Key takeaways from the National Summit on Antisemitism

How the emergency summit succeeded—and where it fell short.

The government’s much-touted day-long National Summit on Antisemitism took place virtually on July 21, 2021. Among the attendees were members of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, Jewish Liberal MPs, municipal leaders and representatives from the country’s main Jewish organizations. They spoke at length about concrete strategies to combat antisemitism and heard firsthand accounts of how antisemitism seeps into Canadian society.

Professor Irwin Cotler, Canada’s Special Envoy on Holocaust and antisemitism helped put the event together, and gave the keynote address. He joins The CJN Daily to discuss the government’s promises. Plus, we speak with community leaders Shimon Koffler Fogel of CIJA, and Michael Mostyn of B’nai Brith, to learn where the summit succeeded—and where it fell short.

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What we talked about:

  • Read the full transcript of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s opening remarks at thecjn.ca, or watch the full opening video on Facebook
  • Watch the full afternoon panel on community security initiatives on Facebook
  • Read the government’s pledge to earmark $6 million for upgrading security at 150 national buildings, including Jewish institutions, at canada.ca

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. Find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.

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