‘It Is an Assault on Our Own Morality’: Authors Discuss Contemporary Anti-Semitism

Commentary

TORONTO—The Hamas-led terror attack in Israel in 2023 not only resulted in protests across Western countries, with some still as prevalent as ever, but has also been cited by some individuals as justification for targeting innocents, leading to death and physical injury.

This was the case with the murder of two Washington embassy staffers, a bomb attack in Colorado that injured 12 people, and a Jewish event at Toronto’s Casa Loma where mobs accosted attendees—all of which happened in recent weeks.

It made the May 29 Indigo Books event featuring author Israel Ellis and Toronto Sun columnist and author Warren Kinsella at The Wellington in downtown Toronto all the more timely.

The discussion was based on Ellis’s “The Wake Up Call: Global Jihad and the Rise of Antisemitism in a World Gone MAD” released late last year. The book was written in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, both as a chronicle of tragedy and a passionate plea for the world to recognize the resurgent threat of anti-Semitism and the larger ideological battle now raging in the West.

Perhaps the most urgent contribution of “The Wake Up Call” lies in its diagnosis of contemporary anti-Semitism. Ellis draws a direct line from the pogroms of 1939 to the masked protesters on today’s North American streets. His indictment extends to the progressive left, which he accuses of betraying its own ideals. He is particularly scathing about the adoption of the Palestinian cause, arguing that it has enabled a “monster that got out of its cage” and turned social justice rhetoric into a weapon against Jews.

“Israel was the victim, but almost immediately here in Canada we saw seemingly well-organized protests and saw terrible things being said online. We saw indifference of politicians,” Kinsella told the crowd at the event.

“We seem to have lost our loyalty to the people who live here,” Ellis said.

“And it doesn’t matter if you are Jewish, Christian, or Muslim—it is indecent what’s going on. It is an assault on our own morality as Canadians. We must not allow what’s happening in the backyard, and in our streets.”

This is “the definition of anarchy and lawlessness happening,” he said.

On the topic of how to deal with the hateful demonstrations, Ellis said that politicians should be “creating a clearly defined legislation that defines incitement to violence and hatred” targeting minorities and vulnerable groups.

Untruths that are propagated around the Israel-Hamas conflict are more accepted among Generation Z today, Kinsella noted.

“We’ve not been sufficiently diligent about the information they are receiving,” he said, adding that the number one search engine for this age group is  Tiktok, the Chinese-run video service. Social media must be legislated, and “has a responsibility to tell the truth, and to tell the truth about Israel, and the truth since Oct. 7,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ellis emphasized the importance of fighting for Canadian values, citizen by citizen.

“What’s been really incredible in the wake of Oct. 7, are the number of grassroots organizations that have sprouted out and been led by people who don’t normally do these things. I’ve watched various individuals, various friends of mine, who have gotten involved, raised the alarm and raised the flag,” he said.

“If we don’t speak up, we’re not going to shake that tree.”

Kinsella, for his part, said that to effectively battle extremism and fundamentalism, people have to form a united front.

“We have to fight as one and come together and put aside our differences.”

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.