In the three years since Oct. 7, 2023, police-reported hate crimes and security concerns have escalated for Jewish communities across Canada, a report says.
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Canada’s Jewish communities say their lives have changed dramatically since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza, with a rise in antisemitic violence and heightened security at religious gatherings.
Lisa Grushcow, senior rabbi of Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom in Montreal, said society has “been turned upside down,” describing how visible Jewish identity now attracts fear.
Canadian police have classified a number of antisemitic incidents, including firebombings at synagogues, shootings at Jewish schools, and physical assaults, as hate crimes. Since 2023, Jewish communities have been the most frequently targeted group in police-reported hate crimes even though they represent less than one per cent of Canada’s population.
Spy agency CSIS said in its annual report for 2025 that it mentioned disrupted plots targeting Canadian Jewish institutions, including the arrest in August 2025 of a Montreal youth who intended to target Jews. CSIS said religiously motivated violent extremism has “increased significantly since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict.”
In Toronto, police said in September they had made 573 arrests and laid 1,398 charges connected with demonstrations, protests and hate-motivated offences targeting Jewish communities since Oct. 7, 2023.
An Ottawa Police Service Board report issued last week said Jewish residents have reported fear about wearing a kippah, Star of David or other visible expressions of Jewish identity in public. The board said community organizations have adopted heightened security measures for religious, cultural and commemorative events, including advance registration, identification requirements, restrictions on attendance and, in some circumstances, limiting public disclosure of event details.
Grushcow said her synagogue has existed since 1883 and described incidents at the building, including an attack with a firebomb in June and a swastika spray-painted on the exterior in February 2025.
She said there were both immediate safety concerns and longer-term questions about restoring civic dialogue. She also pointed to the way some people interpret pro-Israel connections as a reason to exclude Jews from academic, professional and personal relationships.
Grushcow said she encourages non-Jewish Canadians to ask a Jewish friend if they can attend a synagogue, describing communities as working to keep people safe without making worshippers feel too afraid to come.
She also questioned how tensions are inflamed and said it is hard to imagine who benefits from Jews being threatened while Canadian society loses civility. She argued that work to address the situation “can’t come entirely from the Jewish community,” adding that Canadians need to find a balance between open dialogue, respect and safety.
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