Antisemitism has been front and centre in Montreal news the last two weeks.
First, chief heart surgeon Emmanuel Moss at the Jewish General Hospital cited rising antisemitism as one of the reasons for accepting a new position in the United States.
That was followed by a firebombing Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom synagogue in Westmount, where one suspect was arrested with a walkie-talkie.
So when Projet Montréal announced its plan to bring a motion to council Monday condemning Israel for “genocide” of Palestinians, The Gazette’s Allison Hanes suggested the timing risked inflaming social tensions.
Rising antisemitism isn’t an issue exclusive to Montreal. Prime Minister Mark Carney called it “specific, it’s severe, and it demands a targeted response,” naming Montreal MP Marc Miller to chair an antisemitism council.
Another longtime MP familiar with the file, Anthony Housefather, along with CRARR founder and executive director Fo Niemi, joined hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand on this week’s episode of The Corner Booth at Snowdon Deli to discuss not only antisemitism, but rising hate in general, including a racist rally in Shawinigan.
Aaron Rand and Bill Brownstein chat with Fo Niemi and Anthony Housefather, right, on The Corner Booth at the Snowdon Deli in Montreal on Friday, June 12, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
The MP for Mount Royal said it wasn’t the city’s place to weigh in on international issues and Projet’s motion would “trigger hate and make Jews feel uncomfortable in Montreal.
“ It is horrifying to me that when there is so much hate against Jews in this country, and the prime minister has just said it’s a national crisis, that Projet Montréal seems to think it’s a good idea to demand the boycott of the only Jewish majority state in the world,” Housefather said.
“ I certainly hope that they will manage to defeat this or get it off the agenda on Monday.”
“ It’s more blatant, it’s more visible, it’s more present online,” Niemi said of rising hate. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
Niemi, who as the founder of CRARR has devoted his life to combatting racism, warned the rally in Shawinigan is a sign hate is growing everywhere.
“ I think that we have to be very conscious of the growing phenomenon,” Niemi said.
“ It’s more blatant, it’s more visible, it’s more present online, and we need to have an effective strategy, an effective means to respond, to combat it, to contain it.
”When you see polls showing that high school students are becoming more masculinist, anti-feminist, more homophobic, those are the indicators that there’s something going on there. People that are not being taught about the values of our democracy and equality, respect for diversity and difference.”
The Corner Booth is also available on The Gazette’s YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts and on Spotify.