For professor Gad Saad, a Jew who was born in Lebanon but whose family escaped the Lebanese civil war of the 1970s and moved to Montreal, recent developments in Canada remind him of the country he left behind.
A troubling surge in antisemitism has hit Montreal with particular ferocity.
According to the Toronto Sun, Montreal now records the highest number of antisemitic hate crimes of any city in North America.
Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in Israel, antisemitic incidents in Canada have spiked by a staggering 670%. Canadian Jews, who represent only 1.4% of the population, have borne the brunt of 70% of religious-based hate crimes during this period.
Montreal has witnessed alarming acts of violence: Jewish schools have been targeted by gunfire, and universities like Concordia have become hotbeds of anti-Jewish harassment. For Jewish professors, the environment has become so hostile that some, including myself, have taken unpaid leave and relocated elsewhere.
Last week, violent protests in Montreal escalated, marked by shattered storefronts, smoke bombs, and torched cars. The tension reached a chilling apex when a café owner near the Jewish General Hospital was caught on camera voicing genocidal hate against Jews.
The roots of this hatred stem from three primary sources: Islamic-based extremism, ultra-right neo-Nazism, and the academic left, which propagates narratives framing Jews as colonizers oppressing Palestinians. In Montreal, Islamic extremism and academic hostility have been particularly prominent.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's responses have further fueled concerns. Despite serious antisemitic incidents, he has often emphasized combating Islamophobia, as seen after shootings at Jewish schools last year. Remarkably, while Montreal burned last week, Trudeau attended a Taylor Swift concert, leaving many questioning his leadership amid this escalating crisis.
* The New York Post contributed to this article.
