Conservatives Unanimous in Condemning Antisemitism in Canada

[CouchPotato]

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather issued a letter condemning the rising antisemtism in Canada and only about one fifth of the Liberal caucus has signed it. By contrast the the entire conservative caucus has signed it.

Shouldn't this be an easy one? Why are so many Liberals hesitant to back this? At this point, If they eventually do, it's just one more example of how the Liberals need Conservatives to lead them. Why don't we just elect the people who continually get it right the first time?

[eyeball]

37 minutes ago, CouchPotato said:

Why are so many Liberals hesitant to back this?

My guess is that they reject the premise that the criticism of Israel is the same as anti-Semitism.

Judging by some of the conservatives around here Conservatives are not accurately representing or reflecting their supporters.

[CouchPotato]

8 minutes ago, eyeball said:

My guess is that they reject the premise that the criticism of Israel is the same as anti-Semitism.

But Housefather's letter says nothing about criticizing Israel. It talks about rising incidents of hate against Jews within Canada, referencing how Jews make up a little more than 1% of Canada's population but make up 70% of reported acts of hate. 

And it's a letter from one of their own MPs for crying out loud. Why wouldn't they sign this? 

Edited September 5, 2025 by CouchPotato

[eyeball]

3 minutes ago, CouchPotato said:

It talks about rising incidents of hate against Jews within Canada

Wearing a keffiyeh is an act of anti-Semitism these days.

[Shady]

6 minutes ago, CouchPotato said:

But Housefather's letter says nothing about criticizing Israel. It talks about rising incidents of hate against Jews within Canada, referencing how Jews make up a little more than 1% of Canada's population but make up 70% of reported acts of hate. 

And it's a letter from one of their own MPs for crying out loud. Why wouldn't they sign this? 

Because they're cowards

[CouchPotato]

Just now, eyeball said:

Wearing a keffiyeh is an act of anti-Semitism these days.

So what? The letter does not reference wearing a keffiyeh. I don't need know the validity of every claim of hate. It's a letter condemning antisemitism. This is a no-brainer. Antisemitism bad, we condemn it. It's not a bill with a bunch of pork in it. It's a statement. All it requires is a signature. No time at all. You have to wonder why they won't do it.

[eyeball]

AI says...

Hate crimes in Canada are on the rise, with police-reported incidents increasing significantly in recent years, more than doubling between 2019 and 2023. In 2023, 4,777 incidents were reported, a 32% increase from the previous year. Common targets include racial minorities (particularly Black and Asian communities), sexual orientation (especially gay and lesbian individuals), and religious groups. However, statistics show only a fraction of hate crimes are reported to police, and the actual number of incidents is likely much higher than recorded. 

Key Trends and Statistics

Increasing Incidents:

Reported hate crimes have seen a sustained increase, with 2023 marking the highest number on record since systematic data collection began in 2009. 

Targets of Hate:

Race/Ethnicity: Black persons are consistently the most frequent targets of hate crimes based on race or ethnicity. Anti-Asian hate crimes, in particular, have seen significant increases in recent years. 

Sexual Orientation: Hate crimes targeting sexual orientation, especially those against the gay and lesbian population, rose sharply in 2023. Incidents against gender-diverse people are often violent. 

Religion: While hate crimes against religion decreased in 2022, numbers remained higher than pre-2021 levels.

Why not a letter for every group suffering hate crimes?

[Shady]

2 minutes ago, eyeball said:

Why not a letter for every group suffering hate crimes?

The Liberals are free to draft their own letter if they wish.

[CouchPotato]

28 minutes ago, eyeball said:

Why not a letter for every group suffering hate crimes?

Because this is the letter one of their own MPs put forward. You can't sign letters that don't exist yet. You are deflecting. Why won't they sign this one? It's the easiest thing in the world to do. We condemn antisemitism. Bam.

Edited September 5, 2025 by CouchPotato

[CdnFox]

51 minutes ago, eyeball said:

My guess is that they reject the premise that the criticism of Israel is the same as anti-Semitism.

 

Or... the liberals tend to be anti semites.  which we've been pointing out for some time now'  

But of course you'd defend antisematism. You want them dead to begin with. 

[CdnFox]

30 minutes ago, Shady said:

The Liberals are free to draft their own letter if they wish.

It WAS a liberal who drafted it 

The left has become very jew hating in recent times and the liberals have been affected by that as well

On top of that, the liberals have been courting the muslim and palestinian vote.  So signing ANYTHING that looks like you're 'supporting' jews is going to make them nervous. 

Not all liberals are jew haters.  But a lot of them are 

[eyeball]

1 hour ago, CouchPotato said:

You are deflecting. Why won't they sign this one?

I told you, the majority of Liberals disagree that criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic.

[CouchPotato]

2 minutes ago, eyeball said:

I told you, the majority of Liberals disagree that criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic.

But the letter says nothing about criticism of Israel. It merely condemns acts of antisemitism in Canada. Why wouldn't you condemn antisemitism? It seems like a no-brainer, and simple to do.

Edited September 5, 2025 by CouchPotato

[eyeball]

18 minutes ago, CouchPotato said:

But the letter says nothing about criticism of Israel.

I guess the majority of Liberals also can't be fooled into believing this is about anything else.

In any case Palestinians are also Semitic so...

 

[CouchPotato]

14 minutes ago, eyeball said:

I guess the majority of Liberals also can't be fooled into believing this is about anything else.

Well, the letter itself refers to acts of antisemitism in Canada. Are you suggesting the only examples of antisemitism in the past couple years are keffiyeh wearing and criticism of Israel?

[CouchPotato]

3 hours ago, eyeball said:

Wearing a keffiyeh is an act of anti-Semitism these days.

Maybe. I think there are probably a lot of these things that are overblown. But still 70% of reported hate incidents are antisemitic. Do you think they are mostly exaggerations? 

Edited September 5, 2025 by CouchPotato

[Legato]

20 minutes ago, eyeball said:

I guess the majority of Liberals also can't be fooled into believing this is about anything else.

In any case Palestinians are also Semitic so...

 

and the goalposts they are a changin.....

[eyeball]

1 minute ago, CouchPotato said:

Well, the letter itself refers to acts of antisemitism in Canada. Are you suggesting the only examples of antisemitism in the past couple years are keffiyeh wearing and criticism of Israel?

I'm suggesting the huge rise in the criticism of Israel is being deliberately misinterpreted as anti-Semitism.

When even Jewish critics of Israel are accused of being anti-Semites the jig is clearly up (Google up Self-loathing Jew yourself)

4 minutes ago, CouchPotato said:

Maybe. I think there are probably a lot of these things that are overblown. But still 70% of reported hate incidents are antisemitic. Do you think they are mostly exaggerations? 

Yes that's exactly what I think.

[Venandi]

3 hours ago, eyeball said:

My guess is that they reject the premise that the criticism of Israel is the same as anti-Semitism.

Bad guess IMO because I do too. 

But... tolerating the sort of hateful protests and attacks on Canadian Jews who have never even set foot in Israel is something all together different. It's entirely possible that I've spent more time there than some of the folks currently being abused.

If the situation that Canadian born Jews find themselves in were applied to more acceptable (liberal) demographics, the screeching would deafen whales at 2000 feet. Even Flybaby can turn Right Whales into Wrong Whales if he were to give it some thought... we don't need to import people to do that for us as long as we have him.  

[eyeball]

3 minutes ago, Legato said:

and the goalposts they are a changin.....

What goalpost?

[CouchPotato]

Just now, eyeball said:

I'm suggesting the huge rise in the criticism of Israel is being deliberately misinterpreted as anti-Semitism.

But the letter itself references the attack on the Jewish woman in the grocery store. Also whether or not people sometimes misinterpret criticism of Israel as antisemitism, does that mean antisemitism is not still bad? There was a synagogue firebombed. I remember a report just a couple years ago saying antisemitic vandalism has gone way up. Whether or not you think you can read Housefather's mind on what incidents he considers antisemitism, wouldn't it just be smart and easy to condemn antisemitism.

[eyeball]

3 minutes ago, CouchPotato said:

Whether or not you think you can read Housefather's mind on what incidents he considers antisemitism, wouldn't it just be smart and easy to condemn antisemitism.

It would be smarter and easier if the letter also condemned attacks on blacks, Asians, gays and anyone else suffering similar incidents.

[eyeball]

11 minutes ago, Venandi said:

Bad guess IMO because I do too

Like I said, go look up Self-loathing Jew. Wikipedia has a very good article on the topic.

[Venandi]

20 minutes ago, eyeball said:

Like I said, go look up Self-loathing Jew. Wikipedia has a very good article on the topic.

I don't need to look up anything.... a "like I said" assertive and wikipedia entry is somehow definitive  eh?

Go spend 2 years there and you won't need to look shi% up either.

You quoted Wikipidea... did you read this part?

The terms "self-hating Jew", "self-loathing Jew", and "auto-antisemite" are pejorative terms used to describe Jews that oppose certain characteristics that the claimant considers core to Jewish identity

Edited September 5, 2025 by Venandi

[CouchPotato]

27 minutes ago, eyeball said:

It would be smarter and easier if the letter also condemned attacks on blacks, Asians, gays and anyone else suffering similar incidents.

People make condemnations of attacks on specific groups all the time. It's nothing new, and it really doesn't mean you dislike blacks or gays if you condemn antisemitism. It's really easy to do. What's the downside here? Do you honestly believe they won't sign it because it doesn't include Asians or gays? 

Edited September 5, 2025 by CouchPotato