Anti-Semitism Reigns in the U.S. and Canada
The polls have spoken: It’s still not safe to be Jewish in North America. The Anti-Defamation League’s recent poll found that among Jewish Americans, “63 percent of respondents have either experienced or heard anti-Semitic comments, slurs, or threats targeting others,” according to The Times of Israel. Last year that number sat at 54 percent in the United States. Nine percent of respondents reported being physically attacked for their Jewish identity in the past five years.
Meanwhile, Jewish people suffered higher rates of hate crimes than any other group in Canada in 2020. In 2019 there were 1,946 police-reported hate crimes, 608 of which targeted religion. Nearly 50 percent (296) of those crimes against religion targeted Jewish Canadians, while the number for Muslims was 10 percent, and Catholics and other religions each comprised 3 percent, according to Israel Hayom. The total number of crimes against Jewish Canadians actually decreased by 20 percent from 2018; yet the Jewish community, which only makes up 1 percent of Canada’s population, was the target of 17 percent of police-reported hate crimes.
It’s still unbelievable to me that people can claim the Jewish people don’t suffer today when the truth and the numbers to prove it clearly say otherwise. The U.S. and Canada often pride themselves on their unbiased treatment of all, yet these reports show the Jewish people repeatedly getting the short end of the stick. Remember that your Jewish friends face danger today, pray for their safety when you think of them, and take advantage of any opportunity you have to speak up for them when they face persecution!
