Vancouver City Election Disaster | CAEF Bulletin October 23, 2026
Anti-Israel City Government Elected in Vancouver
CAEF is reproducing this entire article by Ezra S. Shanken published in the Times of Israel, October 21, 2026. It is truly shocking. Vancouver has gone the way of New York City.
"On the evening of October 17, 2026, I was in New Jersey, officiating my sister's wedding. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. Standing before those gathered, I said that we are living in a crazy world where moments of love like this matter more than ever. My phone was silenced. I was entirely present. Little did I know what was in store for me.
When the evening ended and I finally looked at my screen, Vancouver had changed.
The results came in: the incumbent mayor was defeated, 47.8 per cent to 32.7 per cent. ABC Vancouver, the party that had governed City Hall, was nearly wiped off the map. The sweep reached every level. Eight of ten city council seats went to candidates who had signed the Vote Palestine Vancouver pledge. The Park Board flipped to Vote Palestine-aligned candidates. The Vancouver School Board went nine for nine. Across all three bodies, eight of eleven seats targeted by Vote Palestine Vancouver were won by candidates committed in full or in part to that platform.
This was not a low-turnout protest. Voter participation topped 43 per cent, the highest in more than a decade. Vancouver came out. And this is what Vancouver chose. For a Jewish community already on guard, asking whether this city sees us as full and equal members, that number is not a comfort. It is the answer.
For a long time, the intrusion of pro-Palestinian extremism into institutional and political life felt like something happening in Montreal and Toronto, not here. We believed we were different. After Saturday night, we know we are not.
The outgoing council had been among the most steadfast defenders of the Jewish community in the city's recent history. Weeks into its term, it adopted the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. After October 7, 2023, the mayor did not equivocate: the city would always stand with the Jewish community. When a sitting councillor's troubling social media history was raised publicly, the mayor called it out. The Integrity Commissioner investigated the mayor for doing so, while dismissing JFBC and CIJA's formal complaint about that councillor's conduct.
Through it all, the outgoing mayor's home was spray-painted with "Free Palestine" and "Land back." A bomb was threatened under his vehicle. Thirty protesters threw red-stained objects at his house. The city spent $226,000 protecting him. The movement that targeted him now governs the city he was protecting.
The candidate who received the most votes carried into office a social media history that Jewish organizations had raised publicly before election day. The posts, attributed to accounts under his name, contained explicit anti-Jewish content. He said he had been sarcastic. Voters, knowing this, chose him first.
Before the election, Upstanders Canada surveyed 557 BC candidates on seven basic questions about community safety, including security for threatened institutions, equal access and non-discriminatory grant conditions. Only 166 responded. In Vancouver, nine of ten councillors-elect did not answer. The one councillor who did respond was the sole member of the outgoing governing party to hold his seat.
Something genuinely new happened to this city. And yet, for the Jewish people, the dynamic underneath it is not new at all. The Passover Haggadah says it plainly: "In every generation, they rise up against us to destroy us." It is one of the oldest acknowledgments in Jewish life that our existence is contested, and that survival requires intention, not passivity.
The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: "They do not hate us because of what we do. They hate us because of what we are." His answer, echoed this year by Bret Stephens and Dan Senor at the 92nd Street Y in New York, is simple: build. Invest in Jewish schools, summer camps, community life. The response to those who would define us out of our own city is a Jewish identity so full and so rooted that no hostile council can touch its core.
We cannot control the hatred. We can control what we build.
On the morning of October 18, I flew home to Vancouver. As the Rockies gave way to the Purcells and we descended into the Fraser Valley, I felt a dark cloud of dread. The results. The sweep. The weight of what had happened to my city while I watched my sister begin her life with the person she loves. Then, somewhere over those mountains, something shifted. I said to myself: these are the moments we built this community for.
When city leaders openly attack our Jewish family and, in essence, tell us who an acceptable Jew is in their eyes, we have an answer. We say no to the old construct that seeks to define and limit us, that tells us our belonging is conditional. And we say yes to the world we have created because of it.
Less than 24 hours after the results came in, the Jewish Federation of British Columbia joined with Canada's Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver to write a letter to the incoming mayor. We did not wait. We asked for a meeting from day one and told him clearly what our community requires of its city government. That letter is public. We are on the record.
Sometimes it takes those who threaten our identity to strengthen it.
Our schools are ready for your children. Our synagogues are ready to accept and protect you. Our JCC will always be a safe place, even though City Hall may not be."
About the Author: Ezra S. Shanken is the CEO of the Jewish Federation of British Columbia.
Legal Update
1. Sentencing Hearing of Kristoffer NIPPAK: October 30, 2026 at the Superior Court of Justice, 361 University Avenue, Toronto
Kristoffer NIPPAK was found guilty of knowingly participating in or contributing to an activity of a terrorist group by Justice Maureen D. Forestell of the Superior Court of Justice sitting at Toronto on September 9, 2026. The charges relate to Nippak's role in the creation of a propaganda film for the terrorist group "Atomwaffen Division".
The reasons for the finding of guilt are here: 2026 ONSC 5013 (CanLII) | R. v. Nippak | CanLII
CAEF, along with various other Jewish community advocacy groups, will be presenting a joint Community Impact Statement at the sentencing hearing.
Details of the timing of the hearing and the courtroom assignment will be posted on September 29, 2026 at www.ontariocourts.ca
2. CAEF President Michael Teper Reports Yves ENGLER to Montreal Police for Wilful Promotion of Antisemitism by Downplaying the Holocaust (Criminal Code Section 319(2.1)).
The report below was filed today. Details to follow.
Canadian Litigators Combatting Antisemitism Summit
by Anita Bromberg
CAEF President Michael Teper and immediate past president Anita Bromberg joined lawyers from across Canada and beyond at a summit organized by ALCCA. CIJA Legal Task Force, Lawyers Combating Antisemitism and the Canadian Jewish Law Association. The day-long event brought together leading litigators, subject-matter experts and community partners to share experience, examine emerging legal strategies and identify opportunities for collaboration.
Michael Teper also presented at a breakout session dealing with antisemitism and professional regulatory bodies, including the Ontario College of Teachers. Anita presented on countering antisemitism in schools and on campus.
Advocacy and Action
Toronto Councillor James Pasternak Calls for Robust Action
In response to the Bathurst and Sheppard safety crisis, with almost 5,000 residents signing a petition asking the City to keep them safe, Councillor Pasternak issued a statement demanding better police enforcement.
Read the full statement and sign the petition:
CIJA Calls on Government of Canada to “Hold Palestinian Leaders Accountable for Broken Statehood Commitments”.
We’re not holding our breath.
Law Society of Ontario Motion to Investigate at TMU
TO BE MOVED AT THE MEETING OF CONVOCATION ON OCTOBER 29, LAW SOCIETY OF ONTARIO Moved by: Edward Choi Seconded by: Cheryl Lean Motion:
THAT Convocation shall forthwith establish a Task Force to explore all options available to the Law Society of Ontario (“LSO”) to address the identified concerns of intimidation, dehumanization, and antisemitism at the Toronto Metropolitan University to ensure fairness and equality for law students at institutions accredited by the LSO, and that the Task Force report its recommendations to Convocation no later than February 25, 2027, following which the Task Force would be dissolved.
Read Letter from Richard Sherman, Florida, to Globe and Mail in response to article by Mira Sucharov stating her ignorance in claiming that antizionism is not antisemitism, October 19, 2026.
Canadian Letter Writing Activist Honoured
Larry Shapiro of Calgary has been writing advocacy letters for over 4 decades, contributing to all the CAMERA campaigns and more. He was chosen as 2026 Letter-Writer of the Year by the Committee on Accuracy and Middle East Reporting and Analysis which featured several of his published Letters.
Read his story and then write your own letters.
CAEF often identifies issues and provides contact information. You are also welcome to identify issues, share your letters, and let us post them.
Openly Jewish at Toronto Metropolitan University
TMJew, Hillel Ontario, Hillel at TMU and the Jewish Employee Community Network sponsored a conference on TMU campus, October 21 addressing Antisemitism at Canadian Universities. A full day of presentations and discussions featured Justice Harry LaForme, first Indigenous Canadian judge, presenting a marvellous lecture on Jewish Indigeneity to the Land of Israel and the Great Law of Peace treaties signed with early colonial powers in peace and friendship.
Declaring himself an Anishinaabe Zionist, Justice LaForme spoke of how the Jews have preserved the land, planting and protecting it, showing responsibility and respect for the land and other peoples, honoring traditional language and ceremonies, and making the world a better place for everyone. He spoke of the 7 Teachings of Wisdom of Indigenous Forefathers. “Land is not a commodity, but core to a peoples’ identity.” LaForme concluded by stating that “Israel is the best example of anti-colonialism”.
Justice Harry LaForme
Other speakers addressed Antizionism—the Hate Movement, Weaponized Social Justice, and Middle East Studies with no Israel, Lack of Real Academic Freedom, Canadian data on Sources of Antisemitism, How DEI has Failed the Jews, Systemic Antisemitism in Universities, and Institutional Betrayal in all Canadian Cultural, Educational and Political Institutions.
The response of TMU to the Benotto Report on Antisemitism on the campus, was noted as an example of “institutional betrayal.”
Read John Ivison in National Post new details about why TMU redacted the report into its institutional campus antisemitism, October 19, 2026.
Note the hate campaign on X during the day's conference was hostile antisemitic screed.
Photos: Openly Jewish symposium, TMU, October 21, 2026
National Council of Canadian Muslims Distorts Public Safety Minister's Letter
On October 19, 2026, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) published on its X feed that it had convinced the federal Minister of Public Safety to issue a clarification to the Second Progress Report on National Commitments to Combat Antisemitism, to the effect that anti-Zionism is not antisemitic.
The Ministry of Public Safety Second Progress Report, published September 24, 2026, states twice that anti-Zionism is included in the overall concept of antisemitism:
The letter of Minister Gary Anandasangaree emphatically does not say that "anti-Zionism is not inherently antisemitic." On the contrary, the letter says that "denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination may, depending on the context, be considered a manifestation of antisemitism." To the extent that the NCCM considers a declaration that the Government of Canada does not consider that "all criticism of Zionism or Israeli government policies or the State of Israel, is antisemitic" to be a victory of some sort, we wish them Mazel Tov. Some victory.
Example: The IDF officer dress uniform tunic (at left) is un-military in the design and tailoring of the lapels. It looks like a civilian business suit with a few buttons and badges sewn on. This is a criticism of the State of Israel that is not antisemitic.
Europe Hates the Jews
Channel 14, Israel, posted a report on the EU politicians who falsely accuse Jews of “settler violence,” despite actual data. Read the report of October 21, 2026.
Earlier today, a delegation that included French Communist mayor Bernard Baudoux visited the village of Taybeh in Israel's Binyamin region WITHOUT coordinating with the IDF. Local residents told Channel 14's @eliya_aviv that footage shows the group faked a "settler violence" incident.
Left-wing outlets reported that the group, described as diplomats from France, Belgium, and Poland, was “attacked” by Jews, citing footage of Baudoux on the ground and a smashed vehicle window. Complicating the matter, the @IDF and the Israeli President @Isaac_Herzog were quick to hop on the bandwagon and condemn Jews. Local residents provided footage and said it shows: Baudoux lying on the ground before any Israeli residents had reached the scene The only vehicle actually blocked belonged to the far-left activists who filmed the incident themselves The radical activists that later told media it showed an attack on the delegation. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office @IsraeliPM wrote, "These reports come amid concerns about a coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest, relying on sensational headlines before the full facts emerge." Baudoux, a French Communist Party official, has previously raised the 'Palestinian' Authority flag over his own town hall in France, and was escorted by members of the anarchist group "Torat Tzedek."
Read article by Terry Newman in the National Post pointing out the Minister of Public Safety, Gary Anandasangaree’s response to criticism of the statement that Antizionism is Antisemitism, was a mushy response that essentially boils down to, it depends on the context. He then never gives clarity as to when it is antisemitic. Without such clarification, the initial statement is meaningless.
Recommended Reading
Read article about the trashing of a French synagogue during the riots of several weeks—this is not a high school rebellion as earlier portrayed. October 18, 2026.
Read World Israel News about Mike Tyson’s threat to sue over the change of Israeli flag for Palestinian on hoodie designed and preapproved with his image, October 18, 2026
Read article by Majid Rafizadeh in Gatestone Institute about Islam’s welcoming of NGO’s, October 17, 2026.
Read essay by Daniel Clarke-Serret in Substack, The Future of Jewish on the ignorance of facts and the French government’s decision to recognize Palestine and thus invite the burning and destruction that country is experiencing, October 19, 2026.
Read article by Dr. Flamma Nirenstein The Jewish Press on how Globalize the Intifada has overtaken France and threatens the democratic West, October 21. 2026.
Read excerpt
“The world is paying a high price for the masses who denied or minimized the Oct. 7 massacre, embraced Hamas and the accusation of “genocide,” and turned hatred of Israel into hatred of Western democracy and culture itself.
Young Europeans are right to demand prospects for employment and decent schools. But that has nothing to do with vandalizing a synagogue or waving the Palestinian flag beside Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic.
Yet the Palestinianization of political consciousness has become an integral – and increasingly substitutive – part of European and Western identity. Europe’s leaders have helped bring this about through their contemptuous attitude toward Israel’s defensive war, through sanctions and condemnations, and through repeated invocations of an impossible Palestinian state that, as French President Emmanuel Macron knows perfectly well, has increasingly become a euphemism for the elimination of Israel.”
Read Jesse Snyder in National Post on Muslim Brotherhood Influence in Canada, ISGAP report, October 21, 2026.
Read article by Graeme Gordon in The Hub calling on CBC to provide full explanation as to why it suspended a Jewish journalist, October 6, 2026.
Read Terry Newman in National Post calling on Canada to list Palestine Action as a terrorist entity and ban as have UK and US, October 15, 2026.
Read Barbara Kay in National Post about the Muslim Brotherhood’s Plans for us, October 10, 2026.
Recommended Viewing
Watch Hillel Neuer, CEO of UN Watch at the British Parliament, unveiling the first-ever database exposing who finances UN human rights rapporteurs—and what they fail to disclose. UN Watch demands full financial transparency. What is Canada saying?
Highlights:
Our investigation identifies approximately $88 million in grants and support, including:
⚠️ $11.8 million omitted from UN disclosures
⚠️ $1.4 million that failed to identify the donors
⚠️ $42 million missing key information
UN experts wield enormous influence over government policy, media coverage, and public debate. The public deserves to know who finances their work.
Sign the petition to demand full financial transparency and to stop dictatorships from bankrolling UN human rights experts.
Community Events
CAEF 2026 Advocate Award of Excellence Honouring Brian Crowley
Tuesday, October 27, 2026, Toronto 6:00 PM Patron’s Reception · 6:30 PM Doors · 7:00 PM Program · 9:00 PM Dessert Reception
You are warmly invited to an evening to honour Brian Lee Crowley, a distinguished thought leader whose work has brought a focus on the critical issues of antisemitism, the Middle East, radical Islam and more to the heart of Canada’s national conversation. Brian Crowley founded the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS), and the Macdonald Laurier Institute (MLI).
Sponsorship questions: andria@caef.ca
When Shanghai Said Yes – A Global Jewish-Chinese Virtual Experience
Sunday, November 8, 2026 · Virtual (Zoom webinar)
Continuing the Chinese-Jewish Exchange, CAEF and partners are pleased to present an opportunity for learning and sharing. Register to join the webinar and participate in small group discussions after the formal presentations. We invite you to read recent articles by Annette Poizner, one of the speakers: The Etrog’s Chinese Secret; A Sweet (and Sour) New Year: Where Jewish and Chinese Wisdom Meet; China and the Jews: Two Ancient Civilizations, One Unlikely Friendship.
Cyrus the Great – United for a Safe, Glorious and Free Canada
Thursday, October 29, 2026, 5:00–9:00 PM · Ottawa
Presented by ICARE, CAEF and the Iran Lion & Sun Front.
For more information please contact: salmansima62@gmail.com
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