Avi Benlolo: Carney missed a historic moment to confront Canada’s antisemitism crisis

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a visit with members of the Jewish community and law enforcement leaders at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, Ontario on Monday, June 1, 2026. (Peter Power/Postmedia News)

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The Jewish community was glued to their screens earlier this week in anticipation of what solutions our prime minister, Mark Carney, might offer for the crisis of antisemitism in this country. No one failed to notice the by-invitation-only event meticulously orchestrated in a small auditorium at Holy Blossom Temple — keeping the problem of antisemitism internal to the Jewish community.

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I hoped Mr. Carney would seize the occasion as a statesman. I believed he might rise to the occasion recognizing the urgency, officially declaring the antisemitic pandemic in our nation a national emergency. It would have been historic. It would have been necessary. It would have sent a paramount message to all Canadians that the Jewish community is Canada and Canada includes the Jewish community. Temporarily invoking the Emergencies Act would allow the government to address violent antisemitism and terrorism as a public welfare and public order emergency.

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This was a missed opportunity. The problem of antisemitism is not the Jewish community’s problem. It’s a national Canadian security problem. To give weight to the matter as it deserves, Mr. Carney should have delivered a national prime-time address from the prime minister’s office or from Rideau Hall in Ottawa. But G-d forbid, that might have offended some Canadians — especially the antisemitic ones that have been marching on our streets and calling for our deaths since October 7.

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We were silenced. To avoid questions that might have exposed the truth about the government’s inability to respond to what Canada’s greatest national security threat is (e.g. Islamic Radicalism), many key Jewish Liberal supporters were used to fill the small room in the synagogue along with a handful of Liberal members of parliament. The already victimized Jewish community was silenced twice by Mr. Carney: No questions were allowed. No admittance to any Canadian with an opinion.

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Carney’s speech was eloquent, but purely performative. Like a Seinfeld episode, it was a staged performance about “nothing.” But unlike the famous comedy show, this was nothing to laugh about: after three years of our synagogues and people being shot at, hateful demonstrations on our streets, and possibly the highest recorded statistics of antisemitic incidents anywhere on the planet, the anger and backlash against Carney is palpable.

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Carney said nothing new and provided the very minimum any government should provide its citizens. Among the measures previously announced were continued work on Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act; a $36 million investment to confront online radicalization and hate; an additional $75 million in security assistance for synagogues, schools, and community institutions; and the creation of a new Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights and Inclusion, whose priority will be addressing antisemitism.

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Shockingly, aside from Marc Gold, to my knowledge, none of the council members are Jewish. It also hardly appears any of its members are experts in the field of antisemitism.  But what is most disappointing is the appointment of a former Liberal Minister, Omar Alghabra, to the committee. Speaking to the Western Standard, Conservative Leader, Pierre Poilievre recalled, “I remember Mr. Alghabra lobbying me, before he was in politics, to keep Hezbollah legal. So, I’m not sure he’s the right guy to combat antisemitism.”