It's no secret that there have been attacks on Jewish schools and synagogues in Canada - B'nai Brith Canada has compiled a list of 18 such attacks since early November last year, however it might define them - and these seem to be genuine antisemitic attacks (or, to a use a more useful term, anti-Jew), rather than just anti-Israel. Despite repeated protestations from politicians that "this is not who we are", it apparently is who who we are, or at least a tiny unrepresentative minority of us.
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, self-appointed upholder of all things Jewish in today's Canadian Parliament, is calling for specific responses and protections for Jewish people and their institutions in Canada - the creation of policed safe zones around Jewish schools and synagogues, the recognition of Samidoum and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp as terrorist organizations, and some changes to the Criminal Code. And, given the political climate and the all-consuming fear of being labelled antisemitic, he will probably get them. And perhaps that is right.
Where things get slightly problematic, though, is when one minority group gets too much preferential treatment. Squeaky wheels are one thing, but the oil needs to be spread across the whole vehicle fairly. So, how much attention should the beleaguered Jewish community receive, at the potential expense of the beleaguered Muslim community (which has been experiencing this kind of opprobrium for many years now). Or the LGBTQ community? Or the Black or Indigenous communities?
It's really hard to complain about Housefather's demands, but there is a potential for favouritism here. Just sayin'.
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