OP-ED: Canada’s antisemitism crisis will not end until Canadians stop looking away

"Canada will not reverse the growth of antisemitism until its institutions apply their principles consistently."

Author: Dotan Rousso

A government-commissioned report published by the federal government on Aug. 5 should deeply trouble Canadians. Campus Antisemitism and Student Experiences draws on a survey conducted between November 17 and December 19, 2025. Researchers received 1,038 responses from Jewish postsecondary students and recent graduates, retaining 900 after eligibility and data-quality screening. Participants were recruited through Jewish student organizations and community networks, so the findings are descriptive rather than statistically representative of every Jewish student in Canada. Nevertheless, the results are staggering: 95.7 percent experienced or witnessed at least one form of antisemitism during the previous year; 70 percent believed their institution did not take antisemitism seriously; 72 percent limited what they said in class about being Jewish; and 57 percent avoided displaying Jewish symbols because of safety concerns.

Canadian Jews do not need a government report to tell them that something has changed. They encounter it in their workplaces, neighborhoods, schools and universities, and increasingly understand that displaying their identity or expressing any connection to Israel may expose them to hostility. The people who most need to consider this report are non-Jewish Canadians, because it indicates that Canada is gradually but unmistakably becoming a more hostile place for Jews.

This development represents more than the failure to protect one minority. It reflects the erosion of principles that shaped Canadian society for decades: pluralism, equality before the law, respect for minorities and the conviction that individuals should not be intimidated because of their identity. Canada has long presented itself as a country in which minorities can live openly without being required to apologize for who they are. When Jewish students conceal their Stars of David, censor themselves in classrooms or consider abandoning their studies, that promise is being broken.

Part of the explanation lies in the selective application of liberal values by universities and other institutions. In the name of tolerance, they have tolerated conduct that is profoundly intolerant. Hatred has been reframed as activism, intimidation excused as protest, and the targeting of Jews defended as criticism of Israel, even when Jewish students are pressured to denounce Zionism, excluded from organizations or treated as representatives of a foreign government.

Criticism of Israel, including severe criticism, is not inherently antisemitic and must remain protected expression. Freedom of speech, however, does not provide immunity from criticism or consequences, nor does it create a right to threaten, harass or discriminate. Universities must enforce their existing rules consistently. Conduct that would be condemned if directed against another minority should not become acceptable merely because its targets are Jewish or Zionist.

Institutions, however, did not fail in isolation. Antisemitic narratives have become increasingly normalized because too many Canadians have remained silent, looked away or decided that confronting them is somebody else’s responsibility. That silence assures those spreading hatred that their conduct will carry little social cost and that Jewish Canadians will largely be left to defend themselves.

Ordinary Canadians therefore have a role that cannot be delegated to governments, university administrators or Jewish organizations. When a friend, colleague or classmate expresses antisemitic ideas, those ideas should be challenged. When someone circulates material demonizing Jews, others should make clear that such conduct is unacceptable. This does not require suppressing legitimate debate or engaging in harassment; it requires refusing to normalize racism through polite silence.

The central lesson of this report is that passivity is no longer morally defensible. Canada will not reverse the growth of antisemitism until its institutions apply their principles consistently and its citizens demonstrate that anti-Jewish hatred, regardless of the political language used to disguise it, will not be socially accepted.