Richard Marceau, senior vice president and general counsel for the Ottawa-based Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), said: “I think the attack tells us that the promise of Canada has been broken.
“The commitment that Canada is a country where Jews could live securely, openly, as Jews, is not held any more.
“It should not be normal for any Jewish community to have to go through airport-level security to go to school, or visit a community centre or a synagogue.”
Richard Marceau (Image: Facebook)[Missing Credit]
Simon Wolle, B'nai Brith Canada's chief executive, said: "This is not the Canada we know. Sadly, hatred has been given a home here in recent years. What happened in Belleville has shaken our community to its core, although we are, unfortunately, not surprised.
"Jewish Canadians, like all Canadians, deserve to live in peace without this constant fear of violence, hate and intimidation.
"Canada has failed to stop the surge in hate that has accelerated throughout the country since October 7, 2023. There are dangerous and, as we saw in Belleville, potentially catastrophic consequences, had it not been for the heroism of the local police. In that sense, the promise that Canada represents – stability, safety, pluralism, and multicultural tolerance – has failed the Jewish community.”
Wolle said, however, that Jews in Canada refused to live in fear: "We will neither cower. Canada's Jewish community, and all communities that stand for Canada’s historical values, will stand strong and united in the face of this hatred. Canada is our home and we are here to stay.”
Rabbi Steve Wernick of Beth Tzedec Congregation of Toronto, the largest congregation in Canada and the largest Conservative congregation in the world, said: “We are feeling insecure, to say the least, and we are taking strategic steps to address the security issues.
“But we’re not going to be really secure until the governmental leaders and the civil leaders wake up to what’s going on and understand how antisemitism has now morphed itself into anti-Zionism.
On the question of whether Jews had a future in Canada, he said: “I think it’s too early to tell. I think Canada has been very good to the Jewish community and I for one am not willing to give up on it.
“I think there is a lot of work to be done, and there are a lot of allies that are coming to our aid and support – but there’s not yet enough. As the prime minister himself said in a speech he gave to the Jewish community a couple of months back, antisemitism is a Canadian problem and until all of Canada starts dealing with it, it’s not going to get better.”
Police car outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Ontario, Canada (Image: X/ Frum TikTok)[Missing Credit]
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis saluted the courage of the police officer who was severely wounded protecting Sons of Jacob synagogue.
The suspect, who was named by police as Sean Ward, 29, from the nearby town of Quinte West, was said to have approached the building with a gun.
According to the synagogue’s president, Norm Weddum, people inside had to duck as the building was sprayed with bullets, many of which went straight through the stained glass windows.
Police officer Jeff Smith, who had been assigned to protect the synagogue throughout the service, was parked outside and engaged in a gunfight with Ward. Another officer also arrived at the scene to help.
Smith was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
