A Definition That Meets the Moment: Federal Government Recognizes Antisemitism Includes Anti-Zionism

Ministers report on Commitments to Combat Antisemitism 2026

Ottawa – Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety, and Sean Fraser, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada (ministers), issued the following statement: “The safety and inclusion of Jewish communities remain a priority for the Government of Canada. No one should face harassment, intimidation, threats, or violence because of their identity, faith, or community. We strongly condemn acts of ... The post Ministers present report on…

Criticism For Canada's Conflation Of Anti-Zionism With Anti-Semitism

The Canadian government's subscription to a growing trend of conflation between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism has attracted controversy from Independent Jewish Voices, a grassroots advocacy group that calls for Palestinian liberation.

A Definition That Meets the Moment: Federal Government Recognizes Antisemitism Includes Anti-Zionism

Public Safety Canada released its summer progress report on the National Commitments to Combat Antisemitism yesterday, days after the Yom Kippur attack on the Sons of Jacob synagogue in Belleville. Most of the report tracks activities related to police training, funding programs, and provincial initiatives. But what makes the report consequential is the government’s clear recognition in a pair of statements that antisemitism includes anti-Zionism. The statements are sure to attract criticism in some quarters, but anti-Zionism is too often thinly veiled antisemitism, as if substituting the word Zionist for Jew renders the unacceptable acceptable. Given the rising antisemitic violence, culminating in this week’s terror attack, combatting antisemitism requires definitions that safeguard the Jewish community while remaining consistent with protecting freedom of expression. The government’s approach, which relies on a definition of antisemitism based on the lived reality of the Jewish community, does just that.