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Over a tense weekend in Toronto, two synagogues became targets of gunfire, shaking the local Jewish community. Just days prior, another synagogue had been fired upon with approximately twenty shots during the observance of Purim, a significant Jewish holiday.
Thankfully, no injuries were reported in these unsettling incidents. However, the frequency and audacity of such attacks have prompted urgent calls for decisive measures from Prime Minister Mark Carney. Members of the Jewish community are no longer content with expressions of sympathy; they are demanding tangible actions to address and curb the surge in antisemitic violence.
Prime Minister Carney responded to the situation through a statement on X, condemning the attacks as “antisemitic and criminal.” He emphasized that these acts not only threaten the safety of Canadian Jews but also strike at the core values shared by all Canadians.
Amidst this unsettling climate, Israel’s National Security Council issued a warning to its citizens abroad, urging them to remain vigilant and adopt safety measures. The advisory recommended that Israelis avoid displaying Jewish or Israeli symbols publicly, stay alert in areas associated with Jewish or Israeli activities, and steer clear of locations known for their Jewish or Israeli affiliations.
The recent attacks, including the incident at Temple Emanu-El in Toronto on March 3, 2026, demonstrate a worrying trend of hostility that requires urgent attention and action from both local leaders and international allies.
On X, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that “all eyes are on Canada: it’s time to halt the unprecedented wave of Jew-hatred that has erupted since October 7th.”
Anti-Israel demonstrators gather outside Union Station during a rally in Toronto, Ontario on Jan. 4, 2024. (Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Like many Western countries, Canada has seen a marked rise in annual antisemitic incidents since the Hamas terror attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The League for Human Rights B’nai Brith Canada found that there were 6,219 incidents of antisemitism in Canada in 2024. This constituted an average of 17 incidents per day, more than double the eight incidents per day calculated in 2022.
While figures for 2025 have yet to be released, Public Safety Canada noted that from April to June 2025, “Among hate crimes targeting religion… the majority were directed at the Jewish community (69%).”
Conservative MP Roman Baber, said the behavior of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and other liberal Canadian politicians have been “adding fuel to the fire of Jew hatred in Canada.”
Baber aimed further criticism at Carney, saying, “When the Prime Minister on the campaign trail says he knows there is genocide in Gaza, he engages in Jew hatred.”
General view of Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue in Thornhill, north of Toronto, Ontario. The place of worship was one of three synagogues attacked in early March 2026.
Baber was referring to an event in April 2025 during which a heckler yelled over a bustling crowd that “there is a genocide happening in Gaza.” Carney responded, “I’m aware, that’s why we have an arms embargo.”
Carney later said that he did not hear the heckler use the term “genocide.”
Baber noted that “when the Prime Minister recognized the Palestinian state, he rewarded the brutality of Hamas, and he did so on the eve of Rosh Hashanah.”
In his announcement, released the day prior to the Jewish holiday, Carney claimed that recognizing “the State of Palestine, led by the Palestinian Authority, empowers those who seek peaceful coexistence and the end of Hamas,” and “in no way legitimizes terrorism, nor is it any reward for it.” He also claimed recognition “in no way compromises Canada’s steadfast support for the State of Israel, its people, and their security.”
Anti-Israel protesters gather outside the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue on March 7, 2024. The place of worship was one of three synagogues shot at in the first week of March 2026. (Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Watchdog organization StopAntisemitism told Fox News Digital that “every day we are seeing painful reminders that antisemitism remains a real and dangerous threat. Acts of violence meant to intimidate or silence our community will not succeed. Loud and proud Jews will not allow hatred or fear to deter our Jewish way of life or our presence in the world. Not in Canada, in the United States, in Europe, and certainly not in Israel.”
StopAntisemitism called for the perpetrators to “be punished to the fullest extent of the law so that justice is served and deterrence is clear.”