Media Release: Grand Chief Lynda Prince on Canadian Antisemitism

4 September 2024

Statement by Grand Chief Lynda Prince, envoy  of Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem, on antisemitism in Canada

As the new academic year begins, I urge our government and academic institutions to work harder to provide a safe place for Jewish students and communities in our midst.

I write this after the recent spate of threatening emails, sent to more than 100 Jewish institutions across Canada. This kind of hate, intimidation and threat of violence has no place in our nation. 

As the original inhabitants of this land, we, the First Nations peoples, have welcomed the Jewish people into our lands and territories and like everyone else in this country they deserve to be protected. 

We call on our governments at all levels to not just provide security but to combat and prevent Jew hatred, implement the IHRA recommendations, call out lies and bigotry against the Jewish State. Israel is our democratic ally and a country that blesses all its citizens with civil rights and freedoms. 

We urge our institutions of learning to provide education on Jewish indigeneity, Jewish history and Jewish contributions to our country, and to work harder to foster understanding and protect our Jewish students from discrimination. 

We must be upstanders and not bystanders. This is not the time to be silent but to realize that Israel is on the front line for the whole of western civilization.

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