Thoughts on the Anti-Semitic Stabbing Attack Against an Elderly Jewish Woman in Ottawa

Yesterday, while commenting on the worsening situation against the Jewish community in Boulder, Colorado in the months following the terrorist attack which claimed the life of one person while injuring 15 others, I briefly mentioned an incident which took place in Ottawa last week in which a Jewish woman was stabbed in broad daylight at a grocery store noting that it warranted further comment.

As some of you might know, I lived in Ottawa for nearly a decade and still have family in the area. Naturally, when something awful happens there such as the terrorist attack on Parliament Hill in 2014 or the 2022 trucker convoy it strikes a chord.

If there is one bit of solace I can take from this awful incident is that the woman will survive her injuries. However, there can be little doubt this woman will experience trauma going out in public for the rest of her life. She was accosted and attacked solely because she is a Jew.

And the "man" who attacked her is an unabashed anti-Semite characterizing Judaism as "the world's oldest cult." One can only hope he spends the rest of his miserable life in prison.

Yet there are many who feel as he does and undoubtedly approve of his actions. The question is how many will follow in his footsteps.

Although Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned the attack, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren took Carney to task:

This is the same prime minister who has contributed to the sharp rise in antisemitism by denouncing Israel daily while rewarding Palestinian terror with recognized statehood. He fuels the fire then pledges to put it out.

Now one can reasonably argue that the perpetrator of this attack has likely harbored anti-Semitic views for decades. The difference now is that he felt emboldened to express them both verbally and subsequently through violence. At the very least, Carney's anti-Israel rhetoric did little to discourage the behavior of anti-Semites in Canada.

I'm no fan of Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, but when the House of Commons resume sitting in a fortnight from now, I hope Poilievre pillories Carney over the incident, his anti-Israel sentiments and helping to inflame anti-Semitic sentiment in this country. Because anti-Semitism isn't going away anytime soon and someone has to hold Carney to account for its spread and his role in spreading it.