When I was interviewing descendants of Holocaust survivors for my next book, I would ask if the participants had experienced any antisemitism growing up. I expected people to rant about vile racist acts. But that’s not what happened. Most people told me that they had not experienced any antisemitism. This included Jews who lived in communities that were largely not Jewish.

It wasn’t always like this. During the 1930s and 1940s, North American Jews were exposed to considerable antisemitism and even race-inspired violence. Neo-Nazis had radio programs where they openly ranted against Jews. In 1933, one of the worst eruptions of ethnic and anti-Semitic violence in Canadian history occurred in Toronto with the Christie Pits riot. In 1939, the pro-Nazi German American Bund, which hosted youth training camps across the US, held a rally at Madison Square Garden, spewing vicious antisemitism to a crowd of 20,000.

Yale, Princeton, Columbia and many other institutions of higher learning limited their enrollment of Jews, as did numerous private academies and preparatory schools. Anti-Jewish restrictions appeared in American fraternities, clubs, resorts, hotels and particular neighborhoods in which homeowners’ associations regularly restricted the sale of property to Jews. Restrictive covenants on properties also existed in Canada which prevented them from being sold to Jews. As well, many clubs, resorts and beaches were barred to Jews. Signs warning “No Jews or Dogs Allowed” or “Christians Only!” could be found on Halifax golf courses and outside hotels in the Laurentians. 

During Hitler’s reign, both America and Canada maintained highly restrictive immigration laws, turning away hundreds of immigrants daily. In 1939, for example, the USS St. Louis was turned away from a Miami port as well as Canada ultimately returning 900 refugees to Nazi Germany, where one-third would be murdered in the Holocaust.

In 1948, the US Congress passed the Displaced Persons Act. The act provided approximately 400,000 US immigration visas for displaced persons between 1949 and 1952, allowing approximately 68,000 were Jews to enter the US. Between 1947 and 1955, the Canadian Jews sponsored and resettled approximately 35,000 Holocaust survivors and their dependents.

These immigrants quickly assimilated into life in Canada and the United States free from the hate that spread across Europe. They enjoyed freedom, acceptance, and prosperity without losing their ethnic identity – something that was difficult to achieve in Europe. Jews are disproportionally represented in business, academia, and politics. About half of the ten wealthiest Americans are Jewish.

It has been referred to as the Golden Age for Jews in North America. While antisemitism existed, it rarely came to the surface. So, it comes as no surprise that those I interviewed stated that they were never exposed to antisemitism. That all changed after October 7. The next day there was an explosion of hatred towards Jews that has not subsided. This shouldn’t have been a surprise because antisemitism has been steadily growing over the past 15 years. In July 2014, during the 2014 Gaza War, there was an increase in the occurrence of antisemitic incidents across North America. In August 2017, the Unite the Right rally took place in Charlottesville, Virginia. During the rally, neo-Nazis chanted antisemitic slogans such as “Jews will not replace us!” and “Blood and soil!” On the second day, a white supremacist ran his car into a crowd of counter protestors, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 35 people. On October 27, 2018, 11 people were murdered in an attack on the Tree of Life – Or L’Simcha synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In May 2021 there was another upsurge of antisemitic actions at the same time as the clashes between Israel and Hamas in Gaza reappeared.

At the same time, college campuses across North America were radicalized against Israel and Jewish students. Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a network of pro-Palestinian student groups across the U.S., disseminated anti-Israel propaganda, often with inflammatory rhetoric. They led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns, utilizing confrontational tactics like disrupting pro-Israel events and hindering collaboration between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel advocates.

Activities such as “Israel Apartheid Week” at Concordia (Montreal), York University (Toronto) and the University of Toronto, and boycott campaigns targeting Israel (BDS) included what some considered as “forms of antisemitism” At York University in 2009, pro-Palestinian activists attacked Jewish students, shouting “Zionism equals racism!” and “Racists off campus!” One witness stated that the attackers started banging the door and windows, intimidating Jewish students and screaming antisemitic slurs such as “Die Jew”, “Get the hell off campus”, and “Go back to Israel”.

As the war in Gaza rages on, life for Jews in North America has become very uncomfortable. Antisemitic tropes and rhetoric is everywhere – university campuses, public squares, politics, and social media. Mainstream media is largely providing a one-sided perspective of the conflict. Jewish academics, professionals, and artists are being blacklisted. In Chicago, someone has created a list of Zionist/Jewish psychotherapists and recommended providers not refer patients to those on the list. Jewish authors are finding many “one-star” reviews of their works on Amazon and other book selling sites. Others have been dropped from speaking engagements. Tenured professors on university campuses are providing a distorted view of Middle East history and politics. Pro-Palestinian rallies often include harassment of Jews, antisemitic tropes, and calling for the destruction of the Israel and Jewish people. White supremacists disseminate antisemitic and anti-Israel imagery and messages online, which they say is in support pro-Palestinian activism under the guise of their hatred for Jews and Israel. There have been more violent acts. Jewish schools have been hit by gunfire and synagogues have been subjected to acts of arson.

In many cases, participants who I interviewed were unsure of how to respond to antisemitism. Many people are pointing out that current trends are a repeat to the antisemitism that spread across Europe in the 1930s and ultimately led to the Holocaust. Certainly, there are some analogies, and the Jewish community needs to keep a close watch on antisemitic activity. But this is not the 1930s. In the lead up to the Holocaust, many European Jews felt that they were experiencing just another “normal” wave of antisemitism that would eventually die out. The attitude at the time was to keep their heads down and not draw too much attention. Today there are strong advocacy groups fighting back. In Canada, there is a group of 300 lawyers who do pro bono work to defend Jewish students. There is now a Jewish homeland that vigorously defends Jews. Unlike Nazi Germany, Canada and the United States are democracies with the rule of law. Both countries have human rights legislation that provides protection for all minorities.

Still, antisemitism has quickly become normalized and will not disappear. Systemic antisemitism has reappeared, making life difficult for Jewish students, professionals and artists. But the Jewish community is not alone. We need to reach out and work with our allies. There are some difficult days ahead, but the work must be done to ensure another Holocaust does not occur in our lifetime.

Activities such as “Israel Apartheid Week” at Concordia (Montreal), York University (Toronto) and the University of Toronto, and boycott campaigns targeting Israel (BDS) included what some considered as “forms of antisemitism” At York University in 2009, pro-Palestinian activists attacked Jewish students, shouting “Zionism equals racism!” and “Racists off campus!” One witness stated that the attackers started banging the door and windows, intimidating Jewish students and screaming antisemitic slurs such as “Die Jew”, “Get the hell off campus”, and “Go back to Israel”.

As the war in Gaza rages on, life for Jews in North America has become very uncomfortable. Antisemitic tropes and rhetoric is everywhere – university campuses, public squares, politics, and social media. Mainstream media is largely providing a one-sided perspective of the conflict. Jewish academics, professionals, and artists are being blacklisted. In Chicago, someone has created a list of Zionist/Jewish psychotherapists and recommended providers not refer patients to those on the list. Jewish authors are finding many “one-star” reviews of their works on Amazon. Others have been dropped from speaking engagements. Tenured professors on university campuses are providing a distorted view of Middle East history and politics. Pro-Palestinian rallies often include harassment of Jews, antisemitic tropes, and calling for the destruction of the Israel and Jewish people. White supremacists disseminate antisemitic and anti-Israel imagery and messages online, which they say is in support pro-Palestinian activism under the guise of their hatred for Jews and Israel. There have been more violent acts. Jewish schools have been hit by gunfire and synagogues have been subjected to acts of arson.

In many cases, participants who I interviewed were unsure of how to respond to antisemitism. Many people are pointing out that current trends are a repeat to the antisemitism that spread across Europe in the 1930s and ultimately led to the Holocaust. Certainly, there are some analogies and the Jewish community needs to keep a close watch on antisemitic acts. But this is not the 1930s. In the lead up to the Holocaust, many European Jews felt that they were experiencing just another typical wave of antisemitism that would eventually die out. The attitude was to keep their down and not draw too much attention. Today there are strong advocacy groups fighting back. In Canada, there is a group of 300 lawyers who will do pro bono work to defend Jewish students. There is now a Jewish homeland that vigorously defends Jews. Unlike Nazi Germany, Canada and the United States are democracies with the rule of law. Both countries have human rights legislation that provides protection for all minorities.

Still, antisemitism has quickly become normalized and will not disappear. Systemic antisemitism has also reappeared making life difficult for Jewish students, professionals and artists. And the Jewish community is not alone. We need to reach out and work with our allies. There are some difficult days ahead but the work must be done to ensure another Holocaust does not occur in our lifetime.