Sam Levkovsky
Op-ed Editor
Art by Zach Gross
Many jews across the diaspora experienced a universal day of loss on the 7th of October – and subsequent days afterwards. With brutal, horrifying and barbaric displays of Islamic terrorism against Jews swarming the feeds of our twitters and Instagrams, we expected the world to unilaterally withdraw in horror and disgust. Instead, the world saw crowds of people celebrating the rapes, beheadings, torture and hostage-taking, touting it as “resistance”. What follows is the year Montreal jewry has endured.
According to B'nai Brith Canada, In the year 2023, Canada has seen an uptick of 109.1% in reported antisemitic incidents. Violence is up 208% and Harassment is up 124.4% against the Jewish community in just one year alone. Moreover, only 29 police departments out of 91 contacted even followed up on B'nai Brith’s audit. Our once beautiful and respected universities and institutions alike are now riddled with so many hateful incidents that jewish groups have decided to pursue legal action. Here is a brief but comprehensive overview of the major incidents that occurred around Montreal schools and institutions:
1. After a warning from the SPVM to the Jewish community after October 7th, congregation Beth Tikvah and the Federation CJA building in the west island were firebombed in an attempted arson attack. 2. On November 9th, two Jewish day schools, United Talmud Torah and Yeshiva Gedolah, were riddled with bullets overnight. The perpetrators had one clear message to display: Jewish people should not feel safe living in Canada. 3. Later in the month, at the Startup Nation’s tabling at Concordia university, pro-Palestinian protestors began rioting, harassing, assaulting and slurring at the Jewish minority, calling them “kikes” and “dirty jews”. These students were not faced with repercussions. According to the Jerusalem Post, a UdeM professor was recorded calling a female Jewish student a “whore” and told her to “go back to Poland” in arabic. The next day, at one of the SPHR protests on McGill’s campus, the speaker celebrated these crimes and violations of conduct as a victory and that they “terrified them”. 4. On February 22nd 2024, anti-Israel protests blockaded and shut down the Bronfman building. As B'nai Brith put it “the facility is associated with one of Canada’s most prominent and most philanthropic Jewish families, the Bronfmans, whose contributions have significantly advanced the university over the past few decades”. Students and (majoritarily) external agitators chanted for an intifada against Jews worldwide and incited further violence against the zionist counter protest that had formed. Students and faculty alike were unable to access the education that they had paid for.
What have our administrations at Concordia and McGill done to combat this drastic and intense flare of extremism on our campus? It appears close to none. Concordia students have even filed an injunction against the University and president Graham Carr (listed separately), for not conforming to their own codes of conduct. These egregious incidents culminated in a nearly 4 month long encampment on McGill’s lower field, starting on April 27th 2024 and run by SPHR and its cronies. For nearly 4 months, violent posters and messaging, threats and harassments towards visibly Jewish students, and even fliers promoting resistance with masked gunmen were advertised. After countless vandalizations of McGill’s front lawn, unlawful rioting, occupation, and destruction of the James administration building, McGill finally dismantled the encampment on the 10th of July. Furthermore, McGill’s administration stated that there had been multiple overdoses and illegal drug use throughout the 4 months.
This ever increasing trend of Islamic Jihadism flooding our streets and campuses, abided and aided by radical leftists, is a disturbing and concerning one. The more our administrations, politicians and peers accept the increase in extremism, the more we head towards a theocratic dystopia akin to the Iranian revolution. A simple reminder: Khomeini’s Iran began with the infiltration of radical leftist student movements and piggybacking on criticisms of the government in power. Now, Iran has been transformed – from a profoundly erudite society, into a hellish theocratic dystopia where people are executed for exercising their most basic human rights. We also know that this axis of evil sponsors many of the radicals that contribute to the anti semitic and terroristic incidents listed above and throughout the world. The encampment was encouraged and likely sponsored by the Iranian regime. This narrative paints a bleak picture for our future. However, it is imperative we keep our wits about ourselves and do not devolve into panic. By staying calm and collected, we may protect ourselves and be prepared for any challenging times.
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