Thank you. Good morning.

On October 7, life completely changed for Canadian Jews not simply because Israel had been the victim yet again of terrorist brutalities directed against helpless citizens, but because almost immediately and before a single Israeli soldier set foot in Gaza, on Canadian streets and campuses, faculty members and students, union leaders and known jihadists celebrated and glorified Hamas's barbarities.

The murdered included Israeli Canadian Vivian Silver, a well-respected peace activist involved, amongst other things, in ferrying children from Gaza to Israeli hospitals.

What perversity of ideology, human behaviour, and appalling ignorance explains the glorification and martyrdom of those who rape women, torture, behead and burn Jews alive—and in Canada—or of those who brag about how many Jews they've slaughtered?

Canadian Jews, I can tell you, are depressed, angry, frustrated and puzzled by the normalization of hatred directed against them.

Don't tell Canadian Jews that these are isolated instances of hate, when large numbers of protesters march behind a banner that says, “By any means necessary” with a picture of a weapon being brandished.

Don't tell Jews that there's a benign interpretation of “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free,” language that mirrors that of a genocidal, Jew-hating, jihadist terrorist organization, especially when just two days ago, a large march on Toronto's streets included not only the responsive chanting of that phrase, but also “The only solution is intifada revolution”; “We don't want two states. Bring us back to 1948,” and the chanting of Sinwar's name, Hamas's leading war criminal.

Don't tell Jews this isn't about anti-Semitism or that it's only about protected speech when students and radicalized faculty say that all Zionists are evil, that all Zionists are racist, that all Zionists are genocidal. The vast majority of Jews are Zionist and many of us are pro-Palestinian.

I believe without a trace of humility perhaps that I've done more as an advocate to advance the rights of Palestinians than any of the people who are protesting in the way that I've described.

Don't tell Jews that their children are safe in their schools and universities. Read, for example, the shocking brief of Ottawa Against Antisemitism. In public schools, teachers are erasing Israel from the map and replacing it with Palestine. Students are giving presentations praising Hitler's leadership, saying he only failed because he didn't finish the job. A student at a graduation ceremony changed the indigenous land acknowledgement by blaming Jews for killing all her people—the principal didn't feel this was problematic. Some students play “choke the Jew”, while others are threatened with a knife, shoved to the muddy floor of a yellow school bus, told to taste what their grandparents tasted in the Holocaust and told by their teachers to just let it go.

Don't tell Jewish women that they are safe on campuses. Read the equally shocking brief of Canadian Women Against Antisemitism, who experienced the worst forms of misogynistic Jew hatred: “Zionist whore”, “fucking child abuser for having Zionist babies”, “Rich Jewish bitch, you ought to be raped.” These are from TMU students.

Don't tell Canadian Jews that these are isolated instances. The data shows the opposite.

I'm speaking to you in my personal capacity as someone who has combatted anti-Semitism and other forms of hate, including anti-Black, anti-LGBTQ, anti-indigenous and, indeed, anti-Muslim hate, for almost 40 years. However, I also invited over 40 groups, organizations and individuals who are deeply concerned about anti-Semitism to come together in an alliance combatting campus anti-Semitism to share their experience and expertise and recommendations with you. They all responded.

You'll read the perspectives of indigenous people, Muslims, Catholics, teachers, students at all levels, doctors, lawyers, faculty, academics, a media monitor, community NGOs, extremism experts and those who are working with me on a national respectful dialogue on campus between Muslims and Jews.

I'll conclude the oral comments by saying, I've identified for you, trying to draw together everything you've heard, 10 reasons overt anti-Semitism is so pervasive in Canada.

I hope those will be of assistance to you as well as 14 concrete recommendations to address that anti-Semitism.