A Jewish advocacy organization says it’s alarmed by Canadians’ views on Israel’s right to exist and increasing speech inciting violence towards Jewish-Canadians.
A new poll from Innovative Research Group measuring Canadians’ attitudes towards Israeli and Palestinian statehood, protests and encampments, and more found that 57% of Canadians support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, with 13% opposed and 30% unsure. Support for Palestinian statehood also stands at 57%, with 14% in opposition and 29% unsure.
The poll also found that 77% of Canadians oppose allowing speech that calls for violence against Jews, with 9% in favour and 15% indicating “don’t know.” The same results are mirrored for speech calling for violence against Muslims.
B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish advocacy and human rights organization, told True North it is concerned that Israel’s right to exist is a controversial issue in Canada.
“The figures captured in the recent survey are alarming,” said Rich Robertson, B’nai Brith’s director of research and advocacy.
“Supporting the right of the Jewish people to have a state in their ancestral homelands should not be a controversial opinion. The Jewish people have the same right to self determination as any other indigenous peoples.”
Robertson was particularly concerned that a considerable number of Canadians did not indicate opposition to allowing speech that incites violence against Jews.
“The notion that 24 percent of those surveyed were in support of or were unsure of if they supported the use of violent speech against Jewish persons is incredibly concerning. Antisemitism, violence, and hate speech have no place in Canadian society and are an affront to Canadian values.”
Politicians, journalists, and advocacy organizations have noted an alarming rise of antisemitism in Canada after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against Israeli civilians.
As True North’s Elie Cantin-Nantel had reported, pro-Palestinian encampments have become hotbeds of antisemitism, with Jews being targetted and called slurs, flaunting of Hamas insignia, and calls for “intifada.”
The aforementioned poll found that a plurality of Canadians oppose pro-Palestinian encampments on university campuses that do not interfere with scholarly activities, with 37% opposed, 31% in support, and 33% unsure or neutral.
Pro-Palestinian protests that disrupt scholarly activities, such as building occupations, are opposed by 63% of Canadians, with 14% in support and 24% either neutral or unsure.
Net support for pro-Israel encampments and building occupations are slightly lower, though no such encampments or occupations are known to exist.
Last month, several university presidents were ridiculed in front of the parliamentary justice committee for insufficiently addressing antisemitism on their campuses.