Some Jewish students who lived in Canada during the post-October 7 wave of antisemitism that swept through campuses are deciding to move to Israel where despite the ongoing war, they are starting new lives.
In Israel, they have spent the last 20 months under rocket and missile fire, including most recently 12 days of intense bombardment from Iran. But even with the missiles, and threat of terror attacks, they say they feel safer than they did in Canada.
Samantha Kline, a 23-year-old design student from Toronto, who is now completing a volunteer program in Israel, had served as president of the Jewish club at OCAD University. When she and a friend painted peace-themed murals on a student message wall, her name was spray-painted alongside death threats – ‘Death to Sam!’ – next to bloody handprints.
“I can handle going to a bomb shelter twice a day,” said Kline, referring to the missile barrages on Israeli cities. “I can’t handle having my name written on a wall again.”
Kline said that in Canada, she felt less safe than she does in Israel. “In Canada, I was isolated and targeted as a Jew. Here, yes there are missiles – but…we’re all in this together.”
Zionism and a connection to Israel had always been strong components of her identity. “I have a grandfather who survived the Holocaust and I have a grandmother who survived the Hebron massacre [in 1929],” she noted. She had always envisioned her long-term future in Israel after graduating.
Kline did farm work and picked fruit – filling in for foreign labourers who left due to the war – and volunteered near the Gaza border, repainting playrooms in damaged kibbutzim and adding murals to help restore a sense of normalcy.
Though she hasn’t made aliyah yet, she says she has no plans to return to live in Canada. “The people that came here with me on this program, they all have that same mentality… We came to Israel for a reason. We feel safest here. This is where the Jewish population belongs.”
A similar sentiment was echoed by Laura Barkel, a 22-year-old, also from Toronto. She studied psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University.
She made aliyah in October 2024 and is now completing her MA in Government, specializing in Counter Terrorism and Intelligence studies at Reichman University in Herzliya. “Honestly, best decision I ever made,” she said.
In Canada, Barkel was outspoken in her support for Israel and visibly embraced her Jewish identity. She says this made her a target for antisemitic hate. Phrases like “Hitler should have finished the job” were relatively common even in person – online was worse.
At the peak of this wave of abuse, Barkel was stalked by a man who followed her into a grocery store. In the aisle, he yelled “There’s a Zionist here!” Later that day he messaged her on Instagram, “I am going to find you. You are not safe.” When she reported the incident to campus security and police, no serious action was taken.
Barkel insists she feels safer in Israel, despite the war. In Canada, after Oct. 7, “I had to constantly look over my shoulder… It always kept me on edge.” In Israel, “I go to the shelter and I feel okay, physically and mentally.”
She made aliyah alone. Her Israeli-born parents, who supported her choice to move to Israel, now visit frequently.
For Barkel, starting a life in Israel entailed a deeply personal transformation. She describes a sense of peace and personal growth that she struggled to access in Canada. “I feel at peace… I’ve become a whole new person this year. My personality, how I think, how I connect with people – it’s all grown.”
Josh Szweras, a 25-year-old business administration student at Tel Aviv University originally from Toronto, was at a friend’s home in Tel Aviv on Oct. 7. He returned to Canada, but like Barkel, a year later decided to pack up and move to Israel.
He’s currently living in Tel Aviv, having just moved out of his great-aunt’s home in Netanya, where he was staying with her and her daughters during the Iran-Israel conflict. He has extended family on both sides scattered across the country. One relative’s home was destroyed by an Iranian missile – though, luckily, no one was injured.
He described his desire to move as stemming from his upbringing: his mother is Israeli, his father a Canadian Jew, and Zionism was central to his identity.
Though he hadn’t experienced antisemitism in Canada directly, he was attuned to the broader environment, where he observed increased institutional acceptance of antisemitic and anti-Israel bias, and repeated failure to protect Jewish students and professionals. “You can see the slow shift in Canada, where it’s becoming a little bit less and less friendly.” he said
In Israel, Szweras says he feels integrated into the broader social fabric – able to speak freely, participate openly, and be at ease in public spaces. In Canada, he says Jewish identity often has to be compartmentalized. Feelings of safety, he explains, sometimes depend on staying within a predominantly Jewish bubble. “In Israel, you can scream on the street, ‘I’m a Jew.’ You can do whatever you want. In Canada, you can’t,” he said.
Szweras hasn’t ruled out returning to Canada. “I don’t think it’s just totally off the table,” he explained. “But, I think it’s more comfortable living in Israel, despite all the rockets… despite all the mayhem. It’s kind of like life in colour here.”
