{"id":347728,"date":"2025-12-15T23:32:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T23:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/347728\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T23:32:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T23:32:09","slug":"canadas-jewish-community-shaken-after-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/347728\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada’s Jewish community shaken after attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shock and grief are being felt across Canada after the deadly attack on Australia\u2019s Bondi Beach, with members of the Jewish community already shaken by increased antisemitism, which they say they are seeing in their daily lives.<\/p>\n

At Sabra Kosher Bakery in Vancouver, owner Shimon Kahlon said he couldn\u2019t take his mind off the overnight attack and spent hours watching news coverage before opening his shop the next morning. <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t sleep all night,\u201d Kahlon said. \u201cI just watched TV and came in with sadness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"People offer hugs to each other at a floral memorial placed outside Bondi Pavilion at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, a day after the shooting. (AP Photo\/Mark Baker) People offer hugs to each other at a floral memorial placed outside Bondi Pavilion at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, a day after the shooting. (AP Photo\/Mark Baker) (Mark Baker) <\/p>\n

While the attack happened on the other side of the world, Kahlon said it reflects the new reality he is seeing in Canada, which has shifted greatly since he first opened the bakery in the early \u201890s. He said antisemitism has become more visible over the past two years, claiming his bakery has been targeted by verbal abuse and confrontations. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople come here screaming about Jews and they try to throw chairs,\u201d he said. \u201cI have a couple fights here \u2026 my wife, she holds me back,\u201d Kahlon said, describing multiple tense encounters. \u201cCanada used to be a beautiful country. Today it\u2019s not.\u201d <\/p>\n

Customers at the bakery said they too have noticed a shift. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel it here, like it\u2019s an undercurrent, but it\u2019s coming to the top,\u201d said Andrew Kay, a member of Vancouver\u2019s Jewish community. Kay said his mother came from Germany during Adolf Hitler\u2019s reign as German chancellor, and she always feared there would, some day again, be a rise in antisemitism. <\/p>\n

He sees the Australian attack as an attack on all humanity. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on in the world right now is just not very nice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"A couple lay flowers at a tribute to shooting victims outside the Bondi Pavilion at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, a day after a shooting. (AP Photo\/Mark Baker) A couple lay flowers at a tribute to shooting victims outside the Bondi Pavilion at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, a day after a shooting. (AP Photo\/Mark Baker) (Mark Baker) <\/p>\n

In Winnipeg, Rena Secter Elbaze, executive director of the city\u2019s most historic synagogue, said immediately following the attack, she felt anger. <\/p>\n

\u201cI felt they were taking our moment of joy. I didn\u2019t feel afraid, but I felt that we had to somehow get the light back, not to allow the darkness to seep in and take over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police services across the country have increased their presence around Jewish spaces and events. Vancouver police boosted security at a downtown menorah lighting Sunday, while in the Greater Toronto Area, officers set up command posts and increased patrols in Jewish neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n

\"\"Hannukah in Windsor As Hanukkah begins, about 100 people gathered Sunday night to light Windsor\u2019s tallest menorah. (Robert Lothian\/CTV News Windsor) <\/p>\n

Sarah Lefton, the chief development officer of the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, said the added police presence is welcome but stressed more must be done. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t start and stop with the police,\u201d Lefton said. \u201cWe need support from all levels of government, and we need our peers \u2014 non-Jewish friends, colleagues and allies \u2014 to step up. When one religious group is threatened, we\u2019re all threatened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanukkah celebrations are continuing across the country. Organizers say the tone may be more sombre as communities reflect on the overseas attack and ongoing safety concerns at home.<\/p>\n

Secter Elbaze said now is the time to gather as one community. <\/p>\n

\u201cCome en masse. We want you. We are going to celebrate. Our holiday will be joyful. We have many wonderful celebrations coming up in the next few days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Antisemitism in Canada Bakery store owner Shimon Kahlon (right) chatting with customer Andrew Kay. (CTV News) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shock and grief are being felt across Canada after the deadly attack on Australia\u2019s Bondi Beach, with members…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[712,49,48,44],"class_list":{"0":"post-347728","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}