Israel has upgraded its security warning and says Israelis traveling to and within Canada should hide signs of their nationality and their Jewishness, however, Canadians are divided over whether the situation has actually become more dangerous lately.
“In the past 18 months, there have been several attacks against Jewish institutions and centers, including shooting incidents, Molotov cocktails and threats against Israelis/Jews in the country,” wrote Israel’s National Security Council on May 25 in its travel safety advisory. “The NSC recommends that all Israelis travelling to Canada, or who are currently in Canada, exercise increased precautionary measures, avoid displaying Jewish and Israeli symbols in public and remain extra vigilant while in public.”
This follows the hiking of the travel alert for Canada from Level 1 (no threat) to Level 2 (potential threat), akin to Angola, France, Georgia and Australia, in light of what the Israeli government says is an increased terrorist threat against Israelis and Jews in Canada. “Anti-Israel organizations in Canada are planning to hold protests and demonstrations (in Toronto and Waterloo), in opposition to rallies in support of Israel” reads the alert, adding, “In the past few days, the discourse surrounding these events has become more radical, including what could be understood as calls to violently harm Israelis and Jews at these events.”
The largest such community event, the May 25 UJA Toronto Walk with Israel, attracted some 56,000 participants and proceeded without issue, save for the Toronto police designating protest areas, as reported by The CJN Daily podcast, that forced participants “to pass through a gauntlet of pro-Palestinian yells and chants,” and the arrest of a man charged with mischief and causing a disturbance after he was allegedly heard making antisemitic threats.
The warning comes a week after controversial remarks by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in joint statements with France and the United Kingdom, threatening sanctions against Israel regarding food aid to Gaza and expanded settlements in the West Bank.
Reaction to Israel’s alert was mixed, with Ottawa’s Jewish Federation posting: “We have been in close contact with our agency security partners and law enforcement. While there is no known specific, or heightened, threat in Ottawa, Ottawa Police have increased patrols around synagogues, Jewish schools, and communal spaces.”
Vancouver Federation leaders also struck a reassuring tone, noting, “law enforcement has confirmed that there is no increased threat to Jewish communities in Canada at this time… We recognize that threats can take both physical and psychological forms, and we remain committed to vigilance, resilience, and care in response to both.”
Global Affairs Canada (GAC) acknowledged the advisory, spokesperson John Babcock said in an email statement to The CJN. “Canadian officials are continuing to engage with their Israeli counterparts regarding this change. Canada and Israel have historically shared a multifaceted bilateral relationship based on common interests and strong diplomatic, economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties,” he said. “Support for Israel, especially its right to live in peace and security with its neighbours, has been at the core of Canada’s Middle East policy since 1948.”
Canada strongly condemns the rise in antisemitic violence and hate speech at home and abroad, the statement read, and highlighted the work of Special Envoy Deborah Lyons and initiatives in education, data collection, online harm, law enforcement training, and public service. Canada continues to promote Holocaust education nationwide and collaborates with international partners, including the IHRA, UN, and Interparliamentary Task Force, to strengthen global efforts to preserve Holocaust memory and fight antisemitism.
While some may view the alert as Israel’s jab at Canada for its recent posture on the war and perceived lapses in caring for its own Jewish community, head of public diplomacy for Israel’s Embassy to Canada, Yifah Mivtach Greenvald, says Israel’s NSC conducts professional and independent assessments based solely on security considerations.
She cited Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism report of a 670 percent surge in antisemitic incidents in Canada in the year following the attack: “This dramatic increase reflects a deeply troubling reality for Jewish communities and Israelis alike. In fact, just in the past week, we have seen yet another spike in antisemitic incidents—underscoring that this dangerous trend is not subsiding.”
Rising antisemitism creates a fertile ground for incitement and violence, the diplomat told The CJN. “It is the responsibility of the State of Israel to alert its citizens so they can remain vigilant and make informed decisions with a clear awareness of potential risks.”
‘It is only prudent of us to warn our citizens’
“Canada is a terrific place, and Montreal the best part of it,” Israeli Consul for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, Paul Hirschson, told The CJN, “but given the rampant, and not infrequently aggressive, antisemitism, it is only prudent of us to warn our citizens of the dangers of 2025 Canada.”
Karine Harell, an Israeli who has lived in Montreal for decades, agrees. “I am concerned, and I’m not convinced this is just Israel punishing Canada for anything. I really think there is an issue here. They (anti-Israel activists) did call for an escalation, and we know what that means. It means moving from words to violence, that’s how I interpret it.”
Harell says she would tell family and friends to come, “but it’s safer if they’re not visibly Jewish, even when they cross the (U.S.) border,” she says, for fear of hostility towards Israeli passport holders.
One thing Jews have learned from Oct. 7 “is that when they say it, we believe them. When they say escalate, the authorities should take it seriously,” Harell said.
She says Canada need not take Israel’s word for it, “they can just look to Europe to see their reality. Countries like the Netherlands, Germany, France and England are starting to tighten entries into their countries and the only reason is terror attacks, and we know where they’re coming from. Canada has a chance to see what’s coming. To see their future. They just need to act, now.”
While it doesn’t really feel dangerous to her right now, “we have seen posts calling for serious escalation and we have seen what happened in Washington D.C.”
Indeed, the alert came four days after two Israeli embassy staffers were gunned down outside the Capital Jewish Museum. A man arrested later allegedly confessed to the crime and shouted “Free Palestine” when surrendering to police.
Charlotte Kates, a Vancouver-based director of Samidoun, which has been listed by the Canadian and American governments as a terrorist entity, posted that those condemning shooting suspect Elias Rodriguez “would be well served to think about instead how they can escalate meaningful consequences on the war criminals through organized mass action… Weekly demos, appeals to the conscience of the imperialists, and the aesthetic of resistance are insufficient to address the crime of genocide. This should be a moment for self-criticism and deepened action, not for arrogant musings over the rage of many put into action.”
Greater Toronto Jewish Security Network CEO Jevon Greenblatt says the Israeli recent warning appears to be based on a general assessment rather than a specific threat. “Since our establishment last year, we have consistently and strongly advised Jewish institutions and community members to exercise heightened vigilance and ensure that all facilities implement sound security practices,” he said in an email to The CJN. That security guidance remains unchanged.
Greenblatt says it is not their current recommendation that community members conceal their Jewish identity, how one chooses to dress or which symbols to display being a personal decision. “At the same time, we recognize that visible markers of Jewish identity can, unfortunately, make individuals more easily targeted by those with antisemitic intent.”
It’s a “sad reality not unique to Jews, but common to all groups facing bias. We are not suggesting that community members hide who they are. To the contrary, we recognize the importance of standing strong in one’s identity. Our guidance is that one should always be thoughtful, exercise awareness of their surroundings, and trust their instincts when it comes to personal safety.”
‘The perceived threat is less than it was at this time last year’
In a May 29 letter, recently re-elected Mount Royal MP Anthony Housefather told constituents he had been briefed by Canada’s intelligence services after the alert. While he could not disclose the meeting’s substance, he says officials told him “There is no escalated threat this week that did not exist last month or three months ago and that the perceived threat is less than it was at this time last year.”
That’s not to say that Canadian Jews who could be targeted by religious, ideological and political extremists don’t have a higher level of threat than the ordinary Canadian, says Housefather, “and need to be more careful when attending Jewish community events and locations, which is a very sad reflection of reality across the world. But there is no new known threat.”
From Israel, Canadian-Israeli Ora Blank views it differently, saying it “reads like Israel’s way of saying, ‘We see you, Canada, and we’re not impressed.’ Fair enough. Canada’s stance on the war has been a mix of moral fog and political cowardice.”
As someone who knows and loves both countries, she says it has been infuriating to watch “performative neutrality, pandering to mobs calling for our destruction — it’s not just misguided, it’s dangerous. So, if Israel wants to issue a symbolic warning? I get it.”
The average Israeli traveling to Toronto for a wedding or conference isn’t walking into a war zone, she says. “Most Canadians are still decent, respectful, and curious people. Yes, there’s been a spike in antisemitic incidents, especially on campuses and in certain cities, and yes, it’s ugly. But would I tell someone not to go? No. I’d say be aware, don’t be naïve, and hold your head high… There’s a chill in the air where once there was warmth,” and that hurts, says Blank. “I care because I expected better from Canada, and I care because I still want to believe it can be better.”
French native Clara Bernadet was surprised to read the alert while studying in Prague and began to rethink her summer plans to visit Canada, which she always viewed as “a rather peaceful country. I expected an alert like this to be more common in countries like Germany, or even France.”
She did say a friend in Canada has experienced several antisemitic attacks and remarks at university, “so I knew it was a reality, and that the climate wasn’t very favourable in some places,” but she feels the alert is not helping. “It creates an anxious and paranoid environment… According to the feedback I’ve received from several Jewish people living in Canada, the situation is much less serious than this alert suggests when reading Israeli government publications. It gives the impression that if someone sees my Magen David, I’ll be attacked, and that if I mention the word ‘Jewish’ or ‘Israel,’ I’ll be attacked.”
Although Bernadet agrees things have deteriorated significantly in recent months, she says “the sensationalism being spread by newspapers does absolutely nothing to help the cause. By portraying Jews as victims, especially as the United States is doing (with Harvard recently, for example), it makes us targets rather than protecting us.”
