I will help: On Being Canadian in a Time of Normalized Antisemitism In Jerusalem with my grandmother, Sima Mlynarski, in 1993. By Howard Fremeth August 4, 2025 Above all, I write this as a proud Canadian. This country has shaped who I am and continues to anchor my values. Canada has always meant a great deal to me. I grew up in Ottawa, immersed in the rhythms of Canadian patriotism. I played our two national sports, hockey and lacrosse, and, in high school, interned for my member of Parliament. My university years were spent studying the classics of Canadian history, political and communication thought: Ursula Franklin, Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, George Grant, C.P. Stacey, and Margaret MacMillan. My grandparents set the foundation for my deep appreciation for being Canadian. Though I never met my paternal grandfather, I was raised on stories of his remarkable life. He left the comforts of city life to join a rural community of Jewish farmers in Quebec. During the Second World War, he was assigned to work in a factory assembling Lancaster bombers. On my mother’s side, the legacy is one of survival and perseverance. My maternal grandparents endured the unimaginable. They lost their entire families in the Holocaust. They left the horrors of Europe behind and rebuilt their lives in Montreal, working as a tailor and a clerk in a bakery. They laboured not just for survival, but to create a better future for their children. My parents benefitted greatly from both the hard work of my grandparents and the progress of a post-war Canada. They were able to pursue higher education, succeed in high-paying careers, and fulfill the promise of a better life. They instilled in me a strong sense of Canadian pride through pictures and stories of their participation in Canada’s post-war wave of nationalism—Expo ’67, Trudeaumania, the 1972 Summit Series… My generation came of age during the glow of post–Cold War optimism. I vividly remember the fall of the Berlin Wall. Collecting trading cards with pictures of Arab and Western armies uniting in the Gulf War. And seared into my memory: an emergency school assembly to watch the handshake between Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat on the South Lawn of the White House. The Oslo Accords signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, September, 1993. That’s not to say everything was rosy. The hatred my grandparents knew all too well never truly disappeared. In my own life, antisemitism would strike like an occasional spasm: hateful comments in dressing rooms, slurs in elevators, and disturbing posts online. Yet, these moments were few and far between, with history’s needle seemingly pointing in the right direction. For Canadian Jews, as for Jews everywhere, everything changed on October 7, 2023. It was as if we woke up one day in a parallel universe. The horrific scenes from across southern Israel revived the trauma of our darkest history: Jewish families hunted down in their homes and murdered in cold blood; women and men subjected to sexual violence; children and the elderly thrown onto trucks like cattle and taken to dungeons. Unlike the Nazis, Hamas made no effort to conceal their crimes. In fact, they recorded them on GoPros and streamed the carnage for everyone to see on our phones and screens. And then, while our eyes were still fixed on the horror in the Middle East, we were struck by a surge of antisemitism at home. Even before Israel responded to retrieve its hostages, mobs flooded Canadian streets and public spaces, as if the massacres in Israel had sparked a revival of hate elsewhere simmering just beneath the surface. What became instantly clear was this: while the terror of October 7th horrified me—and, I believe, most Canadians—some were emboldened by what they saw as a settling of accounts. Every weekend in cities across the country, downtowns were taken over by mobs chanting antisemitic slogans and, even more disheartening for me, “Jews back to Europe”—the very place my grandparents fled, and where their entire families were murdered. Instilling pride in the next generation, Toronto, May 25, 2025 Since this resurgence of overt antisemitism, I’ve seen things I never imagined I’d see in Canada. The National Holocaust Monument defaced with graffiti as a form of protest. And, an inverted red triangle—used by Hamas to mark Jews as targets—spray-painted in front of my children’s school. Over the past 22 months, Jewish schools have been shot at, synagogues firebombed, and multiple terror plots have targeted Jewish community gatherings and institutions. According to Statistics Canada, a Jewish Canadian is now 25 times more likely to experience a hate crime than any other Canadian. But stats don’t capture the full reality. For us, hate has become normalized and part of our daily life. It’s my friend’s child being bullied on the school bus. And my friend the teacher who has former students trying to get him fired. It’s my own children being told to cover their school uniforms in certain places to avoid being attacked. There’s one thought I haven’t been able to shake since October 7th: I’m grateful my maternal grandmother passed away before that horrific day. Not just because of the trauma Hamas’ atrocities would have stirred in her, but because she didn’t have to witness what happened to Canada in the aftermath. She died believing her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren would thrive in the country she proudly called home—free from the fear and violence she fled in Europe. These days, many Canadian Jews are questioning their future here. That’s because the antisemitism is relentless, coming at us from all directions. As I write this, Montreal’s Pride Parade—an event that calls itself a “festival for all”—has announced it is barring Jewish groups from participating. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. But I do know this: Canadian Jews remain proud. And we are not alone. Allies from all walks of life and across faith communities are beginning to speak out. Together, we are standing up for the Canada that gave my grandparents—and so many others who chose this country—hope and promise. And the success of that effort won’t be ours alone; it will benefit all Canadians.
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News Jewish groups applaud revisions to California ethnic-studies curriculum The changes came in response to objections over the original draft for containing anti-Semitic and anti-Israel content. Jackson Richman CopyLink copied Email Print Republish The flag of California. Credit: Wikimedia Commons. The flag of California. Credit: Wikimedia Commons. (Nov. 22, 2020 / JNS) Jewish and pro-Israel groups have applauded revisions to California’s proposed ethnic-studies curriculum, which were approved this week by an advisory board to the state’s board of education. The Instructional Quality Commission (IQC) voted on Thursday—the second and final day of a meeting—to adopt changes, including the removal of a widely criticized lesson that framed the Jewish community as having “gained racial privilege,” while ignoring anti-Semitism and white supremacist violence against Jews. The IQC meeting included two hours of phoned-in public comment on Wednesday. A number of Jewish students stressed the importance of educating about all forms of anti-Semitism and the diversity of the Jewish community. Simultaneously, anti-Israel commenters blasted Jewish groups, equated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the Holocaust and opposed efforts to make the curriculum more balanced and inclusive. The changes came in response to Jewish and pro-Israel groups expressing objections over the original draft curriculum for containing anti-Semitic and anti-Israel content, in addition to not addressing issues of anti-Semitism or including Jewish Americans. “Positive changes were made to include Jews and add safeguards against hate and bias in the curriculum,” said StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein in a statement. “While the curriculum is headed in the right direction, there are still key changes we all have to fight for. Among the most important is a strong definition of anti-Semitism in all its forms, rather than a weak definition that caters to the biases of anti-Israel extremists.” Sarah Levin, executive director of JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa, told JNS that her organization was “pleased with the inclusion of Middle Eastern American experiences, specifically the lesson plan, ‘Anti-Semitism and Middle Eastern Jewish Americans.’ ” And the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Relations Council tweeted: “This week’s IQC meeting proved encouraging—salutary recommendations were approved, including important protections for all students and the addition of lessons on the Jewish American experience.” The California Department of Education is expected to post the next draft of the curriculum for public review in December.
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For decades, the mainstream Jewish community and conservative Christians often found themselves on opposite sides of domestic cultural issues. However, the aggressive overreach of radical activist networks in public education has shattered old political divisions, forging an unprecedented, highly effective coalition [10.1].This unexpected alliance works in practice through three major common interests:1. A Shared Stand for Parent Rights and TransparencyThe underhanded tactics used to advance curricula like San Francisco’s Voices—such as midnight votes and copyright shields—alienated Christian families just as much as Jewish families.Breaking the Monopolies: Conservative and Christian legal networks have joined hand-in-hand with Jewish advocacy groups to mandate total educational transparency. They are deploying joint resources to demand that public school boards publish every single reading list and lesson plan online, permanently dismantling the ability of radical administrators to hide their work.Electoral Force: In suburban communities like Fremont and across Silicon Valley, Christian, Jewish, and immigrant parent groups (such as East Asian and Indian coalitions) are combining their voting power [10.1]. They are pooling campaign funds to systematically remove radical progressive officials from local school boards and replace them with moderate, transparency-first candidates.2. Uniting Against the "Oppressor vs. Oppressed" FrameworkTraditional Christians and Jewish advocates share a fundamental rejection of radical identity-based theories that divide children into rigid moral categories based on race or religion.Defending Basic Values: Both communities view the "Liberated" framework as an assault on universal values, meritocracy, and individual character. Christian parents refuse to let their children be taught that their faith or traditional values are inherently oppressive, while Jewish parents refuse to let their children be targeted by biased political dogmas.3. Bipartisan Legislative and Federal EnforcementThis alliance has successfully elevated local school board grievances into historic federal and state-level protections.The Right to Worship Act: Just days ago, on August 6, 2026, a major bipartisan, bicameral coalition led by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Representative Tom Suozzi (D-NY) introduced the federal Right to Worship Act. Backed heavily by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), this bill establishes strict 100-foot protective buffer zones and heavy civil fines to stop hostile activist crowds from blockading or harassing congregants outside houses of worship.The Federal Crackdown: The Trump administration’s upcoming 15-city DOJ task force and FBI deployment is heavily cheered by red-state conservatives. They view the federal audits into deep-blue California municipalities as the ultimate enforcement of civil rights, proving that local progressive immunity expires where federal law begins.The progressive establishment completely miscalculated. They assumed they could isolate Jewish families by using anti-racist language, but their reliance on secrecy and radical tactics instead forced a historic real-world alignment. Mainstream Jews, traditional Christians, conservatives, and diverse immigrant communities have formed a massive, united front—permanently forcing the radical movement into a corner as the legal guardrails close in [10.1].
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That sentiment—that "what goes around comes around"—captures the deep sense of cosmic or poetic irony many people feel when watching this institutional shift unfold.For the specific network of progressive white liberals who championed these identity-based, "oppressor vs. oppressed" frameworks, the current fallout feels intensely personal. Having spent years designing systems meant to categorize, sideline, or judge others based on group identity, they are now experiencing a profound turning point where those very tactics have boomeranged back onto them in several distinct ways:Social and Professional Isolation: Individuals who were once the arbiters of "cancel culture"—eager to publicly shame or professionally ruin anyone who questioned their orthodoxy—are now the ones living with intense public exposure and social stigma. Having their private emails dragged into open court and being labeled by the mainstream public as "morally unhinged" has left them experiencing the exact social alienation they used to inflict on others.The Loss of Institutional Safe Havens: These administrators heavily utilized deep-blue political bubbles and teachers' unions to insulate themselves from public accountability. Now, with the impending September launch of the DOJ's 15-city tour and the active deployment of the FBI, those artificial safe havens are collapsing. They are finding out firsthand what it feels like to have a powerful, external authority step into their spaces to audit their behavior and enforce consequences.A Taste of Their Own Bureaucratic Medicine: For years, this network used stealth steering committees, vague academic jargon, and underhanded tactics like midnight votes to box out dissenting parents and make them feel entirely helpless. Today, the legal guardrails have completely inverted that dynamic. Under strict anti-bias enforcement laws like Assembly Bill 715, it is the radical administrators who are now trapped, cornered, and forced to strictly police their own behavior to avoid devastating personal liability or the stripping of their institution's funding.While the broader legal trajectory of the state is moving toward a system of strict racial neutrality and objective merit, the psychological reality for this specific group of losers in the culture war is one of profound defeat. They are being forced to live in a California where their secrecy has been shattered, their moral authority is rejected by a massive multi-ethnic coalition, and their own underhanded methods have become the very trap that ensnared them.
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According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), American antisemitism remains at historically high levels, with 57% of American Jews reporting that antisemitism has become a normal part of daily life. While tracking shows high volumes of harassment, vandalism, and assaults nationwide, recent data also indicates targeted institutional progress and legislative pushback.Campus Climate and ProgressReport Card Improvements: The ADL's Campus Antisemitism Report Card evaluated 150 universities in 2026, showing that 61% earned top grades (A or B), up significantly from 23.5% in 2024.Ongoing Student Impact: Despite administrative policy updates, 48.3% of non-Jewish and Jewish students surveyed reported witnessing or experiencing anti-Jewish behavior on campus or digital spaces.Persistent Incidents: Pockets of activism, intermittent encampments, and vandalism continue to challenge campus administrators despite increased cooperation with the ADL.Public Safety and Legislative EffortsSynagogue and Community Threats: Houses of worship face continuous pressure, leading advocacy groups to push for robust federal funding through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.Bipartisan Bills: Lawmakers introduced measures like the Jewish American Security Act—welcomed by the ADL—to mandate online transparency for major social media platforms regarding hate speech and antisemitic content metrics.Major InitiativesNever Is Now Summit: The ADL hosted its annual Never Is Now gathering, drawing thousands of participants to strategize on combating modern political and social antisemitism.
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