Letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney from C. Goldberg, Canadian re: failure of the federal government to adequately respond to anti-Jewish protests

June 9, 2025 

Dear Prime Minister Carney, 

I am a Jewish Canadian and this letter is to tell you that your silence is threatening my life.  

I was born in Canada to immigrant parents, one of whom was a Holocaust survivor. How survivors managed to rebuild their lives is a testament to human endurance. But we know that the trauma they experienced remained with them for life.  

My generation was so proud to be Canadian and we vociferously distinguished ourselves from Americans when we traveled. How lucky to be here - a haven from the centuries of rabid antisemitism in Europe - until October 8, 2023. The explosion of Jew hatred after the attack on Israel by Hamas genuinely astounded me. I knew that antisemitism had not been vanquished, but didn’t realize that it was being quietly stoked for years, if not generations, by Qatari money and influence and who knows what else.

For a year and a half, I have seen “demonstrations” that vilify Jews and are nothing more than antisemitic hate fests dredging up tropes from the Middle Ages and passing them off as news. Under the guise of “free speech” I have heard cries to kill Jews, globalize the intifada, and that all time favourite, “from the river to the sea”, which means and has always meant, that Israelis are to be slaughtered or driven into the sea or both. The fact that most of the chanters don’t even know which river or which sea does not make this any less toxic. 

I have been waiting for any of my municipal, provincial, or federal governments to condemn these hate fests masquerading as “pro Palestinian” rallies. Or to charge demonstrators with spreading hate (which I consider to occur when any group advocates for the elimination of any other group). I ask myself what would be the situation if this same vile hatred was targeted at any other minority group? I cannot imagine that such heinous demonstrations would be tolerated. Jews are definitely a minority group. Why are we not worth defending like any other group? 

It is important to listen to what is being chanted at these rallies and to read the signs held aloft. They are not benign. Rather they are totally focussed on the elimination of Jews. Have you not seen the signs that talk about Jews as “trash” and encourage getting rid of them? Do you not understand that intifada means death to infidels and that all who are not Muslim (and some who are) are considered infidels? Why do you not believe these terrorists in training when they tell you that they want to destroy Israel and then move on to the West in order to create a world wide Muslim Caliphate that operates under sharia law? These goals have never been a secret. In fact, Hamas has enshrined some of them in their charter.  

But beyond the overall threat to democracy, I feel personally threatened. Why must I hide indications of my Jewish identity when walking through the city of Toronto or at an event? Are individuals of any other religion asked to cover up or remove their religious tokens? Are you? Or any of your family? And why are we the only minority requiring police protection in order to pray?  

Seeing masked men and women screeching for my extermination is terrifying, especially when people in positions of authority do nothing to condemn them. This is hate speech and it goes unchecked despite our laws. So the police arrest the Jews for showing up because their presence is considered provocative to the rioters (they are hardly just demonstrators) or because the police can’t “ensure their safety”. Why can’t they ensure our safety? 

I am not alone in my feelings. Canada has the world’s fourth largest Jewish population. And we are all at risk and frightened and bewildered. Where is our government? Well, it seems that we don’t have one we can rely on. Silence from every layer of government has given license to these protesters to increase their presence and their rhetoric and their violence, which continues to escalate. And this government’s public position about Israel only encourages them further. Are you proud of the fact that Canada is one of only a very few western countries to be publicly thanked by Hamas – twice?  

It would appear that Canadian Jews are inconsequential. Perhaps the government is afraid of these radicals and is happy to see them focus on Jews. After all, we are so accustomed to being targets. Imagine if they turned their attention to bringing down the government? This is not a fantasy. They have said as much.  

Adam Hummel of Catch, wrote on June 4, 2025: 

“...Canada is our home. And in our home, we shouldn’t be treated like strangers, or worse, like enemies. We’ve bled for this country. Fought in its wars. Helped build it. Paid taxes. Hired workers. Donated to hospitals. Taught in its schools. And what do we get in return? Vandalized community centres. Hate-fests in downtown Toronto. Editorials equating Jewish safety with apartheid.” 

Which government do you admire that sacrifices a portion of their citizens in order to pander to a population that can garner more votes even as it threatens to destroy the democratic system that put the government in power? 

Wake up, Prime Minister. Do you want your legacy to be that you helped bring down western democracy in favour of its opposite? Lift your head and really see who you have chosen as friends. One day it may be too late. 

Most sincerely yours, 

C. Goldberg 

c.c. Anthony Housefather 

anthony.housefather@parl.gc.ca