Over the past several weeks, triggered by the anti-Israel movement, the Jewish community of Toronto has faced an unprecedented and frightening upsurge in antisemitism which has taken the form of physical violence as well as online hate.

Ve’ahavta stands firmly in our support of the State of Israel’s right to exist and we stand firmly against hate directed at all people, including the Jewish people.

Drawing on the Jewish values of justice, truth and respect that informs the work that we do, we implore all of our community members to continue to work toward peace and respectful discourse. We call on all people to speak out against hatred and to draw a clear line between criticism of a country and its policies and hatred directed towards a people.

The Jewish people are resilient and, as we have done for generations, we will continue to contribute meaningfully to Canadian society through our good works.