Letters: 'We knew this was coming' - National Post

Bullet holes are seen in a stained glass window at the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ont., after a shooting that left a police officer seriously injured and the suspect dead on Sept. 20, on the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Photo by Courtesy of Doug LobelArticle content‘We simply cannot ignore these conditions’Sign In or Create an Accountor View more offersArticle contentRe: Jew hate is a growing Canadian pastime. This is the result — Jesse Kline, Sept. 21

I write in despair for the Jewish community in Canada and around the world. In the attack on the Sons of Jacob Synagogue, Belleville Police Constable Jeff Smith was critically injured while stopping the attacker. I thank the Belleville police and Const. Smith deeply and wish him a full and speedy recovery.

In the immediate aftermath, many assumed the perpetrator must be a Muslim extremist or an Islamist. It turns out the alleged attacker was a local non-Muslim. Some will seize on this to claim that concerns about Islamist-inspired hate rallies are overblown. That conclusion is wrong. It is precisely because Islamist rallies that promote hate toward Jews are permitted on our streets and within Jewish neighbourhoods that they must be taken seriously. We simply cannot ignore these conditions that foster a nationwide atmosphere of antisemitism.

Columnist Jesse Kline keeps you up to date with what’s happening in Israel and the effects of antisemitism on life here in Canada. Friday mornings.

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In addition to allowing demonstrations of overt antisemitism to continue unabated, hatred toward Canadian Jews has exploded because of the actions of our national government, which for the past decade has repeatedly acted with malice against the Jewish state. The result is a sustained atmosphere of Jew-hatred in which people like the Belleville shooter, or others, feel justified in becoming violent antisemites.

Unless the Carney government stops demonizing Israel for defending itself in an existential war, and unless provincial and municipal authorities end the hate fests on our streets, more attacks will follow.

Howard C. Tenenbaum, Thornhill, Ont.

Once again we are confronted by an antisemitic incident that could have turned more deadly.

Once again politicians of all stripes, from local to national, are mouthing their outrage.

Kudos to the police who are doing their job.

This will continue until judges start handing out meaningful sentences.

And how about a bill that would require mandatory financial restitution for any deliberate damage caused by groups or single actors. Why should insurance companies — and ultimately the victims paying higher rates — foot the bill?

Anyone wilfully damaging property should have to pay the damages, no matter how long it takes.

And maybe those who are funding “demonstrations” will get tired of having to shell out to fix synagogue windows and doors, Jewish schools, community centres and businesses.

Warren Kinsella’s book, The Hidden Hand, which exposes who is behind the outbreak of antisemitism we are experiencing, should be required reading for all politicians of all levels.

Re: ‘Associate member’ or ‘unique alliance,’ Carney jets to EU in search of new and deeper ties — Christopher Nardi, Sept. 16