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Amos Ben Gershom/GPO/TPS-IL on 25 May, 2025
Ex-Envoy: Israeli Travel Alert Reflects ‘Hostile Climate’ Toward Jews in Canada
Jerusalem, 25 May, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Israel’s government has issued an unusual travel warning for Canada, citing growing threats and violence against Jewish and Israeli individuals. The move prompted concern among Canadians in Israel, who told The Press Service of Israel that the situation reflected a broader atmosphere of hostility that has taken hold in parts of Canadian society.
The advisory, issued by Israel’s National Security Council NSC, raised the threat level for Canada from Level 1 (“normal precautions”) to Level 2 (“occasional threat”). It urged Israeli nationals visiting or living in Canada to exercise increased caution in public spaces, avoid displaying Jewish or Israeli symbols, and to remain alert.
Since the Hamas’ October 7 attack and the war in Gaza, Israel has issued travel advisories for countries with active security threats — most recently Switzerland, where demonstrations targeting the Israeli delegation to the Eurovision song competition were expected. Sunday’s warning is believed to be the first time such a warning has been directed at Canada — a country long considered safe for Jews and Israelis.
The announcement follows a rise in antisemitic and anti-Israel incidents across Canada over the past 18 months, including firebombings, shootings, and threats against Jewish community centers and Israeli institutions. The NSC issued the warning ahead of anti-Israel protests scheduled in several Canadian cities, including Toronto and Waterloo, on the same day as planned pro-Israel community events.
“It’s a very sad reflection of where things have gone in Canada,” Ambassador Vivian Bercovici, Canada’s former ambassador to Israel and a Toronto native, who is Jewish, told TPS-IL. “There’s a climate that tolerates open hostility toward Jews and towards Israel.”
Bercovici described a shift in public safety around events like Toronto’s annual Walk for Israel — once a family-friendly parade, now held under tight security.
“It used to be a festive community event,” she said. But in the last two years, ‘they’re also allowing a lot of what I call pro-Hamas thugs, because that’s what they are, they’re allowing them right onto the route. They allow them to freely march through Jewish neighborhoods, shouting very hateful slogans and behaving in a very threatening manner,” ”
Bercovici also pointed to increasingly strained political relations between the Canadian and Israeli governments as a possible contributing factor.
“There’s been some open hostility expressed between the two Prime Ministers of Israel and Canada towards one another. It’s not personal, but it’s with respect to policy. It’s reached pitched language – unprecedented in my view between the two countries,” Bercovici said.
Paul Shindman, a high-tech engineer who moved to Israel from Toronto 38 years ago, echoed Bercovici’s concerns. Speaking from Jerusalem, he said the advisory highlights a growing failure by Canadian leaders to protect not just Jewish citizens, but anyone who supports peace in the Middle East.
“It’s a sad statement on the reality of the oppressive atmosphere in Canada towards not just the Jewish community but anybody who believes in peace in the Middle East,” Shindman told TPS-IL. “The blind support for the Hamas dictatorship in Gaza without any reference to its opposition to peace, and its abuse of the Palestinians in Gaza has led to a spreading of violence in Canada.”
Shindman also criticized Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s approach to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, particularly the issue of Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas.
“Aid is flowing into Gaza, but there’s no demand from the Canadian government for Hamas to allow Red Cross access to the hostages,” he said. “That’s a basic requirement under international law, and Canada should be insisting on it.”
According to both Bercovici and Shindman, the NSC warning should be seen not just as a caution for Israeli travelers, but as a signal to the international community about shifting social and political dynamics in Canada.
“The Israeli government can’t issue warnings for Jews in Canada, but they can with respect to their own nationals. So I would read that alert very broadly,” Bercovici said.
