This weekend, two people approached a Jewish girls elementary school in Toronto and fired multiple gun shots. There was no one present at the school at the time, but the shooting will only heighten the fears of a Canadian Jewish community that has now experienced multiple shootings at schools and community centres, attacks on students, and vandalism at Jewish businesses and homes. Politicians moved quickly to issue statements condemning the incident, yet some are the same people that voted against measures to safeguard these institutions or have shown little regard for months about Canadian Jewish community concerns. Further, many supporters of recent protests, including the encampments at universities, have remained silent, presumably saving their voices for criticism of efforts to enforce campus policies to ensure that all students and faculty are safe. I recognize that many protest supporters will reject the suggestion that there is a link between recent campus protests and antisemitic violence, but to my mind, the linkage is clear. Indeed, by normalizing antisemitic speech and downplaying the safety and discrimination concerns of their Jewish colleagues and students, they have provided the fuel for the serious threats that have followed.

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