Protests to Pogroms: Canada’s Descent to Darkness

Just when does a protest become a pogrom? Increasingly the dividing line between the two has become blurred. And, if ongoing protests against Israel are any indication, Canada’s Jews face a fearful future in coming years.
 
Dissenting from the decisions of government is not a crime, nor should it be. Peaceful public protests are also a legitimate and necessary right in Canada, protected by law. Yet when does a legitimate protest descend into a pogrom? 

The history of pogroms is tough reading, for it is a history of unfathomable hate, violence, destruction, and even genocide. By definition a pogrom is a targeted riot against a specific people, usually based on race or religion. It is the actions of a hate-fueled mob, formally organized or spontaneously erupting that targets its enemy with terror and harm. Pogroms are marked by both dehumanizing brutality towards those unlucky enough to be found in the streets and damaging vandalism to businesses, places of worship, and homes. 
 
Best case scenarios see the targeted people humiliated and facing costly repairs. Worst case scenarios see people beaten and killed in the streets, burned to death in buildings, or raped in a frenzy of sexualized violence. 
 
Many Canadian Jews fled such horrors in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, hoping that Canada would be a haven from such atrocities. And for decades that longed-for safety was ensured by police, politicians, and neighbors of good will. It seemed as if the darkness was a thing of the past.
 
Sadly, the on-going protests in our streets over the actions of Israel in response to October 7th raise serious questions about that continued safety. Police passively watch what used to be crimes. Governments are relatively silent when Jews are targeted. Media often ignores behaviour that was at one time considered to be unacceptable treatment of minorities. And, for those with a memory of past darkness, some actions in the streets are increasingly looking more like a pogrom than a protest.