Canada’s Jewish communities are facing the “realistic possibility” of extremist violence in the coming months, according to federal intelligence officials.
According to an internal report prepared by the Integrated Threat Assessment Centre (ITAC) and obtained by Global News, Jewish Canadians — including public officials — are facing a “heightened violent extremism threat environment” amid the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran.
The document noted that the nationwide terrorism threat level remains unchanged at medium, and the possibility of violence targeting public officials remains low.
However, in assessing open-source information, ITAC judged that some form of an attack against Jewish communities is possible.
“The most likely scenario of an attack targeting the Jewish community is a lone actor using unsophisticated methods against easily accessible targets,” the document, first reported by the Globe and Mail on Friday, read.
“Extremists will leverage the Middle East conflict to justify attacks on the Jewish community in Canada, and seek to incite violence. Violent rhetoric, hate crime and criminal intimidation of the Jewish community, including public officials, will very likely increase as the conflict continues.”
The unclassified document, prepared March 18, added that Canadian Jewish communities face a number of threats that don’t rise to the level of terrorism — including criminal harassment, intimidation and vandalism.
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Those threats were already elevated compared with other religious groups before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. While the joint surprise bombing campaign killed several key members of the Iranian leadership, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranians continue to fight back.
“A body of media reporting indicates that over the past nine months, the constituency offices of public officials have been vandalized due to their identity or perceived support for Israeli actions in the Middle East,” the document reads.
“Jewish public officials and certain non-Jewish public officials who are perceived to be representative of Judaism or Israel have also been targeted by violent rhetoric and non-credible online threats.”
ITAC added that public officials who identify as Jewish and have “additional intersectionality factors” — such as being women or members of the LGBTQ2 community — “may face an even more elevated threat.”
Statistics Canada data indicates that Jewish Canadians are more likely to be the target of hate crimes than any other religious group in the country, and the number of police-reported hate crimes targeting those communities has risen sharply in recent years amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
“What’s very alarming and disturbing is … when Canadians who are angry about Israel, about Israel’s actions, blame Jews individually or collectively here for what Israel’s doing,” Carleton University political scientist Mira Sucharov told The Canadian Press last week.
Israel’s ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed, told a virtual forum earlier this month that the Israeli government wants to see “significant change” in how Canada deals with antisemitism, going so far as to say democratic rights should be curtailed to address the issue.
“It is hard for a liberal person to think that we have to limit other people’s freedoms so that our freedom will be protected, but that’s where we are right now,” Moed said.
At a Hanukkah event last December, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada has a “necessity to act” on rising hate targeting Jewish communities in the country.
Earlier this month, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree announced $10 million from the Canada Community and Security Program (CCSP) for increased security at Jewish community centres, schools, synagogues, daycares and overnight camps.
In a statement Friday, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) noted that Iranian intelligence services and proxy actors have targeted individuals in Canada they view as threats to their regime.
“In more than one case this involved detecting, investigating, and disrupting potentially lethal threats against individuals in Canada,” the agency wrote.
“CSIS has increased its operational efforts related to potential Iranian state-directed and violent extremist activity in Canada. CSIS has also increased engagement with affected communities, providing them with as much information as possible.”
— with files from The Canadian Press
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