LILLEY: Canada's failed covenant is leading to quiet Jewish exodus
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We are witnessing the beginning stages of a new Jewish exodus, not from Egypt and slavery, but from Canada’s rising antisemitism. There are the high-profile cases like bestselling author and professor Gad Saad or Dr. Emmanuel Moss, the chief heart surgeon at the Montreal Jewish General Hospital.
For every high-profile case, there are many more quiet conversations around family dinner tables questioning whether Canada is welcoming or even safe for Jews anymore.
Saad is leaving Montreal, the city his family fled to from Lebanon in 1975. He simply doesn’t feel safe, is under constant threat and is moving with his family to Mississippi, where he will take up a role with a university there.
Dr. Moss, who grew up in Montreal and built his career there, is taking up a position in Atlanta, Ga. Writing recently in the Montreal Gazette , he said that his reasons for leaving are multi-faceted, including an incredible career opportunity. Antisemitism played a role in his decision.
“When a community starts to feel unsafe in a city it has helped build, something has gone seriously wrong,” Moss wrote.
This is what comes from nearly three years of rising and rampant antisemitism that exploded after the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks on Israel. Yes, Hamas launched an attack that killed the most Jews in a single day since the holocaust, including eight Canadians, and before Israel ever responded, antisemitism was filing Canada’s streets.
Weak political response
The political response to shootings and arson at synagogues, Jewish schools and community centres has been weak to non-existent. Last week, Prime Miniter Mark Carney stood in Toronto’s Holy Blossom Temple and acknowledged the depth of the problem.
“The horror and shame are global,” Carney said. “Our actions must be local. They start with clearly admitting that Canada’s civic compact is failing Jewish Canadians.”
While Carney admitted there is a problem that we have all watched grow over these past years, he offered no solutions. His call for a DEI committee, which includes members connected to pro-Palestinian ideals , to look at antisemitism along with other social ills fell short to say the least.
Talia Klein Leighton is one of the leaders of the group Canadian Women Against Antisemitism. They are involved in education and advocacy for the community and she told me during the latest episode of the Full Comment Podcast that she wants to stay and fight for the Jewish community, but admits it is getting harder.
She said the conversation about leaving Canada came up with her husband again after Carney’s speech.
“After the speech, he looked at me and he said, ‘Okay, maybe we wait for our youngest to finish high school and then it’s time to go,’ she said, adding that they keep a short list of places to move to including locations like Florida, Texas and Israel.
None of this shocks Michael Sachs, who made the move with his family from the Vancouver area to Tulsa, Oklahoma last year. He now works with the Jewish Federation of Tulsa and a group called Tulsa Tomorrow that is taking Canadians on exploratory trips to move there.
“They brought down I think over 50 Canadians in March and they had a whole weekend here,” Sachs said in a recent interview. “I just heard from Tulsa Tomorrow the other day that they have I think over 50 more people coming and they have a wait list.”
Moving on due to safety concerns
Canadian Jews are now moving or considering moving to Oklahoma, Georgia and Mississippi because they don’t feel safe or welcome here.
That should tell us something.
Amir Epstein heads up the grassroots community group Tafsik. He said during Full Comment, that “there is an exodus building. And I promise, Brian, the moment there’s gonna be that terrorist attack that’s gonna lead to actual death, you’re gonna see thousands of people pick up and leave.”
Epstein has already made several trips to Panama with Canadian Jews looking to move and there are more trips planned.
Canada is not emptying of Jews. We still have the fourth largest Jewish population in the world. But something important has changed.
The real story isn’t who has left. It’s how many are quietly starting to wonder if they should.