Canadians seeking to address antisemitism must consider Canadian Jewish history and the current spread of far-right views, says the director of Jewish studies at Kingston\u2019s Queen\u2019s University.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is just far too much attention to foreign politics when we talk about antisemitism in Canada and not enough focus on what\u2019s happening here in Canada,\u201d Dr. Dustin Atlas said Monday in a telephone interview.<\/p>\n
He said that lack of focus leads to \u201ctoo much emphasis on Israel or American Jewish communities and not enough on ourselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find the assumption that antisemitism is recent and exploding is extremely unhelpful to figuring out how you should deal with these things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Atlas said some Canadians, including Jewish ones, are unaware of Canadian Jewish history. He added some cite mainly the Israel-Hamas war as a cause of antisemitism or concentrate on the most recent hate crime rather than examining deeper problems.<\/p>\n
There is a tendency to view recent attacks as being the most important ones, Atlas said, \u201cand that whatever caused those is the most important cause.\u201d<\/p>\n
That view removes those hate crimes \u201cfrom a longer history of violence against Jews and other minorities in Canada,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s a problem, because you can\u2019t really address something if you can\u2019t understand its context. You\u2019re just reacting.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd in some respects \u2026 it gives the people doing these attacks far more power than they actually deserve, because it makes them central to a problem when they aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re a symptom of a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Far-right influence often overlooked<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s crazy to not think more about what is going on with right-wing violence in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDr. Dustin Atlas
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdirector of Jewish studies, Queen\u2019s University<\/p>\n
The professor said he\u2019d prefer to see people address the larger picture of antisemitism in Canada and how to improve safety.<\/p>\n
That larger picture includes an increase in far-right ideology, he said. Some Jews who come from \u201cextremely liberal communities\u201d don\u2019t recognize the issue and don\u2019t believe him when he mentions it, Atlas said.<\/p>\n
So rather than looking at the overseas war, \u201cWe need to be thinking about what\u2019s going on here.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s crazy to not think more about what is going on with right-wing violence in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
Atlas said people should be concerned by the rise of fascism in North America and he\u2019s troubled by how brazen some people have become in their hate speech or other actions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe second people stop hiding it and coming out unmasked, saying these things, that\u2019s when I started to be just shocked.\u201d Pointing to the Ku Klux Klan, a white-supremacist group, he added, \u201cEven the KKK cover their faces.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shooting heightens fears<\/p>\n
Atlas said when he learned of the Belleville shooting, \u201cmy stomach dropped.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the first time I\u2019ve ever felt worried about taking my kids out or \u2026 identifying as Jewish \u2026 and that is really a gross feeling.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt scared me \u2026 and I\u2019m not easily spooked by these sorts of things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ontario\u2019s Special Investigations Unit reported a man with the shotgun fired at a city police officer, who, along with another officer, returned fire. About 25 congregants were inside the building to observe Yom Kippur; the gunfire penetrated a stained-glass window.<\/p>\n