The political response to terrorist attacks – particularly those involving antisemitism – now follow a fairly standard formula relying on a word salad of expressing sadness, assurances that the government stands with the Jewish community, and affirmations that antisemitism has no place in [insert country/province/city here]. While those comments often ring hollow, it is the frequent claims of “shock” that I find most disingenuous. In the aftermath of this weekend’s horrific Chanukah Massacre in Bondi Beach, Australia that left 15 dead including a Chabad rabbi, a holocaust survivor, ten-year old child and many others, you simply cannot claim to be shocked that such an incident would occur. Yet there is the Guardian reporting “communities express shock”, while EU President Ursula von der Leyen, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Lydon, and Norway Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere all say they were shocked by the attack.
A terror attack in which a father and son reloaded their guns repeatedly taking aim at innocent people simply celebrating a Jewish holiday at the beach should shock. However, if you’ve been paying any attention since October 7th, these attacks feel not shocking but inevitable. In Australia, the Chanukah Massacre was preceded by an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue last year as part of thousands of antisemitic incidents over the past two years. The same is true for many other countries such as the killings in Boulder, Colorado and at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington in the U.S. and murders at a synagogue in Manchester, UK on Yom Kippur earlier this year. In Canada, the list of antisemitic incidents is too large to catalogue: stabbing at a grocery store, repeated shootings at schools and community centres, and vandalism at synagogues are all part of the hate crime reports to law enforcement in which Jews are by far the most frequent target.
What is shocking is no longer the antisemitic violence, but the willingness of so many to ignore or justify it. It is the ease with which otherwise progressive voices remain silent when the targets of racism or exclusion are Jews. It is those that profess to believe all women except when they are Jewish. It is those that shrug at the Jewish reality of a regular police presence at community schools and synagogues. It is those who actively participate in events that leave Jews feeling unsafe or declare they have a moral obligation to exclude those that believe in the right of Israel to exist. It is those that deride antisemitism statistics or efforts to make sense of antisemitism in Canada as propaganda. It is those that stand by as protesters enter residential neighbourhoods to strike fear in Jews where they live. It is the politicians that somehow can’t find time in their schedule to attend Jewish community events or oppose legislative reforms such as bubble zones designed to provide much needed safeguards. It is the colleagues that liken Zionists to Nazis and the unions that have given up any pretense of treating their Jewish members fairly. And it is those that spread Jewish hate by routinely spreading libels under the guise of anti-Zionism.
If October 7th shocked Israelis, post-October 7th has shocked World Jewry. That shock continues with a palpable sense of betrayal, disgust at the complicity of leaders that regularly disregard their community only to express the phoniest of solidarity when the inevitable terror attacks occur, and fear that the violent calls to “globalize the intifada” that too often ring on our streets and campuses could mean their community is next.
Not shocking that after two years of Israel killing 20 kids a day there is violent blowback to diaspora Jewish communities.
It is those that stand by as protesters enter residential neighbourhoods to strike fear in Jews where they live.
No war, no government, no foreign policy turns a 10-year-old Jewish child in Australia or Canada into a legitimate target. Calling antisemitic violence “blowback” is a sick rhetorical trend trying to make intimidation and violence against Jews sound reasonable or inevitable. That is the oldest antisemitic scapegoating “logic” there is.
You wouldn’t say Black or Muslim civilians deserve attacks because of actions by states they don’t control. Don’t say it about Jews
There is something seriously wrong with users or bots like “Stoparabhate” with the compulsion to repeatedly comment on this blog to rationalize hate and violence against Jews
And it’s impossible to miss the irony: “StopArabHate” isn’t actually concerned about hate. Their username isn’t StopHate. It’s definitely not StopJewHate. It’s StopArabHate making excuses for antisemitism over and over and over again
And it’s because of the prevalence of toxic or broken people like that that I’m no longer shocked, unfortunately
Denying that the genocide going on in Gaza by a state claiming to speak for world Jewry with the apparent support of a great number of diaspora Jews is going to cause a rise in anti-semitism ultimately leading to violence like Bondi is just poor thinking and denial of human nature. It’s not about rationalizing anti semitism but rather understanding what drives it. Standing with a genocidal ethnostate makes some people unhappy and leads a fringe minority to violence.
The true irony is people denying that we live in a global village where the crimes of Israel sadly impact diaspora Jewish people.
Perhaps you should look up Nakam!
Where did I say they deserve the attacks or that the targets were legit? One can understand motivations without endorsing them.
Stop lying you sad broken excuse for a human being.
For context, here is a sampling of past comments from “Stoparabhate,” in their own words:
Geist wrote “the most important story this year for me and the Jewish community was the relentless rise of antisemitism in Canada…”
Stoparabhate replied: “Stop the genocide and stop whining about supposedly rising anti semitism”
Geist wrote “the rise in antisemitism has become too pronounced to ignore”
Stoparabhate replied: “Gaza Genocide asshole”
Another commenter calls their hostility toward Jews and Israel
Stoparabhate replied: “You poor ignorant delusional racist nitwit”
and “I reply to this nonsense to expose the real problem in Canada; dipshit ignorant racists like you and Michael Geist”
Another commenter writes how “some folks get auto-triggered by articles about antisemitism and reflexively and predictably vent about Israel, like a broken record stuck on repeat. When the flaws in their causal reasoning are pointed out, they simply deny, deflect, and double down”
Stoparabhate replied: “As I stated earlier human animals like you deserve no respect; just derision and contempt”
These comments (and more) speak for themselves
There is no good-faith argument her: only hostility, fully on the record. Anyone serious about opposing hate should want no association with this. Anyone who genuinely cares about a better world should be distancing themselves from this
The truth hursts I suppose.
You just don’t like it!
All your nonsense aside what about the genocide in Gaza? How do you think it impacts relations between Jewish and nonJewish Canadians? Given Canadian Jews generally seem to be pretty pro Israel after two years of genocide ….
Any thoughts on the Quebec mosque massacre? Why did it not elicit the global media outrage that Bondi did?
How about a member of Honest Reporting Canada stenciling “Fuck Gaza” across Queen Street East and receiving barely a judicial slap on the wrist for such?
Please keep up the whining!