It is with some degree of astonishment that the CBC has recently provided a couple of reports about a white supremacist neo-Nazi group organizing demonstrations in London, Ontario. This is noteworthy because the group seems to be fashioning itself on demonstrations that have plagued the country for the past two years, but are most egregious in large cities. The group assembled on an overpass, but did not stay long enough to get a coffee delivery from the local police. The irony seems to be lost on the CBC and others. It would be laughable if it were not so upsetting and serious.

We all share an abhorrence of racists, but the alarm voiced by some folks in London about feeling unsafe is something Jewish citizens have been saying for a long time. But the few who complained in London were heard by the OPP and RCMP right off the bat. Jewish citizens have been under attack in their homes, schools, synagogues, businesses, universities, and on the streets. Our calls for action have been met with bromides, a little superficial empathy, and a police service that seems uncertain or reluctant to help, except to cordon off public areas to ensure that things don’t escalate. It has been a costly exercise as private groups require protection and additional policing just to carry on in day-to-day functions. The public purse has been affected too, of course, as police forces are used to monitor the demonstrations and babysit the activists. For society, it has shown us that it is not that hard to spew hatred and violence on some of your neighbours without consequence. The message has clearly been Get used to it. This is the new normal.

Why has this small group (just 24 in London) managed to succeed in alarming the authorities when so many others have failed elsewhere? The neo-Nazi group is similar in some ways to the demonstrators we have seen, but different from them too. They are far fewer in number, despite apparently organizing themselves on social media. They have a uniform—just like the keffiyeh-clad protesters we have become accustomed to seeing. They are masked. The mask is the de rigueur accessory because it is cowardly but very effective. It keeps them hidden even though authorities are very capable of figuring out who they are, and could unmask them if they chose to do so.

They are all men, unlike the many young women we see at pro-Palestinian demonstrations with pro-Hamas elements. It is understood that they are white, something that they have in common with many of the disruptive protesters we have seen over the past two years. Dissatisfaction with our society is widespread in both groups, but for different reasons. All crave the power of the totalitarian. It is unclear if any of the neo-Nazis are affiliated with universities, as so many Hamas supporters have proven to be. We have yet to see a political endorsement for white supremacists from the NDP as a possible motivation. Most obviously, they are openly anti-Semitic, but without any of the claptrap sophistry about Zionism and Israel. And that does not seem to worry anyone.

The neo-Nazi style of ethnic cleansing may be a bit harder to swallow, but perhaps it is a response to the anti-colonial rhetoric that is so popular these days. Has this group actually been encouraged by the pervasive propaganda that ‘some’ Canadians do not truly belong in this country? The ‘some’, from the decolonizer point of view, actually refers to almost everyone, in case people have misunderstood the frequent declarations we hear about settlers. But far from analyzing the emergence of this latest group from the shadows onto the stage of overpasses and on the CBC’s doorstep in Ottawa, the media and authorities are very ready to condemn this group for the image it evokes, and not the message they bring.

One thing that is clear is that their brief demonstrations have garnered a marked reaction by the social justice warriors at the CBC, which has been relatively complacent when covering violent and offensive actions by other activists. Those frequent, noisy, and violent demonstrations are a much greater threat to civility and tolerance within Canadian society but have not alarmed the majority. The white supremacist racists are entirely home-grown. The demonstrators we have seen for the past two years have connections to many people new to Canada who have brought their wars with them while seeking refuge in a peaceful place where they can raise their children in safety.

The police and our politicians have created this situation by sitting on their hands for the past two years. Mayors and premiers have been timid about responding in a meaningful way, apparently worried about offending the noisy activists, while some truly do agree with protesters and make that clear through their actions if not their words. Our federal government has added to the problem by declaring recognition of a country that does not exist, by funding UN organizations that funnel operatives and monetary support to terrorists, and by accepting terrorist groups as legitimate charities while punishing Jewish charities. Terrorists have been welcomed into the country by failing to properly screen newcomers. Our judiciary have assisted by failing to charge or prosecute offenders. And ordinary citizens are complicit in accepting all of this without raising their voices to object. Is this the event that will open their eyes?

After the Holocaust, Canada emerged from the accepted norms of institutional antisemitism that was pervasive. It came to be seen as unjust, and the country was able to abandon many of those racist policies. We see a return to that condition now, with renewed vigour as citizens have adopted a complex ideology that says one thing and practices the opposite.

Jews have been feeling unsafe and talking about it for a long time. Let’s see whether the fledgling threat of white supremacists can fix a very sick trend in our previously good and moral society. The unheeded warning, Those who come for the Jews will come for everyone next, is on the verge of becoming a reality in Canada.

Barbara Okun grew up in Winnipeg, and pursued her interests through her various jobs as a speech-language pathologist, afternoon Hebrew School teacher and cantorial soloist. Her father was released from Bergen-Belsen in 1945, but had little time to begin life anew before his untimely death in 1955. This in part, forms the basis for seeking meaning in these challenging times, when Jews are once again under attack, and some do not understand the threats that continue to face our tribe.

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