Jodie Katz has by no means volunteered for any political marketing campaign. This time round, although, she feels she has no alternative. On a chilly windy morning in early April, she devoted hours to dropping off garden indicators for her Toronto using’s Conservative candidate, Karen Stintz.
“I’m a put-your-money-where-your-mouth is type of gal,” mentioned Katz. “The Liberals can’t win this using, the Liberals can’t win the election.”
Katz, initially from Ottawa, has by no means voted Conservative earlier than. She says she has largely voted for the NDP, with some Liberal votes as properly.
However this election she says she is supporting the Conservatives based mostly on one challenge: the get together’s help for the Jewish neighborhood since Oct 7, 2023, and a recent survey suggests she’s not alone.
“For me and for the big majority of my buddies, who’re within the Jewish neighborhood, it’s a one-issue election,” mentioned Katz.
“The problem is the pervasive antisemitism that the Liberal Social gathering particularly have failed us on, they haven’t been capable of shield us.”
The numbers present antisemitism is on the rise in Canada. Statistics Canada studies a 71 per cent enhance in hate crimes concentrating on the Jewish inhabitants between 2022 and 2023 — with the biggest enhance seen after the Oct. 7 assaults and the following warfare between Israel and Hamas.
Many Jewish day schools and synagogues have needed to enhance safety at their campuses. Synagogues have been firebombed and vandalized. One Jewish women college in Toronto was shot at three separate times.
It is all left Katz rattled.
“I’m legitimately, legitimately afraid,” mentioned Katz. She remembers her personal expertise on the Stroll for Israel final June.
“On both aspect of the road are masked people with keffiyehs and shouting horrible, horrible slurs in opposition to Jews, not Israelis, Jews. I am a Jew and my son, my 11-year-old son, was shaking.”
Polling information suggests a rising variety of Jewish Canadian voters are abandoning the Liberals and planning to vote Conservative within the upcoming federal election. CBC’s Jamie Strashin examines what’s behind the shift.
Shift towards Conservative, survey suggests
Sociologist Robert Brym has studied tendencies among the many Jewish neighborhood in Canada for a lot of his profession and consulted final 12 months on a survey by polling agency Leger, which discovered the rise in antisemitism is a high challenge for Jews this election cycle.
“I discovered that the No. 1 challenge in widespread with all Canadians was the economic system, in spite of everything, Canadian Jews are Canadians and so they’re apprehensive about jobs and about the price of residing. The second, nevertheless, not far behind, was antisemitism,” mentioned Brym, a professor emeritus of sociology on the College of Toronto.
The ballot of 588 Canadian Jews, carried out from Aug. 28 to Sept. 16, discovered a shift in political help since the same survey in 2021. Liberal Social gathering help, which was dominant in 2021, fell from 39 per cent to 26 per cent.
In the meantime, help for the Conservatives jumped from 36 to 55 per cent.
Whereas these tendencies had been much like the overall inhabitants over that point, the survey notes the shift amongst Jews was extra pronounced.
Brym believes that concern amid rising antisemitism is behind the neighborhood’s obvious shift away from the Liberals to the Conservatives this election.
“The Jewish neighborhood feels that the Conservative Social gathering is extra supportive and working with a heavier hand on these sorts of outbreaks of hate, so, that is additionally inspired the neighborhood to maneuver towards the Conservatives,” mentioned Brym.
‘He informed us that he was with us’
Rabbi Jarrod Grover of Beth Tikva Synagogue in Toronto has skilled the rise of antisemitism first hand. His spouse works at Bais Chaya Mushka, the North York women college that was shot at 3 times. He mentioned, amongst his congregants, a shift to help the Conservatives is one thing he is seen.
“There’s plenty of voices in the neighborhood who really feel that as a Jew you must vote Conservative and it is virtually treasonous to not,” mentioned Grover.
“I feel there was a marked distinction simply by way of the hassle that the Conservative Social gathering have made to care and attain out to the Jewish neighborhood on their points in comparison with different political events. So once more, that is gonna translate to votes, there is not any query.”
The synagogue’s ritual director, Irv Kirshenblat, agrees {that a} current go to Conservative Chief Pierre Pollievre made to the synagogue went an extended option to swaying his vote.
“He informed us that he was with us, not solely that he was with us, however that he felt our ache,” mentioned Kirshenblat.
“Whereas, most of the different political candidates could have been talking the phrases, however not strolling the road, so to talk.”
Courting the Jewish voter
Ellin Bessner hosts the most important Jewish podcast in Canada, the every day podcast of The Canadian Jewish Information. For the reason that Oct. 7 assaults, she has interviewed a whole bunch of Canadian Jews. She agrees she sees a shift among the many neighborhood in the direction of the Conservatives, and thinks it is no accident.
“Pollievre’s folks have been courting us, the Canadian Jewish Information and Jewish synagogues, Jewish colleges, they have been having huge rallies, the Liberals haven’t been courting the Jewish voter,” she mentioned.
Bessner additionally sees one thing else among the many Jewish neighborhood on this election cycle she says is new.
“I name it ‘muscular Judaism,'” she mentioned. “It is mobilization like by no means earlier than within the residents, younger folks, within the college college students, in highschool college students, they’re marching, they’re petitioning, they’re loud and that’s one thing that our neighborhood hasn’t seen earlier than.”
Ben Mogil lives in midtown Toronto and hasn’t been politically concerned earlier than. This time is totally different. He lately held an occasion for the Conservative candidate in his using, Don Stewart, regardless of being a Liberal voter most of his life. He says how he’s now experiencing being Jewish in Canada has had an influence on him.
“Actually, you realize, at my youngsters’ colleges, there’s numerous safety every now and then,” he mentioned.
“I feel there’s much more folks which might be voting Conservative which might be Jewish than there ever have been earlier than.”
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