CIJA calls for more power and resources for police to protect Jews ahead of federal budget - National Post

Copy URL Facebook Linked In X (Twitter) Loading account options Sign In Manage Account Close account menu Sign Out Noah Shack, CEO at Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) speaks during a press conference with survivors of the Yom Kippur shooting attack targeting Belleville's Sons of Jacob Synagogue at West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (HYUNGCHEOL PARK / Postmedia) By Christopher Nardi November 2, 2026 at 3:12 p.m. OTTAWA — A leading Jewish group is asking the federal government to boost police and intelligence agencies’ abilities to fight antisemitic crimes as a Liberal MP says there is still more work to be done to protect Canadian Jews.

Speaking to reporters before the Liberals table their 2026 budget on Thursday, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs head Noah Shack called on the government to ensure proper funding for counter-radicalization programs to stem the rapid rise of antisemitism in Canada.

“The common thread among youth in particular who are susceptible to violent extremism, the common thread across all the different ideological vectors, is conspiracy theories and hate towards Jews,” Shack said Monday.

“We know that in confronting antisemitism, we are getting at the root of a larger problem, or at least a significant manifestation of a larger problem,” he added.

On Sept. 20, a gunman fired at police officers stationed outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ont., while congregants met inside for Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Reports state that the assailant opened fire on police constables Jeff Smith and Michael McCurdy while yelling “you are going to die for the Jews.”

The shooting was the latest in a rising number of antisemitic violent attacks against Jewish individuals or their meeting spaces across Canada.

Shack was accompanied on Parliament Hill on Monday with Douglas Lobel and Shima Vigodda, two survivors of the shooting last month at the Sons of Jacob Synagogue.

“For those of us at the synagogue on Yom Kippur, though we were shocked at what occurred, none of us were surprised. I hope that what occurred in Belleville is a wake-up call as to just how high the stakes are at the moment,” said Vigodda, vice-president of Sons of Jacob Congregation.

In a memo to Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree on Oct. 22, CIJA called on the government to further invest and expand “Charter-compliant” powers of the RCMP and CSIS in order to fight antisemitism and radicalization.

Shack also called on the Liberals to renew and reform the government’s National Strategy on Countering Radicalization to Violence.

“Antisemitism has become the glue by which different extremist ideologies, from far-left radicals to neo-Nazis and Islamists come together,” Shack noted.

Liberal MP Chris Malette, who represents the riding containing Belleville and lives just two blocks from the synagogue, said there is proof that the government’s recent changes to anti-hate speech legislation are working.

“Do I agree that more needs to be done? Absolutely,” said Malette, assuring that the government was listening to the Jewish community’s concerns.

“I’m confident that that we can help adjust our security systems and our legislation to meet the changing realities and severity and the seriousness of the threats against our faith communities, because we’re seeing it at unseen levels,” he added.

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