Trudeau names Jewish lawmaker as new adviser on Canadian Jewish community and anti-Semitism

A Jewish member of Canadian Parliament has been appointed as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new adviser on Jewish community issues and combating anti-Semitism following a series of brutal attacks on synagogues and Jewish schools.

Anthony Housefather’s appointment Friday comes as Canada has seen a rise in violent anti-Semitism. Two Toronto synagogues were attacked last weekend, with windows smashed, and in May, shots were fired at Jewish schools in separate incidents, one in Montreal and one in Toronto. An arson attack is suspected at a Vancouver synagogue.

The announcement comes just two weeks after Trudeau’s Liberal Party he lost the election in the Liberal stronghold of the Toronto area, where many Jews lived. The loss was portrayed in the Canadian media as a message of dissatisfaction with the situation of Canadian Jews. reports of an increase anti-Semitism and government policies perceived as unfriendly to Israel.

The father of the house told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that would seek whole-of-government engagement in addressing rising anti-Semitism, cutting red tape through legislation or moral suasion.

“We say, ‘This is federal, this is municipal,’ and people are being redirected all over the place and they’re just frustrated,” he said. “We need coordination between different levels of government.”

In a statement he wrote: he was referring to reports of harassment of Jewish and pro-Israeli students on campuses. “While we cannot make anti-Semitism disappear, all levels of government, universities and police can take concrete steps to make Jewish Canadians feel safer in this country,” he said.

Born in Montreal, Housefather attended Herzliah High School, a Jewish day school, and earned law and business degrees. He served as mayor before entering parliament in 2015, where represents the electoral district of Mont Royal in Montreal, which is majority Jewish. He is distinguished member of the Inter-Parliamentary Task Force on Anti-Semitism and is an outspoken defender of Israel and Jewish affairs.

Housefather was the target of anti-Semitic leaflets in the Montreal area he represents, accusing him of being a “neo-Nazi” because of his support for Israel and calling on him to “leave Canada.”“

One of Housefather’s immediate goals in his new position is to pass legislation that would make it a crime to block the entrance to a Jewish institution, similar to pandemic-era legislation aimed at protesters who sought to prevent people from entering hospitals and other medical facilities to get vaccinated.

“One of the offences that I strongly advocate for in terms of legislation is what we call bubble legislation, which is that there is a protective zone to allow people to enter or leave a place of worship, a school or a community centre,” he said. “If you block the building, you are preventing me from exercising my freedom of speech.”

In March, pro-Palestinian protesters tried to prevent people from attending a presentation at a Toronto synagogue attended by real estate agents promoted the sale of real estate in Israel and the West Bankthe latter of which is considered seized under Canadian law.

He will remain in Parliament and work alongside the Canadian Parliament. Special Envoy for Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Anti-Semitism, Deborah Lyons.

“Fighting anti-Semitism is an all-hands-on-deck effort. Grateful to continue working with (Housefather) — in this new role — to address the enormous challenge facing Canada and Canadians,” Lyons wrote on X. “Anthony’s dedication to combating this epidemic of normalized and systemic anti-Semitism, while elevating the Jewish community and its contributions, makes him an ideal partner in this work.”

Key Canadian Jewish and pro-Israel bodies, including the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs and B’nai B’rith Canada, welcomed the nomination, as did the Israeli ambassador to Canada. As did Trudeau.

“In recent months, we have witnessed a disturbing rise in anti-Semitism around the world, including here in Canada. This cannot continue,” Trudeau said in a statement. “Mr. Housefather’s role will be to advise the Prime Minister and ministers on the development and coordination of the Government of Canada’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism and ensure that Jewish Canadians can live with strength, safety and dignity.”

Trudeau, whose centre-left party is falling in the pollspursues an Israel policy that seeks to balance the support that the Liberals have enjoyed for decades among the Canadian Jewish community with growing criticism from the Canadian left for the country’s support for Israel.

“The Jewish community has become very unhappy over the last few months with the way that all governments have dealt with anti-Semitism,” Housefeather said in an interview. “This is a very significant step by the prime minister to address the concerns of the community.”

This criticism also came from Housefather. He publicly considered abandoning the Liberals because a majority of the party’s MLAs voted for a nonbinding motion tabled by a party to the left of the Liberals, called the NDP, who would recognize the statehood of Palestine. Israel and its allies see a boom a movement among leftist governments in the West to recognize Palestinian statehood as a reward for Hamas for starting the war against Israel on October 7. Trudeau’s minority government is maintained by contract from NDP.

Housefather reversed his decision in part because of talks with Trudeau, who promised him greater involvement in policies addressing anti-Semitism and Israel.

“I had very, very painful conversations where we talked about what I thought was insufficient action on the part of the government” The father of the house told CBC at that time. And he said, “Come to me, come to Deborah Lyons, take the lead on this file, and we’ll fix it.”

This CBC reported that Housefather’s nomination was delayed because some Liberal Party legislators thought he was too controversial and others wondered what the difference would be between his job and Lyons’s.

Housefather said his dual role as a legislator and adviser will complement Lyons’s. “I’ll be able to talk to members of the House and Senate. I’ll be able to talk to our (government) ministers,” Housefather said.