On April 7, B’nai Brith Canada is set to release its annual antisemitism audit, tracking what’s likely to be another record-breaking amount of online hate speech, graffiti, threats, arson and gunshots targeting the country’s Jewish community. Last year, the organization revealed its highest-ever tally: 5,791 recorded incidents occurred in 2023, double the year before, with a marked increase after Oct. 7.
But experts say that number doesn’t tell the whole story.
A new Statistics Canada report on hate crimes handled by Canadian police—they count 4,777 total, including 900 hate crimes against Jews—contains some disturbing findings. According to the data, 72 percent of all hate crimes didn’t get solved in 2023, and more than half of all alleged suspects are known to police as repeat offenders.
If there is any good news in the new report, Statistics Canada says that no one got hurt in the vast majority of hate crimes against Jews in recent years, or 90 percent. Many were crimes of mischief against property, including synagogues and other Jewish community buildings.
So what do the numbers mean, and what message should Canadian Jews be demanding of politicians, law enforcement and the courts? On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, we’re joined by two of Canada’s leading experts on police-reported hate crimes: from Statistics Canada, Warren Silver—himself a former Montreal police officer—and Mark Sandler, a criminal lawyer who chairs the Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism.
Related links
- Read Statistics Canada’s new report on police-reported hate crimes for 2023 and early 2024.
- Why antisemitic hate crimes top the police charts in Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa, while Jews in British Columbia report being victims of one or more antisemitic incidents.
- B’nai Brith’s annual audit of antisemitic incidents has surprisingly high numbers. How can this be? On The CJN Daily from 2023,
Credits
- Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
- Production team: Zachary Judah Kauffman (senior producer), Andrea Varsany (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Marc Weisblott (editorial director).
- Music: Dov Beck-Levine
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