Canada’s Jewish communities awoke to shocking headlines in the wake of an ABC News report last week that suggested Hezbollah sleeper cells were set to strike Israeli and Jewish targets in Ottawa and Toronto.

Citing British, U.S. and Canadian intelligence reports, ABC News on June 19 reported Hezbollah operatives had conducted surveillance on the Israeli Embassy in Ottawa and synagogues in Toronto.

In Ottawa, Melisa Leclerc, a spokesperson for Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day, told The CJN by e-mail that the ministry acknowledged “Canada is not immune from the threat of terrorism.

“As you can appreciate, the minister cannot comment on operations that Canada’s security agencies may or may not be undertaking.
“The government of Canada remains vigilant in our efforts to prevent a terrorist act both at home and abroad,” she wrote. “We continue to work very closely with our international partners, including the United States, sharing information and co-operating in the global fight against terrorism.

“Hezbollah is a listed [terrorist] entity. It is a crime to knowingly participate in certain activities of this organization.”
Hezbollah, it is believed, acting on Iranian orders, attacked the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 and the city’s Jewish community centre in 1994, killing 29 in the first attack and 85 in the second.

Hundreds more were wounded in both bombings. Hezbollah has been placed on a list of banned terrorist organizations by the government of Canada, which sided with Israel in its 2006 war with the Lebanon-based terror group.

In Ottawa, Israeli embassy spokesperson Orit Kremer said, “We’re not commenting on what is a sensitive security matter.”
Canadian Jewish Congress, however, quickly downplayed the report.

Bernie Farber, CEO of Canadian Jewish Congress, told The CJN he had assured communal leadership there was nothing to panic about.
“We have been in touch with the highest security authorities in Canada, including local and regional police chiefs, anti-terrorism units, CSIS, RCMP, all of whom assured us that there’s no truth to the report itself,” he said.

Farber insisted the report was merely a rehash of old news by ABC, an American television network, relating to chatter that was picked up in mid-February after Imad Mugniyah – a notorious senior Hezbollah official – was assassinated in Damascus. At the time, Hezbollah immediately blamed Mossad, though Israel denied any responsibility for the killing.

At Mugniyah’s funeral, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah appeared via video link and during his eulogy declared, “Zionists, if you want an open war, let it be an open war anywhere.”

When asked specifically if Toronto’s Jewish community needs to worry about going to shul, Farber stated “absolutely not.”
John Thompson, president of the Mackenzie Institute, a non-profit organization that studies political instability and terrorism, said Hezbollah poses “a real threat.”

“Hezbollah is on Iran’s leash, and Iran has been cruising for trouble for a few years. When Iran is locked within a major conflict with Israel and the United States, they activate [sleeper] cells.”

 “The threat to the Jewish community is coming. The threat to the Jewish community is real.”

Asked why Canadian Jews might be on terrorists’ hit list, Thompson said that the way to show “leadership in the Middle East is by demonstrating how dangerous you are to the world’s Jewish community.” He advised Canadian Jews to continue on their normal routines, but to “pay more attention to security and take security seriously.”

David Harris, president of Democracy House, a Canadian think-tank, said security experts “know Canada is heavily infiltrated by Hezbollah and fellow travellers, and their targets will include Canadians in general and Jews in particular.”

Harris said he had no specific information about the latest threat reports. “All I can say is to express my surprise and dismay that any of this should be considered a surprising kind of warning.”

Even if the specific reports proves to be “inaccurate, it would be an inaccurate report with a heavy factual basis,” he said.
“The Jewish and Canadian communities should be on the alert, because the enemy is among us.”

“The very fact you have a presence of people dedicated to Hezbollah tells us you have people who, by and large, could be activated at any moment. Our peace and security are enjoyed with the sufferance of Hezbollah.”

Harris said Islamic extremists are preoccupied with Jews, and “they focus on demonizing the Jews. It’s no mistake it’s been describe as a Nazi-like organization.”

A third terrorism expert took a dissenting view. Speaking on CTV, Alan Bell, president of the security firm Globe Risk Holdings, said Hezbollah has no reason to attack in Canada. Hezbollah’s presence in Canada is limited to fundraising, recruitment, document forgery and procuring equipment. An attack within Canada would likely alienate the group’s supporters, he said.

He questioned the origin of the story. “If CSIS [Canada’s security agency] picked up these guys coming from the Middle East and they’re under surveillance, why would a reporter in the United States be given that information?” he asked.

Surveillance of Hezbollah suspects would continue secretly, “and this individual or these individuals would be being monitored at this particular moment.”

Bell said Hezbollah would be unlikely to attack in the United States, as that would provide justification for an American attack on Iran.
Analyzing the ABC report, Farber said, “There was certainly chatter, which was normal, after [the Mugniyah assassination]. Congress was aware of this, because [Canada’s] security people make us aware of these things. We were also aware of the fact that the proper security forces were investigating the chatter and came back to us to assure us that it was only chatter. They said there was nothing that led them to believe that there was any specific threat against the Jewish community.

“What ABC seems to have done is to have picked up an old story and regurgitated it again, without really following through properly.
“All that said, back in February we raised a community alert in relation to the assassination of Mugniyah. Yesterday, to be prudent, we sent out a second alert to Jewish communal institutions. This second alert was more because when things like this come into the newspapers… you never know what that can trigger. There are crazies out there. It’s better for us to be safe than sorry,” Farber said.
“This is not an alarmist alert. It’s just based on the fact that we know this information has been proven wrong. Nonetheless, given the fact that it’s out in the public domain, people should be aware of it.”

B’nai Brith Canada, meanwhile, issued a statement acknowledging that while “officials agree that there is no specific threat at present, [B’nai Brith] has warned it is crucial that continued vigilance be maintained given the established presence of Hezbollah in our midst.”
B’nai Brith reminded institutions in the Jewish community that it is essential that security protocols be reviewed and that vigilance be maintained as a top priority. Equally imperative is the need to inform members of the Jewish community of the ongoing need to be “aware and prepared.”