Graffiti on a trail sign in Milton, Ont., blaming Jews for the coronavirus pandemic
read “There is no deadly virus. The Jew owned [sic] media lies to you.”
• A man carried out a spate of antisemitic graffiti at a playground and a variety of
buildings and businesses, and was arrested and charged by police in Barrie, Ont.
• A police officer was injured in an attempt to prevent a
man from vandalizing a train in Vancouver with swastikas.

july (362 incidents)

• Two mausoleum windows were shattered at a Jewish cemetery in Winnipeg.
• City workers painting lines on a road in Vaughan, Ont., also painted antisemitic graffiti.
• A spate of swastikas and racial slurs were spray-painted on at least ten
vehicles in an Edmonton parking lot.

august (226 incidents)

• A vandal damaged a mezuzah in an
attempt to pry it from a doorpost in
Montreal (pictured on right).
• Two youths were involved in a spate
of antisemitic and racist drawings on
private property in Kitchener.
• A city worker in North York, Ont.,
threatened a visibly observant Jewish
male child by saying he would circumcise
him “a second and a third time.”

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 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

september (139 Incidents)

• A man yelling antisemitic slurs threw a bottle from his apartment window at a Jewish family
below. The assailant then headbutted a member of the family who asked him why he had
thrown the bottle.
• Graffiti scrawled on the garage door of a residential home stating that
“Jews run the world” and “Jews hate Blacks” in Thornhill, Ont.
• The words “Canuck ZOG [Zionist-occupied Government] Bolshevik HQ,” a common white
supremacist conspiracy theory, was spray-painted on the back of a building in Vancouver.

october (247 incidents)

• A man was shooting BB pellets at Hasidic Jews from
his vehicle in Boisbriand, Que., injuring one person.
• A private residence was spray-painted with a large swastika in Winnipeg.
• A series of signs and stickers stating “The Bug That Backfired!” with a Star
of David and Freemason symbol on them were cited throughout Halifax.

november (173 incidents)

• A mezuzah was ripped off the doorpost of an apartment in Winnipeg,
with the amulet then being thrown down the staircase of the building.
• A series of stickers with neo-Nazi propaganda was found
at Cambrian College and in other areas of Sudbury, Ont.
• A swastika and the phrase “Heil Hitler” were drawn, defacing a kindergarten in Toronto.

december (162 incidents)

• A man spat in the face of an elderly
Jewish man and called a “dirty Jew”
at a grocery store in Montreal.
• The words “We are everywhere” with a
swastika positioned between the words
“we” and “are” were spray-painted on
a school on Langley, B.C.
• Graffiti stating, among other things
that “Jews should be ashamed” was
written in black marker on a private
business in Toronto (pictured on right).

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 ANTISEMITISM IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT
UNITED KINGDOM
While the full breakdown of total incidents in the UK is yet to be published, the Community Security
Trust (CST) reported its third highest total of antisemitic incidents between January and June 2020.
While this does represent a marginal decrease over the same period in 2019 and 2018, it is still
consistent with the overall trend of rising antisemitism in the UK. The CST attributes the decrease
in reported incidents to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, correlating reduced incidents with
tighter national lockdown measures.

However, during periods of lockdown,

the CST reported online instances of
antisemitism had increased to the
highest number recorded for the same
period. Of these incidents, 10 included
“hijackings” of online events—also
referred to as “Zoombombing,” or other
forms of hijacking of online streaming
events with antisemitic materials.

These were in addition to 26 incidents

where antisemitism and the COVID-19
pandemic were intertwined, including
but not limited to claims of Jewish
responsibility for, and involvement
in, the creation and spreading of the
coronavirus for malevolent purposes,
Figures from the Community Security Trust show and the expression of sentiments hoping
that 2020 saw the third-highest recorded number that Jews die from the virus.
of antisemitic incidents since 2008.

GERMANY
Antisemitic crimes for 2019 in Germany rose to their highest levels ever recorded since 2001, when
the German government began recording such incidents, rising to 2,032 cases, up 13% from 2018.
While far-right and neo-Nazi groups accounted for some 93% of antisemitic crimes, there was also
a substantial increase in such crimes on the far-left, accounting for an increase of nearly 24% of
incidents since 2018.

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 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

While the numbers for 2020 have yet to

be released, it is evident that the rise
in antisemitism observed in Canada
and elsewhere is part of a disturbing
global trend. In fact, analysts including
Germany’s special envoy to the Jewish
community, Felix Klein, have relayed
that antisemitism had increased
in Germany during the COVID-19
pandemic from both far-right and far-
left conspiracy theorists who have in
many cases united to blame Jews for
the pandemic to one extent or another.

Figures from the German Federal

Ministry of the Interior display a
disturbing upward trend.

THE UNITED STATES

The Anti-Defemation League (ADL)’s most recent statistics on antisemitism date back to 2019,
but show a 12% increase in antisemitic incidents totaling 2,107. This increase marked the highest
number recorded by the ADL since 1979, when it began documentation. Of the total incidents,
there were 61 of assault, an increase of 56% from the previous year, in which five of the victims lost
their lives.

Importantly, the ADL reported that white supremacist propaganda in particular had nearly
doubled in 2020 compared to 2019, with 5,125 cases reported in the United States, averaging over
14 incidents of white supremacist propaganda per day—the highest number of white supremacist
incidents the ADL has recorded.

2020 saw many accusations of “dual loyalty” aimed at American politicians in both major parties.

www.bnaibrith.ca/audit 21
 THE CANADIAN CONTEXT
2020 TRENDS IN ANTISEMITISM
Antisemitism in Canada continues to be a serious problem. It is increasingly recognized by law
enforcement agencies, academics, and school boards across the country. While remaining marginal
overall, antisemitism is becoming an all too frequent feature of popular, political, academic, and social
discourse in Canada—across the right and the left of the political and religious spectrum—and thrives
in both times of relative social harmony, and times of social and political discord.
The federal government has taken note of the serious antisemitism issue, following years of advocacy
by B’nai Brith Canada and others. It established the position of Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust
Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism, and appointed former Minister of Justice and Attorney
General of Canada Irwin Cotler to the position. The Special Envoy’s initial tasks will include serving as
Canada’s delegation head to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), strengthening
domestic efforts to implement the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism, and addressing the growing
phenomenon of Holocaust denial and distortion. It is a most welcome start to a long overdue process.
Several Canadian municipalities, including Vaughan, Ont., Côte Saint-Luc, Que., and the Province
of Ontario, have adopted the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism—including its illustrative examples—
recognizing the critical importance of using the world’s most objective, expert- and consensus-driven
definition of antisemitism in order to first identify and then address what has often been dubbed, “the
world’s oldest hatred.” This section contains several eminent themes through which antisemitism
manifested itself during the past year.

Top: A July article on TheJ.ca reporting the discovery of antisemitic posters spotted in Kitchener, ON.

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 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

covid-19
With the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic,
widespread conspiracy theories surfaced worldwide.
They blamed Jews and/or the State of Israel for the
creation of the virus and its dissemination. Also, there
were wild accusations that Israel—with global Jewish
support—was deliberately preventing Palestinians
from receiving treatment related to the virus, and
that Jews were actively trying to infect non-Jews with
the virus.
Unfortunately, Canada was no exception, and such
conspiracy theories, among other malicious forms
of misinformation, had direct and sometimes violent
consequences for Canada’s Jewish community. It is
important to note that such conspiracy theories were
also directed against other communities, primarily
the Asian-Canadian community across Canada, who
faced a dramatic rise in harassment and even violence,
among other communities. Such conspiracy theories
have extremely dangerous consequences and must
be confronted at every turn.
As various self-sequestering and quarantine public
health orders were issued around the country,
more and more people relied heavily on video
programs such as the popular program Zoom, as
well as Skype, Microsoft Teams, and other such
programs to communicate with family, friends, and
work colleagues. Early on in 2020, the phenomenon
of Zoombombing became prevalent, where
instigators would hijack a Jewish prayer, study, or
other communal virtual meeting with antisemitic
sentiments and imagery, often accompanied by
pornography, both in Canada and abroad. While
many took measures to prevent Zoombombings,
Top: A cafe in Calgary accuses locals of
the incidents were often traumatic for those who Nazism for reporting violations of COVID-19
experienced them, and demonstrated the depravity safety laws to the authorities.
of those committed to carrying out acts of hatred
against Jews. Bottom: A Toronto Zoom webinar by
the Canadian Antisemitism Education
For example, a website run by Michel Chussodovsky, Foundation is hijacked and littered with
a disgraced University of Ottawa professor who has innapropriate messages.
published antisemitic and other conspiracy theories

www.bnaibrith.ca/audit 23
 on a well-known Kremlin-aligned website, posted an
article suggesting that Israel, alongside the U.S., may have
developed the virus—and its treatment—in order to deploy
it as a biological weapon against Israel’s enemies and
leverage the treatment as political collateral.
Aside from virtual forms of harassment and hatemongering,
various incidents of graffiti, including on private residences,
have been documented over the past year illustrating that
sentiments believing Jews to be somehow to “blame” for
the virus were somewhat common. Even more disturbingly,
over 22% of violent incidents in Canada related to COVID-
19-oriented discrimination against Jews, including visibly
observant Jews being spat on, assaulted by random
assailants, shot with air pellets, pelted by items, and
threatened with violence.
COVID-19-related incidents of antisemitism accounted for
nearly one in ten recorded incidents in 2020, demonstrating
how pervasive conspiracy theories, disinformation, and
erstwhile prejudices manifested themselves against the Stickers accusing the Jewish people of
creating COVID-19 found in Halifax.
Jewish community in Canada with relative ease and
disturbingly quick fashion.

ANTIsemitism on campus
As in previous years, the growth of antisemitism on Canadian campuses has been troubling. There is
a worrying appearance of apathy from university administrators. Antisemitic incidents on campuses
run the gamut from white supremacist and neo-Nazi graffiti to far-left antisemitism in the form of
the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and the associated discrimination against
Jews and Israelis on the basis of their religion, ethnicity, creed, and/or national origin. To be clear,
on campus, antisemitism masquerading as criticism of the State of Israel is by far the most prevalent
form of contemporary discrimination experienced by Jewish students.
Jewish students, with alarmingly increasing frequency, communicate to B’nai Brith their fear of
voicing their political opinions, their support for Israel, or their Jewishness, out of fears for personal
safety, ramifications for future graduate study, volunteer and professional opportunities, as well
as grades in particular classes with instructors who harbour antisemitic and/or highly politicized
views. Such attitudes suffuse all areas of student life, including in classes and in certain academic
associations. Another concern is professors and lecturers and their perceived power over student
affairs. For instance, in March 2020, the University of Toronto’s New College directly sponsored a
lecture by Angela Davis—a vocal sympathizer of some of the most brutal dictatorships of the 20th
century, including the Soviet Union, the Cuban regime, and the Palestine Liberation Organizations
(PLO) under Yasser Arafat. This was at a so-called “Israeli Apartheid Week” event.

24
 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

Davis has also absurdly attempted to link

law enforcement abuses against African-
Americans in the United States to the State of
Israel, while also denying Jewish indigeneity to
the Land of Israel. B’nai Brith communicated
concerns to New College, pointing out that
that having a U of T-affiliated college directly
sponsor such a speaker, and by extension an
event such as “Israel Apartheid Week,” came
at the expense of Jewish students. New College
dismissed these concerns and proceeded to
sponsor the event, where Davis went on to laud
the infamous Popular Front for the Liberation
of Palestine (PFLP) terrorists Leila Khaled and
Rasmea Odeh, and went on to propagandize A hateful message found just outside of Montreal,
with other antisemitic and anti-Israel lies. The Que.’s Concordia University in February.
PFLP, is a listed terrorist entity in Canada.
What is most concerning is that here we had a publicly-funded university sponsor a speaker that,
in B’nai Brith’s opinion, actively discriminates against an identifiable group on campus. To this day,
there have been no consequences for the organizers of the event by the University’s administration.
Elsewhere, in November 2020, the U of T Scarborough Campus Students Union (SCSU) voted to
support a motion that reaffirmed its support for the antisemitic BDS movement, which it originally
endorsed in 2013, at their Annual General Meeting. This “commitment to BDS” involved the SCSU
resolving not to partner with any organizations that “normalize Israel” and required future elected
representatives and staff to formally endorse the BDS movement, thereby openly discriminating
solely against Jewish and Israeli students in direct contravention of the Ontario Human Rights
Code. The brazen degree to which the SCSU enthusiastically supported to reaffirm an already
existing—and explicitly antisemitic motion—unfortunately reflects the darkening tenor on many
Canadian campuses.
This attitude, in B’nai Brith’s opinion, is reflected not only by students and particular activist groups
but by faculty who have an inherent power imbalance with the students they teach and influence
on campus. B’nai Brith is aware of situations where faculty have made comments comparing
white supremacy with Jewish supremacy and accusing Israel of exaggerating the Holocaust. In our
opinion, these are tired but oft-used forms of victim-blaming in which Jews are seen to exaggerate
the extent of tragedy to engender some sort of communal benefit at the expense of non-Jews.

Meanwhile, aside from these examples there were also several instances of antisemitic graffiti
that were prominently scrawled on university property, including a February incident in which the
phrase “Hitler was right, Jews are a virus to humanity” was found at Concordia University in
Montreal (see image above).
It is important to emphasize that such incidents transpired even despite the significantly decreased
physical presence of faculty, students, and staff on campuses nationwide during the pandemic.

www.bnaibrith.ca/audit 25
 Antisemitism in Canadian
Primary and Secondary Schools
There has been a concerning rise in antisemitism at primary and secondary schools across the
country over the past number of years—which was formally acknowledged by Canada’s largest
school board, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), in its Human Rights Annual Report 2018 –
2020. For 2018-2019, antisemitic incidents constituted 23% of hate incidents reported to the TDSB,
and 11% in 2019-20.
Despite the decrease in the previous year, Jewish students constituted the single largest religious
group targeted by a hateful incident at both these school levels. The report notes that “Incidents
of Antisemitism have risen at an alarming rate,” alongside incidents of homophobia, anti-Black
racism (which constituted the largest form of hatred identified by the TDSB between 2018-2020),
among others.
It should be pointed out that antisemitism in primary and secondary schools is not unique to the
TDSB, but occurred in school boards and school districts across Canada.

Vandalism found in a Montreal West, QC high school student’s workbook in January

26
 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

online hatred

A survey posted on
Twitter by a man in
Montreal, QC in July.

As has been noted in previous years, not only does the medium provided through online
platforms provide the capacity for delivering antisemitic messages, so too are such mediums the
place where minds are warped and radicalized through the abundant availability of antisemitic
conspiracy theories and content on a plethora of social-media platforms and dubious websites.
The vast majority of learned antisemitic sentiments by primary and secondary students stems
from disinformation absorbed from online sources.
When taken in total from all recorded incidents, it can be readily gleaned that the medium that
carries the message of contemporary antisemitism with the greatest and most deleterious effect—
regardless of the form of antisemitism expressed—is undoubtedly internet-based communication.
In fact, the problem of online antisemitism is of such concern that 2020 saw the creation of the
Interparliamentary Committee to Combat Online Antisemitism, before which B’nai Brith Canada
testified in November. Among some of the ideas expressed in our testimony:

• Antisemitism is a human rights issue, not simply a religious freedom issue. It encapsulates
a hatred of Jews based on their identity as members of a unique ethnic and religious group.
Hate directed at Jews must be treated the same way as hate directed at other minority groups.

• The right to freedom from hatred because of one’s religion must exist on the same plane
as the right to freedom of expression.

• Many of antisemitism’s contemporary manifestations relate to a hatred and demonization

of the State of Israel that exceeds the boundaries of legitimate policy criticism.

• Defining the problem for a global audience is a key step in combating antisemitism.
Widespread adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) Working
Definition of Antisemitism, including its illustrative examples, will make more meaningful
responses possible.

www.bnaibrith.ca/audit 27
 • International collaboration is important and must be based on clear national strategies.
No government alone can stop the global scourge of online antisemitism. A clear legal and policy
framework – domestically and internationally – is required to bring coherence to efforts to take
down hate. In Canada, we have repeatedly called for a national action plan on antisemitism.

• Countries should consider the creation of a forum similar to the Canadian Broadcast Standards
Council, to convene social media platforms, civil society, and other stakeholders in developing
and implement codes of conduct to address harmful speech. Direct redress by citizens is equally
important. Citizens must be able to challenge providers and platforms directly on their
experiences with antisemitism. This must include a right of responses to those complaints.

The year 2020 also saw the creation of the Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression to
which B’nai Brith Canada, one of fourteen civil society organizations, submitted testimony focusing
on the harms of online antisemitic hate speech to the Jewish community and Canadians generally.
Our testimony emphasized that to be both principled and effective, any laws and policies standing
against incitement to hatred have to balance the right to freedom of expression with the right to
freedom from incitement to hatred and discrimination.
In sum, there is much to be concerned about regarding the proliferation and increasing
promulgation of antisemitism in Canada, but there is also much to be encouraged about regarding
increased governmental attention to the phenomenon, and an increased willingness to combat it
at the political level with more attention and resources than ever before.
On this note, we turn our attention to the ways in which B’nai Brith Canada has successfully
combated antisemitism in Canada over the past year, and worked tirelessly to promote the causes
of human rights, equality, accessibility and justice for all Canadians.

Examples of the many antisemitic

social media posts documented by
B’nai Brith Canada in 2020.

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 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

Advocating for the Community

1. B’nai Brith Canada Sued the Federal Government

The federal government failed to implement a motion passed by the House of Commons in June
2018 to list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—among the world’s most notorious and
genocidal organizations—in its entirety as a terrorist group. After nearly two years of campaigning
and publicly urging the government to comply, alongside like-minded individuals and groups from
the Iranian Canadian community, B’nai Brith launched a lawsuit against the federal government to
force it to honour its democratic commitment and ensure the safety of Canadians from the terrorist
threat of the IRGC in Canada and around the world.

The IRGC was responsible for the downing of a civilian airplane in Tehran, killing 57 Canadians
and another 81 travelers en route to Canada. The IRGC has also been responsible for sponsoring,
orchestrating and carrying out deadly attacks around the world, including the 1994 bombing of
the AMIA Jewish Community Centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and killing hundreds of U.S. service
personnel and civilians in Iraq.

2. Polish-language Hate Propagandist Arrested

Andrzej Kumor, the editor of a longstanding antisemitic Polish-language newspaper based out of
Mississauga, Ont., was arrested by Peel Regional Police following B’nai Brith complaints that his
newspaper, Goniec, was publishing hateful conspiracy theories against the Jewish community.
Among the articles appearing in the publication included those claiming that “Jews are spying
on you” using WhatsApp, that Jews and Zionists have “terrorism in their blood,” and that the U.S.
and Polish governments were being controlled by sinister Jewish forces. Kumor was arrested and
warned that any further promotion of hatred against Jews would result in charges being brought
against him under the Criminal Code.

A second Toronto-based Polish-language newspaper, Głos, edited by Wiesław Magiera, published

an article blaming the COVID-19 pandemic on a sinister Jewish plot. The paper also printed the
assertion that “ISIS/ISIL terrorists [were] brought into evil existence by organized Jewry, and
completely controlled by it” and that various Soviet, Nazi, and Turkish political leaders were/
are all secretly Jewish. It further alleged that Jews intend to take over Poland and create “Judeo-
Polonia,” among other antisemitic sentiments. Following B’nai Brith’s revelations of Głos’ and
Goniec’s antisemitic content, the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada severed ties
with both newspapers.

www.bnaibrith.ca/audit 29
 3. Renaming Street That Glorified Nazi
Following months of campaigning alongside local activist Adam Wiseman, Holocaust survivor Max
Eisen, Councillor Lisa Bower and Regional Councillor Sterling Lee, B’nai Brith Canada submitted
testimony to Ajax Town Council in November, urging the town of Ajax, Ont., to rename Langsdorff
Drive— named after a Nazi naval captain who commanded German forces. This was part of B’nai
Brith’s effort to combat Nazi glorification across Canada. This resulted in the passing of a motion
to rename the street in 2021.

4. Bringing a Notorious Neo-Nazi to Justice

Two years ago, B’nai Brith alerted Montreal police to the presence of Gabriel Sohier Chaput, one
of the primary propogandists for the Daily Stormer hate site. He was required to appear in court
Nov. 24, 2020. While the case is ongoing, the warrant for his arrest concerned the promotion of
hate against an identifiable group, and set another important precedent in the legal fight against
antisemitism.

5. Confronting Antisemitism and anti-black racism together

B’nai Brith Canada and the Canadian Black Chamber of Commerce signed a Memorandum of
Understanding establishing a collaborative effort to strategize and implement best practices in the
fight against anti-Black racism and antisemitism in Canada. Recognizing the shared experiences
of hatred and discrimination experienced by both communities and especially in light of global
social movements raising awareness of anti- Black discrimination around the world, B’nai Brith
Canada reasserted its longstanding commitment to racial justice by joining with the Canadian
Black Chamber of Commerce in working together to stomp out the mutual prejudices that impact
both communities as a tangible and meaningful step in joint solidarity and fraternity.

6. Father Tadeusz Rydzyk Barred from Canadian Archdiocese

Following fruitful discussions between B’nai Brith Canada and the Archdiocese of Edmonton,
Father Rydzyk, head of the controversial Radio Maryja radio station and other media enterprises
in Poland, which includes Canadian broadcasts and fundraising efforts in Canada, was barred
from visiting the Archdiocese of Edmonton and affiliated parishes in the future, due to his station’s
longstanding global promulgation of highly discriminatory, antisemitic, and inflammatory content.
This was the first example of an Archdiocese publicly barring Father Rydzyk, an outspoken and
influential cleric in Poland, anywhere in the world. Rydzyk’s Radio Maryja has regularly hosted
antisemitic guests who have blamed Jews for a series of social ills allegedly impacting Polish society,
with Rydzyk himself having condemned what he referred to as “synagogue-type behaviour.”
Furthermore, following discussions with CJMR 1320, a radio station broadcasting Radio Maryja in
the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the station took principled action in severing its ties with Radio
Maryja, further eroding the nefarious influence the station has in Canada.

30
 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

7. Arthur Topham Charged Again

Thanks to the dogged work of dedicated B’nai Brith volunteer Harry Abrams, Arthur Topham, a
convicted hatemonger from British Columbia, was sentenced to a 30-day conditional sentence plus
three years’ probation, after failing to comply with the terms of his previous probation. The initial
probation stemmed from Topham’s 2017 conviction for willfully promoting hatred against Jews. In
2012, Topham was first charged after he had called for Jews to be forcibly sterilized, claimed that
Canada is “controlled by the Zionist Jew lobby,” and described Jewish places of worship as
“synagogues of Satan.” These charges led ultimately to his conviction by a jury in November 2015.

The original decision to convict Topham was an important development in combating criminal hate
speech in Canada, demonstrating that there are consequences for inciting against fellow citizens,
which serves as a deterrent to some, and a relief to others.

8. Foodbenders Faced with Municipal Prosecution

Following a Toronto-area restaurant’s series of antisemitic Instagram posts and “hashtags” ranging
from “#zionistsnotwelcome” to “Zionists are Nazis”, to referring to Prime Minister Trudeau as a
“Zionist puppet,” as well as glorifying PFLP terrorist Leila Khaled, who hijacked two airplanes in 1969-
1970, among other posts, B’nai Brith Canada spurred a grassroots campaign by Canadian Jews and
allies resulting in the cancellation of several business contracts with the restaurant. The restaurant’s
owner had also allegedly committed an unprovoked assault against two Jewish Torontonians who
had entered the store and engaged an employee in conversation.

B’nai Brith pressed the City of Toronto to revoke Foodbenders’ business licence for discrimination.
Foodbenders was subsequently charged under that very provision, and Toronto Bylaw Enforcement
has decided to proceed with charges and request a hearing before the Licensing Tribunal, which has
the power to suspend, revoke or refuse to renew a license, among other disciplinary options.

9. IHRA
Following advocacy efforts led by the Friends of Simon Weisenthal Centre, the Centre for Israel
and Jewish Affairs and B’nai Brith Canada, Ontario—the province with Canada’s largest Jewish
community—became the first Canadian province to adopt the IHRA Definition in October through
a legally binding Order in Council that explicitly “adopts and recognizes the Working Definition of
Antisemitism, as adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Plenary
on May 26, 2016.”

This development was a major milestone, allowing a provincial government to incorporate the best
available definition of antisemitism, and the definition enjoying the broadest possible consensus
within the Jewish community.

www.bnaibrith.ca/audit 31
 B’NAI BRITH’S EIGHT-POINT PLAN TO TACKLE ANTISEMITISM

1. Institute Dedicated Hate Crime Units in Every Major City

The lack of investment in hate crime-specific units contributes to both a perceived sense of impunity
for the purveyors of hate crimes and generates frustration on the part of affected communities.
Dedicated hate crimes units could produce more substantive results in the field, including the laying
of more charges, and further enhance the credibility of police services among the broader community.

2. Provide Enhanced Training for Hate Crimes Officers

What often appears to be a clear-cut case of a hate crime can be interpreted differently among police
services. A standard understanding of what constitutes a hate crime is critical, as well as proper liaison
functions between police services and civil society organizations representing affected communities,
such as the League for Human Rights.

3. Publish the Attorney-General’s Guidelines for Sections 318 and 319

The Attorney-General’s decision-making process on hate propaganda prosecutions is not public
and therefore open to charges of political bias. B’nai Brith believes revealing the internal guidelines
elucidating this process will help the public know when to submit complaints to law enforcement, and
clarify what is and is not legal. This would also aid police in better identifying hate crimes as they occur.

4. Declare a Zero-Tolerance Approach to Government Funding of Antisemitism

Government funding has again found its way to organizations that have promoted antisemitism
in the past. Government must be vigilant when dispensing public funds to such organizations, and
take swift action when such instances come to its attention, including an immediate withdrawal of
all publicly-provided funds.

5. Introduce Anti-SLAPP Legislation in All Provinces and Territories

Only B.C., Ontario and Quebec have enacted legislation opposing Strategic Lawsuits Against Public
Participation, or “anti-SLAPP” legislation, which is meant to prevent frivolous libel lawsuits designed
to dissuade groups engaging in issues of public interest by using lawsuits to intimidate and deter
critique or inquiry. B’nai Brith encourages all provinces and territories to enact this legislation so this
protection can be extended to the benefit of all Canadians.

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 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

6. Hold Post-Secondary Institutions Accountable for Campus Antisemitism

Post-secondary institutions recently surfaced as significant breeding grounds for antisemitism in
Canada, including through an increase in far-left activism against Israel. This has a caustic effect
on Jewish students, who are increasingly reporting incidents of vandalism and threats of violence.
Post-secondary institutions must do more to combat antisemitism, as do provincial ministries of
education, including enforcing existing anti-discrimination policies and ensuring that appropriate
disciplinary measures are employed.

7. Adopt a National Action Plan for Antisemitism

Canada must adopt a National Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism, as have France and Norway, in
recognition that adequate resources must be offered to strategically combat anti-Jewish rhetoric.
Such a plan would involve all levels of government, which could help law enforcement, communities,
and schools prevent and respond to antisemitism by implementing anti-bias education and hate
crimes prevention programs.

Holocaust and anti-bias education must be standardized across Canada.

Canada must continue to utilize its influence at various international forums to combat antisemitism
and encourage the improvement of data collection of antisemitic hate crimes. All three levels of
governments should adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism to better inform public policy,
standardize the understanding of antisemitism, and incorporate the definition into police training
and cross-country educational systems.

8. Develop an Action Plan to Counter Online Hate

In the absence of the prior section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Code, a fresh federal strategy is
needed to deal with the gap in Canada’s hate laws. B’nai Brith believes that the federal government,
along with social media platforms and other stakeholders, can work in tandem to establish a viable
strategic plan to counter online hate.

Government must examine how to strengthen laws against perpetrators of online hate and improve
law enforcement training in how to respond. B’nai Brith recommends that social media platforms
and relevant stakeholders enhance transparency and improve accountability, ensure stronger
policies against hate, and expand response tools for the targets of hate.

A broad-based plan adapted to today’s circumstances, involving all levels of government, industry,
and the targets of online hate themselves, is essential to combating the spread of antisemitism in
the 21st century.

www.bnaibrith.ca/audit 33
 CONCLUSION
MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE
Much progress has been made in the fight against antisemitism. The scourge of online antisemitism
has been recognized at the highest levels of government, and is receiving considerable attention
and analysis at the parliamentary level. Provincial and municipal governments are increasingly
recognizing the importance of defining antisemitism and incorporating this definition into the
existing policy suites at all levels of government. Canada now has a Special Envoy whose office
will focus its efforts, with a federal mandate, to combat antisemitism and Holocaust denial both at
home and abroad, and work with community groups such as B’nai Brith Canada to meaningfully
address this phenomenon and take concerted action to stamp it out wherever and whenever it
arises.
However, more must be done to tackle antisemitism at its root and ensure that it is given no
quarter in which to flourish. As such, B’nai Brith Canada’s Eight-Point Plan to Tackle Antisemitism
serves as a guide for all levels of government, law enforcement, civil society, and even individuals
to adopt and apply in combating antisemitism. Antisemitism is not just a problem for the Jewish
community. It is a problem for everybody. B’nai Brith’s Eight-Point Plan, if followed, will lead to a
more equitable, just, peaceful, and secure Canada for all of its citizens.

Top: Antisemitic graffiti left by a line painter in the city of Vaughan, ON in July.

34
 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents 2020

B’nai Brith and the League

Franklin Switzer National Chair are uniquely positioned
Michael Mostyn Chief Executive Officer to provide a contextual,
Marty York Chief Media Officer longitudinal approach to
Paul Michaels Director of Communications examining antisemitism
in Canada, via the Annual
Brian Herman Director of Government Relations
Audit of Antisemitic Incidents.
Harvey Levine Regional Director, Quebec
Matthew Ross Associate Director, Quebec The Audit has been conducted
Abe Silverman Manager of Public Affairs, Alberta every year since 1982, and is
Adriana Glikman Program Coordinator, National the result of close cooperation
Eli Artman Communications with the public, local police
Andrea Adler Digital Advocacy forces and other community
Jayme Kalpin Graphic Designer organizations across the
country.

As the definitive study on

antisemitism in Canada, the
Audit has been cited by a variety
of governmental, academic and
advocacy organizations, such
as the US State Department,
the Kantor Centre for the Study
of Contemporary European
Joseph Shier Chair, Advocacy & Policy Committee Jewry, and Statistics Canada,
Ran Ukashi Special Advisor among others. Data from the
Aidan Fishman Past National Director Audit was also used to inform
David Matas Senior Legal Counsel the findings of the Canadian
Ted Greenfield Past President, B’nai Brith Canada Parliamentary Coalition to
Herb Silber National Legal Counsel Combat Antisemitism in 2009.
Sam Goldstein National Legal Counsel
Special appreciation is extended
Steven Slimovitch National Legal Counsel
to our law enforcement partners
Janna Minikovich Research Coordinator across the country for their hard
Michal Schlesinger Senior Human Rights Liaison and dedicated work.
David Katzman Saskatoon Lodge President

www.bnaibrith.ca/audit 35
B’NAI BRITH CANADA Sources Citing the Annual
Audit of Antisemitic Incidents:
National: 1-844-218-2624 (Toll Free) • Statistics Canada

National Headquarters • Minister of Justice and

416-633-6224 Attorney General of Canada
[email protected]
• Ontario Human Rights Commission
Ottawa Region
613-598-0056 • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights
[email protected] and Labour, US State Department

Quebec Region • Office of the Special Envoy to

514-733-5377 Monitor and Combat Antisemitism,
[email protected] US State Department

Manitoba Region • Organization for Security and

204-487-9623 Cooperation in Europe, Office
[email protected] for Democratic Institutions
and Human Rights
Alberta Region
780-483-6939 • Kantor Center for the Study of
[email protected] Contemporary European Jewry,
Tel Aviv University
Anti-Hate Hotline:
1-800-892-BNAI • United Nations Commission
bnaibrith.ca/report on Human Rights

• The Coordination Forum for

Countering Antisemitism

• Human Rights First

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