Angry?

You should be.

Picture this: somewhere in an alternate universe, the world has awoken after the celebration of Shavuot - the holiday celebrating the giving of the Torah to not only the Jewish people but to the people of the world - thankful how the Jewish tradition helped lay the framework for Western civilization.

And let me highlight the “civil” in civilization.

The Ten Commandments set the framework for human morality and decency, and have shaped human history ever since then for the better. In that alternate universe, people emerge from Shavuot thankful for the Jewish narrative. They smile and wave at their Jewish neighbours before departing for work in the morning.

Alas, we do not live in that alternate reality.

The last four days in this universe have given us reason to be mad. And frankly, if you haven’t emerged from the last few days angry, then you’re doing Jewish wrong.

What happened?

On Sunday morning, June 1, in Boulder, Colorado, the Jewish community held their regular march in solidarity with the 58 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. A 45 year old terrorist approached, yelled “Free Palestine!” and threw several Molotov cocktails at the crowd, which included also using a “makeshift flamethrower.” At least six victims were seriously burned and transported to hospital. As reported,

“There were people on the ground and a bunch of others running over with buckets and bottles and whatever they could carry water in” the store owner told CNN. “Everyone was dumping water on the burned people, especially one woman on the ground who was totally torched from her hair to her legs.”

The attack was apparently planned for a year, as the perpetrator had “wanted to kill all Zionist people.” A witness said he saw, “smoke coming from a human being,” and the authorities confirm finding an additional 16 unused Molotov cocktails nearby.

Authorities treating a victim of the Sunday attack (photo: CNN)

This comes of course just 12 days after the murderous attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC, which left Sarah Milgram and Yaron Lischinsky dead.

Over the last several days, there have also been reports - now thoroughly debunked, of mass Palestinian casualty events near food distribution sites in Gaza. Hamas has announced, without proof or any verification whatsoever, that the IDF opened fire against innocent Palestinian civilians simply seeking to collect food from distribution sites. However, despite almost every major news network in the world reporting on the Hamas allegations as though they are gospel, these reports have been debunked.

Even the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), who is distributing some of the aid (undermining Hamas efforts to continue to starve their own people), issued this statement:

Innacurate news reporting: While we have seen false news reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos at our distribution sites, yesterday’s false reporting was the most egregious in terms of outright fabrications and misinformation fed to the international media community.

Despite our warning that Hamas was spreading falsehoods regarding an incident at a GHF distribute site, news outlets reported prematurely anyway on complete fabrications distributed by bad faith actors. One news outlet even published a quote from a source that stated naval warships were firing on civilians near our distribution site. That is ludicrous.

We reiterate that there were no injuries, fatalities or incidents during our operations yestereday. Period. We have yet to see any concrete evidence that there was an attack at or near our facility yesterday and that evidence-based reporting should be at least the minimum requirement for news outlets.

A new, modern-day blood libel, spouting up day after day.

Of course Hamas is trying to tarnish the GHF. They are providing millions of meals to Gazans for free, trying to bypass Hamas and the UN’s corruption, and hand out meals.

Disgraced former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in a desperate attempt at relevancy, despite being one of Israel’s most inept and corrupt leaders, is seeking to aid our enemies by alleging that Israel is engaging in war crimes. Even Labour party leader Yair Golan - who really should be known for being a 10/7 hero - has waded into the blood libel hobby, noting that Israel “kills babies as a pasttime.” For shame. Resign.

Finally, my friend Natasha Hausdorff appeared on Piers Morgan’s show on June 3, and managed to get him to show his true colours. Comedian Dave Smith was given all the time in the world to spout his nonsense, while Natasha was cut off, rudely dismissed, and alleged to be supporting a genocide. Morgan has consistently invited antisemites onto his show to allow them to share their views, but didn’t let Natasha get a word in.

Enough

Let’s drop the nice Jewish act for a minute. Let’s stop pretending that everything’s fine, or that being polite and reasonable is going to get us anywhere right now. Because something is happening: something ugly, dangerous, and entirely familiar. And we are not just saddened or disappointed by it. We are furious.

Jews in the Diaspora are angry. Not “frustrated.” Not “concerned.” Not “uncomfortable.” Angry. Raging. Done playing the role of the well-behaved minority who sits quietly while being lied about, vilified, and threatened in broad daylight.

Because make no mistake: lies are being told about us. They are old lies, new lies, lies on the street, on the screens, and in the classrooms. We are being painted as colonizers in our ancestral homeland. Accused of genocide by people who cheer for the literal Hamas wannabe-genocidaires. Blamed for global unrest. Portrayed as puppet-masters, warmongers, bloodthirsty monsters. Sound familiar? It should. It’s a remix of the same filth that’s followed us through every era of exile. It's antisemitism in 2025, and don’t tell us it's “just about Israel.” That’s bullshit.

In 2025, we are no longer stealing Christian babies. Today we are allegedly harvesting organs, bombing hospitals on purpose, and targeting civilians lining up for food for sport. Same slander, new graphics. The antisemitism industry just got a Canva subscription and hired a PR intern.

We’re angry because these lies are being legitimized. Not just muttered by fringe lunatics, but shouted from podiums, posted by influencers, former prime ministers, and printed — sometimes verbatim — in supposedly reputable newspapers.

BBC’s “apology” for reporting Hamas’s lies as fact

Washington Post’s after-the-fact “apology” about their mis-reporting

When we call out the nonsense and the lies? We’re told to “reflect,” to “stay calm,” to “consider the broader context.”

Not this time. We are the context.

We’re Angry

We’re angry because antisemitism is the only hatred in this country that comes with a complimentary debate. When there’s racism, it’s condemned. When there’s Islamophobia, it’s condemned. When there's anti-Asian or anti-Black hate, it’s condemned. But when it’s antisemitism? Suddenly it's a think-piece. A panel discussion that may even include some Jews who are Zionists. A half-hearted “if true” tweet. A moral equivalency between antisemitism and Islamophobia. Maybe - maybe - a condemnation if you’re lucky, and only if you bring visual aids and cry on command.

We’re angry because we are being asked to apologize for surviving. For being strong. For having a country that fights back. And let’s be very clear: attacks on Israel are attacks on Jews. Not because criticism of a government is antisemitic (please, grow up), but because these attacks are not about policies. They’re about existence. About the idea that Jews shouldn’t have power, shouldn’t have agency, shouldn’t defend ourselves there, or here.

We’re angry because our kids are being harassed in school, and when we speak up, we’re told we’re overreacting. We're angry because our synagogues have police stationed outside, and yet it's somehow our fault for “being political.” We’re angry because Jewish students on campus have to hide their identities and jewelry to be safe while the ones calling for intifada are handed microphones, megaphones, and scholarships.

We’re angry because Canada is our home. And in our home, we shouldn’t be treated like strangers, or worse, like enemies. We’ve bled for this country. Fought in its wars. Helped build it. Paid taxes. Hired workers. Donated to hospitals. Taught in its schools. And what do we get in return? Vandalized community centres. Hate-fests in downtown Toronto. Editorials equating Jewish safety with apartheid.

Well, we’re done asking nicely.

Some in our community are still scared — and that’s understandable. But more and more of us? We’re just mad. And that anger is not weakness. It’s strength. It’s a spark. It’s the same righteous anger that fueled the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, that rebuilt a homeland out of Holocaust ash, that brought Ethiopian Jews home, that defended kibbutzim with nothing but hope and some old rifles. That targeted Hezbollah with their own pagers and walkie-talkies in the greatest act of espionage, well, ever.

We are a small people who have always done great things, especially when the world underestimated us. So keep underestimating us. Keep expecting us to keep our heads down, to shrink ourselves, to make ourselves smaller to fit into the mold of your acceptable Jew.

We’re not going to fit.

We are different

Unlike the antisemites in our midst, when we get angry, we don’t go stand and shout at children. We don’t spraypaint your stores, your religious institutions, or make you feel unsafe. We don’t cover our faces because we are not ashamed at what we are doing, and we are not afraid that we are doing something illegal. Standing up for ourselves is not an illicit activity.

We build ourselves up. We make our own lives better. We improve our situation, because, well, no one else is going to do it for us. Unlike the haters, we care more for ourselves than we do about hating you. To quote Golda Meir, “we will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their own kids more than they hate ours.”

We are angry. And we are fighting, not just for ourselves, but for the soul of the country we love. Because I believe that Canada is worth fighting for. I haven’t given up on my home yet. The real Canada, the one that believes in justice, in truth, in decency. Not the Canada that lets swastikas fly under the banner of free speech. Not the Canada that stares blankly while our identities are assaulted. Not the Canada that confuses neutrality with cowardice.

We’re not leaving. We’re not hiding. And we’re not going quietly.

We’re loud. We’re angry.

And that anger is going to change everything.