What would a Christian God say to the world today? Or Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish or Hindu God? And can you tell the difference?

 
What would a Christian God say to the world today? Or a Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or Jewish God? And could you tell the difference? I asked ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence program that searches information online (e.g. religious websites), to give responses to those questions. How many things are different between them? The same? Spoiler alert: There are lots of similarities. Read about it in my latest column.

At Christmastime, time to drop the Huron Carol? Or maybe sing a different version

‘Twas in the moon of winter-time, when all the birds had fled. That mighty Gitchi Manitou, sent angel choirs instead. Before their light the stars grew dim, and wandering hunter heard the hymn: “Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.”

Those are the opening lines of what’s known as the Huron Carol, a much-loved song in Canada that is widely regarded as the first, if not the quintessential, Canadian Christmas carol.

 

In fact, those aren’t the carol’s original words, written in in the 17th century by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary among the Hurons (also known as the Wendat). They are the words of Canadian church choir director and poet Jesse Edgar Middleton, who wrote them in 1926.

Middleton’s words are less a translation of the original and more a complete remaking of the lyrics — they bear no relation to Brébeuf’s text and are, in fact, a heavily romanticized idea of Indigenous life springing form the imagination of a white Christian Canadian.

And now some are suggesting it may be time to ditch the carol due to that fact, and because of the church's terrible history of colonization and residential schools. Either that, or use the original lyrics or new ones written by an Indigenous person.

 

Read about it in my latest Free Press column.

Mennonites across U.S., Canada to support calls for Gaza ceasefire on Dec. 19

 

Members of Mennonite churches in Winnipeg will gather Dec. 19 outside the office of Liberal cabinet minister Dan Vandal’s office on St. Mary’s Road to hold a service for peace. 

“We want to sing and pray and thank the Canadian government for joining in a call for a ceasefire in Gaza and urge them to keep calling for a permanent end to the fighting,” said Karla Braun, one of the event organizers. 

The noon gathering will be “peaceful and non-confrontational, growing out of our Mennonite commitment to peace,” said Braun, a member of the Crossroads Mennonite Brethren Church. 

At the same time, it will be an opportunity to condemn all violence in the Hamas-Israel war and pray for the release of those still being held hostage in Gaza. 

“We want to speak up for all who are suffering, Israelis and Palestinians,” she said, noting invitations went out to members of Mennonite churches in Winnipeg last week. 

The event is one of about 40 actions by Mennonites across the U.S. and Canada today. 

Read my story in the Free Press here.

Interfaith relations in Calgary: “It’s like a bone is broken, and the rest of us can come around it like a cast to hold it and mend it until it is healed.”

In my column about the challenges facing interfaith relations post-October 7, I referred to what the Calgary Interfaith Council did to try to build bridges between the faith communities in that city. 

There wasn't enough room to tell the whole story; find it below.

The first thing the Calgary Interfaith Council did after the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel was hold a listening circle for its members. 

“It was a time to share and hear how the attack was impacting board members and their communities,” said executive director Sarah Arthurs, noting this was particularly important for members from the Jewish and Muslim communities. 

Out of that meeting came a decision to hold an interfaith prayer service, which was held on December 11, and another listening circle. 

At the circle, which included members from the Jewish and Muslim communities, it was clear things were “complicated,” as Arthurs put it. “But people stayed in the room to be heard and stay connected,” she said. 

When it came time to plan the public interfaith prayer service, it was apparent the Jewish and Muslim members of the organizing committee were not in a place where they could help organize it. 

“They already had so much going on in their own communities,” Arthurs said, noting other members of the Council’s board stepped up to organize the event. “They [the Jewish and Muslim board members] weren’t able to take on that role.” 

The event itself—so far, it appears to have been the only one held in Canada to date—went well, she said, noting between 40 to 50 people attended. 

People spoke authentically, she said, and at the end there were handshakes and good conversations over food, she said, adding even though not many attended “just doing it was important. It was a first step, not a last step.” 

For Arthurs, who comes from a Christian background, the experience showed while members of the Jewish and Muslim communities have “limited capacity to have much empathy for others right now,” people from other faith groups who are not party to the conflict can “have empathy for both, we can hold space until they are ready to return.” 

That, she said, is her “rudder, finding ways to do that.” 

And no matter what is going on in the world, people of faith can “still pray, be kind, find a way forward,” she said. “It’s like a bone is broken, and the rest of us can come around it like a cast to hold it and mend it until it is healed.” 

Answering the bell for the Salvation Army at Christmastime

 

“Smile, be friendly and go soft on the bells.” 

With those words, Kristin Marand, who co-ordinates marketing and communications for the Salvation Army’s Prairie division, welcomed me to my two-hour volunteer shift at a Christmas kettle at the Superstore on Gateway Road in Winnipeg. 

I was there in answer to an urgent plea for volunteers to help the Salvation Army raise $300,000 to help Winnipeggers in need. 

Read about my stint as a bell ringer for the Sally Ann in the Free Press. And if you have some free time, why not volunteer where you live, too? For more information, go to the Salvation Army website. 

John Lennon-Yoko Ono bed-in for peace an inspiration for calls and prayers for peace today

 

In July, I stayed at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. By chance, I was given a room on the 17th floor, just two doors down from the suite where John Lennon and Yoko Ono held their famous bed-in for peace in 1969 — the same place where they recorded the song Give Peace a Chance. 

It’s impossible to miss the suite when you are on that floor; large murals adorn the hallway leading to the room, and the words “Give peace a chance” are printed in a huge font across the door. 

I mention that experience because, in November, independent Montreal journalist Taylor Noakes wrote an open letter to Mayor Valerie Plante suggesting that city hold a rally for peace in the Middle East. He based his case for holding the rally, in part, on that city’s connection to Lennon and Ono’s bed-in. 

I also mention it because a place like Winnipeg could also be a place for such a rally or service for peace—like they held in Calgary in mid-December. Or any other Canadian city, for that matter, even if it might be a difficult thing to do. 

Read more in my latest column.

Manitobans (and anyone else) invited to pray for peace in Middle East Dec. 15-17

 

Manitobans of all faiths are invited to pray for peace in the Middle East, and around the world, this weekend. 

The Manitoba Multifaith Council is calling on people to pray as congregations, and individually, on Friday and Saturday.

“During this time of year, many faith traditions share an emphasis on light, peace and goodwill towards all humanity,” Rocky Baronins, a member of the council’s board, said. “We invited people to pray for peace in all the world.”

Baronins said he hopes that by taking time to pause and pray, people will “think about who we are all together as Manitobans, as part of the human race, even if we have different faiths and views.”

In addition to praying for peace, Baronins said people will be invited to reflect on and pray about the rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia in Manitoba and across Canada.

“It’s a way to say we all want peace here and around the world,” Baronins — a member of the West Winnipeg Stake, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — said.

The call for peace is coming at a time when international tensions are high.

“Many people have family and friends in places that are experiencing conflict,” Baronins said, noting the council doesn’t feel the time is right to hold an in-person event.

Congregations and individuals can pray in their own way, he said.

“We are all on the same side of peace… this is a way to collectively say we all want peace,” Baronins said.

A selection of sample prayers will be posted on the council’s website at http://wfp.to/6kk and the hashtag #prayforpeace has been created so people who participate can share their experiences on social media.

“We hope this weekend of prayer can have a positive impact on our communities,” Baronins said.

From the Dec. 14 Winnipeg Free Press. 

Christmas cancelled in Bethlehem

Christmas has been cancelled in Bethlehem this year. That’s what Palestinian church leaders in that city have decided because of the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

There won’t be any public celebrations, Christmas lights or a decorated tree in Manger Square — not as long the war continues.

There will still be a manger scene, however, located in the sanctuary of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem. But instead of the baby Jesus being surrounded by his adoring parents, shepherds, wise men, animals and angels, it will feature a swaddled doll lying in the debris of a shattered building.

Read my column about it here.

Why do people still go to church? People across Canada share their reasons

 

The story of Christianity in Canada the last 20 years has been one of decline — attendance and affiliation are both decreasing for many congregations.

But not everyone has stopped going to church. I recently asked people on social media who still go to church to tell me why.

For most, it’s about community. Almost everyone listed that as being important. But other things came up, too, such as worship, music, growing in faith and service. Some also mentioned things such as connecting with the divine, the holy or with transcendence, or being in God’s presence.

Nobody mentioned sermons. (Although one person mentioned “Bible teaching” in general.)

Read about why people go to church in my WFP column here.

Interfaith cooperation in Manitoba a casualty of war between Israel and Hamas

A number of years ago I interviewed Alan Green, former rabbi at Shaarey Zedek, about what made Winnipeg special for him.

Green, who had moved here from California, quickly said one thing he appreciated about Winnipeg was the commitment by people of faith to interfaith collaboration and co-operation.

It was, he said, a model for other cities in Canada about how to “love one another, despite our differences.”

I’m not sure we are much of a model these days. The war in Gaza has created a gulf between Jews, Palestinians, Muslims and others—and it may take a long time to bridge it, if it ever can be done. Read my Free Press column about it here.

Can we really know how many Canadians are religious or not religious? Canadian scholars of religion weigh in

Is it possible to know how many people in Canada and the U.S. are religious? Ryan Burge, who studies religion in the U.S., says no. But some Canadian scholars disagree—although they note we could do a better job at asking questions about religiosity and spirituality. And they agree that the number of people who claim to be religious is declining. Read about it in my recent column.

Also find below the full answers from the scholars who responded to my query about this topic.

Sam Reimer, Crandall University

I think Ryan is saying what we all know—that different polls/surveys give different results, and it probably good to find some middle ground based the different results. What we do know is that these results, though never perfect, are better than our best guess! What is clear is the percentage of people who have no religious identity is increasing in both NA countries, and that younger generations are more likely to be nones than older generations (see Sarah WL new book).

Obviously, different polls use different methodologies, different wording in the question, which will give different results. Differing results can also be related to which religious groups are listed, the order of the questions on the survey, and other factors.  It seems like Canadians are more likely to select a religious identity in the census than on an online survey. The census has less nones. This may be because they are more likely to want to identify according to their family's historical religion on the census, or panels tend to have more young respondents, not sure.

Joel Thiessen, Ambrose University

I agree that we lack objective metrics for ‘religiosity.’ Still, I’m partial to a relatively objective metric of ‘religious nones’ to simply mean someone who does not identify with a religion or religious group. This approach privileges affiliation as the lowest common denominator, separate from the varied beliefs or behaviours that may or may not accompany a religious none.

However, even when measuring ‘religiosity’ as a category, consistent measures – however imperfect – still yield useful descriptions and comparisons to track changes over time. And yet, as Burge intimates, we still need to be cautious in our interpretations of what these data reveal or not across time and space, mindful along the way of different forms and expressions – and thus measures – of religiosity over time.

Ideally, we should aim to compare the constant measures of religiosity that survey researchers have used over time (e.g., belief, behaviour, belonging, and even salience), accounting for new/evolving measurements plus variations across religious groups/traditions whenever possible and applicable.

Moreover, we must gather and pay attention to high quality and multi-layered forms of qualitative research that can offer a far more granular understanding of what quantitative indicators mean or not. Nancy Ammerman and Lori Beaman are two great examples of what difference this approach can have on our scholarly understandings and interpretations of (non)religion.  

I’m far less comfortable with the assertion that “There’s no objective measuring stick for us. So, everything is just a series of best guesses.” Guesses is an unfair and misleading descriptor, reducing the role of legitimate experts in this space (all of us!) to armchair fill-in-the-blanks. Just because we cannot draw upon objective measures does not imply we’re just guessing.

Our work as scholars of religion is set apart both in our ability to measure different aspects of (non)religion and religiosity, however imperfect, and then to interpret those data carefully and robustly. In the process, we must – and no doubt are – cautious to not overstate what the data potentially mean or not. This latter contribution of interpretation is part of what sets us apart from the armchair guesser.

Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme, University of Waterloo

I agree and echo Sam’s and Joel’s thoughts. Any measure of a concept, including of religion, will never be perfect. Additionally, there are many dimensions of religiosity to measure. So it’s important to build good-quality measures, and to clearly state what they are when presenting results from them. 

And even though no one study is ever perfect, a good-quality empirical study of (non)religion with a clearly defined measure and a pretty representative sample is much, much better than just a guess.

I proceed with survey/Census data on (non)religion in the same way as many recommend working with election polls: don’t rely on just one poll alone, but instead look at all the data being gathered (and we’re fortunate that there is quite a bit out there), and identify the trends that emerge (along with any discrepancies in results). 

This allows us to get a good sense of where trends appear in the various ways we measure religiosity dimensions, and where findings are still mixed and more study is needed.

John Stackhouse, Crandall University

A few small points, then, if I may.

1. In my work on evangelicalism, I’ve long chided pollsters—going back to George Rawlyk’s 1990s poll with son-in-law Andrew Grenville, working with Angus Reid at the time, and recently with Cardus/Canadian Bible Society—that definitions of a religious group should be “own-able” by representative members of that group. If the observer’s definition, that is, materially differs from the participant’s definition—and particularly from that of the leaders and spokespeople for that group—then a yellow flag should go up.

(I published an article a few [!] years ago to show that the massive scholarship on conversion that both drew from and applied to Billy Graham generally misunderstood conversion as taught by evangelicalism in general and by Graham himself—such that most sociologists literally didn’t understand what they were looking at when they looked at Billy Graham: "Billy Graham and the Nature of Conversion: A Paradigm Case," Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses 21 (1992): 337-50. 

When it comes to evangelicalism, to illustrate, I insist (most recently in Evangelicalism: A Very Short Introduction) that all six descriptors ought to be present if one is confidently identifying evangelicalism: Trinitarian theology; the centrality of the Bible to theology, ethics, and piety; conversion as both gift and quest; missional vocation; pragmatic flexibility beyond core convictions; and populism in both theological authority and ecclesiastical politics. 

These, I am confident, can be reduced to good survey questions and—my point here—all must be present, not just some, to be sure you have found evangelicals, rather than this or that other kind of Christian.

Even more basically, with church attendance statistics continuing to decline, pollsters are, in my view, caving in (and have for thirty years) to count evangelicals-in-good-standing among those who go to church only monthly. 

But mere monthly attendance, outside of special circumstances (like frontier conditions in which a church is a twenty-mile horseback ride away, or Chinese conditions in which precious pew seats are rationed), is not consistent with a form of religion that emphasizes vitality. John Wesley, in short, would not have approved of any Methodist attending church only monthly. Any good evangelical pastor would feel the same.

Thus many things are attributed to “evangelicals” that are true only of people who for one reason or another happen to be caught in a too-wide net.

2. Having said all that (!), I’m reminded of Michael Lindsay’s sociological work on American evangelical elites (published eventually as Faith in the Halls of Power, OUP 2008) in which he reported that fully one-quarter of these successful people identifying as evangelicals didn’t go to church. And I know a number of keen evangelicals who struggle with churchgoing.

So do I contradict myself? Then I contradict myself! But disillusionment with contemporary church life is actually characteristic of the evangelical heritage—indeed, characteristic of its “feeder” movements of Puritanism and Pietism. 

What Lindsay also reports is that these disaffected evangelicals nonetheless met regularly with intimate and sustaining small groups of fellow believers. And that is a page right out of the Pietist playbook, taken up by, yes, Wesley himself. So then the pollster must ask a question about some other form of sustaining religious fellowship. And Bob, as they say, is your uncle.

3. I think likewise, then, of the massive decline of church attendance among Canadian Roman Catholics. Given that form of religion’s understanding of the sacraments, you just can’t be a “good Catholic” and not regularly attend mass. That’s just not how that religion works, so to speak. 

So, again, pollsters need to hear from spokespeople in that religion and informed experts on that religion to draft their questions to make sure they are finding who and what they want to find. And the resistance of sociologists as a group even to read us historians, let alone us theologians (as is persistently evident in sociological bibliographies and footnotes), is sometimes a truly fatal flaw in the sociology of religion.

In sum, the right questions will come from a proper grasp of the thing to be found. Part of what is making the results vary in these disparate polls is more-or-less accurate definitions.

Rick Hiemstra, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

I agree that some measure is better than no measure, but John Stackhouse makes some very good points. In my world, I look at evangelical Christians. As John points out in this paper, Stackhouse Jr, John G. “Defining ‘Evangelical.’” Church & Faith Trends 1, no. 1 (October 2007): 1–5. Evangelicals can be operationalized by type or by movement.

On a recent Angus Reid survey, we asked a religious affiliation question (movement) and the Christian Evangelical Scale questions (type), and we asked respondents straight up whether they considered themselves to be evangelical Christians. I realize that the last question could be considered a movement question, but our religious affiliation question found a different set of people than our do-you-consider-yourself-to-be-an-evangelical-Christian question.

So, who are the real evangelicals then? Is it those who claim to be evangelical but have nothing to do with an evangelical church and who don’t evidence the beliefs and behaviours of evangelicals? Is it those found by the Christian Evangelical Scale who don’t consider themselves to be evangelical, nor do they affiliate with an evangelical church. Is it those who affiliate with an evangelical church, but don’t consider themselves to be evangelical, nor do they have the beliefs and behaviours that the CES measures?

Let me present the CES and affiliation data another way:

 

Here you can see that evangelical affiliates are found across the CES scale.

My colleague Lindsay Callaway and I are working on a survey of the ways evangelicals are operationalized in North America. In the U.S. it is almost always doctrinal scales, not behaviours.

As Sam Reimer points out in his recent book Caught in the Current, and as Abby Day points out, statements of belief are now often performative. This means they’re more about belonging than about someone having considered a doctrinal proposition and decided that this is what they believe. This means that the American operationalizations are more likely to indicate a tribe than a conviction.

The EFC has used the Christian Evangelical Scale, however, we’re working towards holding a consultation on revising it because, as the first figure above shows, it doesn’t do a great job of finding evangelicals. As Joel and Sam point out, it does find something, and that’s better than nothing, but I think we can do better. 

As Lindsay and I are discovering, some of the American operationalizations are baffling. For example, Barna has 4-point and 9-point evangelical definitions (all doctrinal statements), and yet the 4-point definition is not a subset of the 9-point definition. You can see for yourself here: https://www.barna.com/glossary/

And yet, these are the stats many rely on when they talk about evangelicals. In one definition we found, Evangelicals are defined as ethnically white?! It’s no wonder people are finding a link between evangelicalism and white-ness. They just started with that assumption.

So, I agree with John Stackhouse that there need to be measures of piety (behaviours) to substantiate measures of doctrine. Doctrine alone just isn’t good enough to find evangelical Christians. The CES asks just one behavioural question (frequency of religious service attendance). That one question, however, is one more than other scales use. 

The CES has an evangelism question, but it’s not about whether people evangelize, rather it asks if you think evangelism is important. If there ever was a question that begged for a performative answer from evangelical affiliates, this is it.

I personally find a lot of media representations of evangelicals (that are usually bad) frustrating when they’re relying on measures that may not actually be finding my community. Evangelicals certainly have our sins to answer for, but often the ways we’re portrayed are barely recognizable to us.

We should be more skeptical about measures of religiosity than we are.  I suspect most of us accept uncritically the stats that confirm our own biases, but this is dangerous in a culture awash in stats and fragmenting under the considerable social pressures of the moment.

Kevin Flatt, Redeemer University

I have little expertise to add to the original question. I'll just note that as the number of "nones" grows, I become more and more interested in studies and surveys that can begin to discern some of the different subsets of this category. Of course, nones have in common that they do not affiliate with or identify with a "religious" tradition. 

But just as there are many different varieties of religion and ways of being religious, some of which lead to meaningfully different ways of life, there are differences among the non-religious too in terms of the values, beliefs, and behaviours that shape their lives.

I'm aware of a few books and studies that have started to ask these questions, but several of you are experts on this, and I'd love to hear your pointers for the best places to start to learn more about this question.

Peter Schuurman, Redeemer University

Shipley and Young have a recent book on sexuality, gender, and religion (Identities Under Construction) and they have a nice section on how religion could learn from gender studies about the wide variety of lived experience. In this sense, sexual studies are "ahead" (I hate that word) of religious studies. They say we need a new grammar for religion. You can see from the ol' SBNR term that we do have our own acronyms in the world of religion (!). I have a book coming out with Angela Bick this spring (we hope) introducing another term. We'll see if it catches on.

Secondly, I have a friend who is a pagan Catholic Jew. She said surveys never work for her. Does she contradict herself? Then she contradicts herself! These are the days of blessed incoherence. Polls just can't capture those layers (paradoxes? jumbles?) The multiphrenic self said Gergen in The Saturated Self. Or you might say, we are legion, to put a more ominous pall over the issue. Is it Advent soon? I'm feeling more liturgical--almost Catholic. We'll see.

 

 

In the Israel-Hamas conflict, good news is hard to find—but not impossible

 

There is so much tragic and terrible news out of Israel and Gaza these days. It can make one desperate for any sign of good news, for any sign of hope.

Good news is hard to hard to find, but not impossible.

Like the Roman Catholic Cardinal in Jerusalem who offered to exchange himself with hostages held by Hamas. Jewish and Muslim women who are continuing to meet to talk, despite the war. An American college bringing students together to talk about the conflict. And a Canadian denomination issuing a statement against antisemitism and Islamophobia.

You can read about these bits of good news, and find links for giving to help alleviate suffering in that region, in my most recent column in the Free Press.

Photo above: Roman Catholic Cardinal Pizzabella, who offfered to exchange himself for child hostages held by Hamas.

100th anniversary of the Next of Kin memorial in Winnipeg; paying tribute to dead from the First World War

 

(Not a religion story, but a story about sacrifice. In this case, in the First World War.)

Richard Van Neste. William Oliver Dalgleish. David Lawson Walker. Edward George Lowman.

For most people, those names mean nothing. Along with about 1,600 others from Winnipeg who were killed during the First World War, they are listed on the Next of Kin memorial located at the northwest corner of the Legislature grounds, at the intersection of Broadway and Memorial.

But they mean a lot to Darryl Toews, who teaches history at the Morden Collegiate High School.  

“I’m passionate about the history of that war,” said Toews, 53. “What made those men make that ultimate sacrifice? And how can we remember them?”

Since 2014, Toews has made it his mission to learn more about the men listed on that monument.

Read my story about the Next of Kin memorial, including about its creation and unveiling in 1923, in the Winnipeg Free Press.

 

 

Do you have your own personal Desiderata?

“Go placidly amid the noise and the haste and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.”

If you were, like me, a teen in the 1970s, you may recognize that as the opening lines of Desiderata. Written by American Max Ehrmann in 1927, it was reprinted on posters in coffee shops and dorm rooms across North America. It was even a hit song on the radio in 1972.

Desiderata — Latin for “things desired” — became like a credo for many people, including me. For a teenager wondering about his future and place in the world, the concluding lines brought special comfort: “And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.”

Desiderata came to mind when a Christian friend told me he had written a personal manifesto to help guide him in the last third of his life.

 

Read the full column in the WFP here.

Oct. 16-17 Antisemitism conference in Ottawa: Face It, Fight It

On Oct. 16-17, I was at the first-ever national Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It conference in Ottawa. It was sponsored by Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), with support from Jewish Federations across Canada, including the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. I was there reporting for the Winnipeg Free Press and the Canadian Jewish News. Below find the articles I wrote before it, during it and after it. I will be adding to the list as the conference continues.

1. Conference to address "frightening growth in antisemitism across the country"

WINNIPEG, Man. -- War is raging between Israel and Hamas as this column is being written on October 8. It is on the minds of Canadian Jews. Also on their minds is the rise in antisemitism in this country. That’s why, a year ago, they started planning a first-ever national conference to discuss the ongoing battle against hate toward Jews.   

Called Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It, the October 16-17 conference in Ottawa is sponsored by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), with support from Jewish Federations across Canada, including the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg.

According to Shimon Koffler Fogel, President and CEO of CIJA, the goal of the event—the largest national event of its kind in Canada—is to address the “frightening growth in antisemitism across the country.”

About a thousand people are registered for the two-day gathering, which will address the changing face of antisemitism today and then encourage attendees to return home and turn what they learned “into action,” as Fogel put it.

Of major concern to conference organizers is the rise of antisemitism on social media, along with other kinds of hate.

“Online hate is spreading,” Fogel said. “We are still struggling to get a handle on that and how to push back against it.”

Through the conference, participants will be encouraged to find ways to confront it and build allyship with other groups that are also concerned about hate on the Internet.

“It’s not enough to wring our hands,” he said. “We need to stand up and move from victim to empowered action.”

While at the event, conference goers will hear speakers on topics such as “United Against Antisemitism: Confronting the Challenge Together;” “Online Hate: Breaking out and Breaking down the Echo Chambers;” “Countering Antisemitism: Hate vs. the Law;” “Turning Sideline Passion to Frontline Action: Finding your Voice in the Political World;” and “Harnessing Social Media for Good: Done with the Doomscroll.”

Participants will also fan out to visit politicians on Parliament Hill, asking them to undertake a national campaign to promote social media literacy.

The goal of such a campaign would be to help Canadians learn what hate looks like online and how to deal with it, Fogel said, noting this would be about “all hate, not just antisemitism, about anything that marginalizes or delegitimizes anyone.”

Social media can be a power for good, he said, “but there is a dark side to it.”

Conference participants will also ask politicians to expand and streamline the Security Infrastructure Program, which is designed to enhance the safety of places of worship and other gathering places.

The “threat levels” have changed, Fogel said, adding there is a need to provide extra security today.

Through the conference, “we want to empower people to be part of the solution” to fighting hatred in Canada, Fogel stated. “It’s not just a Jewish problem. All Canadians have to take part in addressing it.”

At a Tuesday evening gala, the Honourable Irwin Cotler will receive a lifetime achievement award in recognition of his work on behalf of human rights for the world’s most vulnerable and oppressed citizens. Leaders of Canada’s main political parties are also slated to speak at the event.

In addition to what was planned before war broke out, the conference program will be adapted to focus on the fighting between Israel and Hamas, including any negative effects for Jews in Canada. Security will also be beefed up, said Nicole Amiel, who directs media relations for CIJA.

Belle Jarniewski of Winnipeg greets new Special Envoy Deborah Lyons 

2. Participants in Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It share hopes for the event

WINNIPEG, Man. -- For Laia Shpeller, attending the Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It Conference in Ottawa is an opportunity to “engage in meaningful discussions about being Jewish in Canada and how our community can work together.”

The Winnipegger, who is studying biomedical engineering at the University of British Columbia, sees the Oct. 16-17 event as a way to “learn from diverse voices within the Canadian Jewish community, and learn about how their experiences, both with antisemitism and in general, have influenced their work.”

As a young adult, she also believes it’s important to have young voices at the conference since they can “bring a unique perspective due to our willingness to challenge norms” and because of their exposure to diverse perspectives during their studies.

At the same time, the conference will allow her to learn more about advocacy and policy strategies so she can improve her efforts to engage politicians.

Noting the event has been in the planning for a long time, she said the rise in antisemitic rhetoric and actions due to the Israel-Hamas war “makes having these conversations right now even more critical.”

Steven Kroft is national vice-chair for Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). Also from Winnipeg, he agreed the war between Israel and Hamas gives the conference “new meaning and a greater sense of urgency.”

Even without that, although Jews make up less than one per cent of Canada’s population they are targets of about 55 per cent of all religious hate crimes, he said.

That’s why, for him, “bringing Jews and others from across Canada together to develop a collective path forward in our fight against antisemitism is so critically important . . . If we don’t stand up and fight for ourselves, who will?”

For Rob Berkowits, executive director of Winnipeg’s Rady Jewish Community Centre, the Conference is a way to “educate myself on how to best support my staff and volunteers” during a time of rising antisemitism.

Antisemitism, he added, “creates a feeling of isolation and vulnerability so it is important to learn strategies to manage and support these emotions.”

When it is over, he hopes to have “a better understanding why antisemitism persists and to develop an improved skill set to combat its rise in my local community.”

The conference is sponsored by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), with support from Jewish Federations across Canada, including the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg.

Due to the war between Israel and Hamas, some of the speakers from Israel are unable to attend and the event will have extra security. 

The event kicks off Monday morning with an announcement from the Government of Canada announcing the appointment of a new Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism.

New Special Envoy Deborah Lyons with outgoing Special Envoy Irwin Cotler

3. New Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism named

OTTAWA, Ont. -- Deborah Lyons has been named the new Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism.

The announcement was made by Karina Gould, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, at the start of October 16-17 Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It Conference in Ottawa.

The announcement “holds particular significance today as Canadians come to terms with the brutal attack by Hamas against Israel a week ago,” said Gould, adding the Government of Canada “stands shoulder to shoulder” with the Jewish community at this time.

She went on to note how many members of the Jewish community in Canada are “hurt and anxious” while, at the same time, acknowledging the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Outgoing Special Envoy Irwin Cotler praised Lyons’ appointment, saying he “could not be happier” to see her in that role.

“She is the right person in the right place at the right time” due to her experience and expertise, he said, especially at this moment “of historical inflection” in “the shadow” of last weekends attack by Hamas against Israel.

Lyons, the former Canadian Ambassador to Israel from 2016-20, acknowledged she is taking on the role “at a most critical time.”

As Special Envoy, she promised to promote Holocaust education, “including at Canadian universities;” to highlight the "many contributions of the Canadian Jewish community;” to address online antisemitism; to “collect data so no one can tell me this [antisemitism] isn’t real; and to “make sure every member of the Jewish community in Canada feels safe.”

She delivered a special charge to Canada’s faith and spiritual leaders to “bring us all together . . . Now more than ever we need you and your leadership to gather us together as all God’s children.”

She also asked the media to “challenge the seeds of misinformation” and “shine a light in the darkness and hold it high. Political leaders at all levels, she added, should "guide us and unite us and inspire us to build a diverse and inclusive Canada.”

She said she looks forward to working with Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s special representative on combating Islamophobia.

When asked what she, as a non-Jew, could bring to the special envoy role, Lyons said she would bring “the Canadian way” of “fighting for one another and supporting each other,” especially in “these difficult times.”

Lyons also served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Afghanistan, Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan from 2020-22 and as Canadian Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2013–16.

She succeeds Cotler, who was appointed to the role in 2020 as part of the Government of Canada’s commitment to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and combat antisemitism.

During his time, the federal government expanded its commitment to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and committed $85 million in 2022 for programs to fight antisemitism, along with funding for new Holocaust museums in Toronto and Montreal.

The conference, the first national event of its kind in Canada. is sponsored by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), with support from Jewish Federations across Canada, including the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg.

Michael Levitt with former Alberta Premier Jason Kenny and online panellists 

4. To fight antisemitism, Jews need non-Jewish allies

OTTAWA, Ont. -- “Jews cannot fight antisemitism alone.” 

That was the sentiment expressed by Michael Levitt, president and CEO of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, at the October 16-17 Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It conference in Ottawa. 

Progress has been made, he went on to say, noting it is “not just up to Jewish Canadians to fight it . . . what starts with Jews never ends with Jews.”

Levitt was joined in a session at the conference titled United Against Antisemitism: Confronting the Challenge Together by Lord John Mann, Independent Adviser on Antisemitism to Government of the United Kingdom; Farah Pandith, a senior advisor at the Anti-Defamation League in the U.S.; and Katharina von Schnurbein, European Commission Coordinator on Combating Antisemitism and Fostering Jewish Life.

For Schnurbein, non-Jews play a significant role in ensuring Jews can go about their lives feeling “free from insecurity . . . we have a responsibility to Jewish people.”

Mann added that non-Jews today need to stand up against the “new Nazis” today just as some did in the previous century standing up against Nazism in Germany.

“We need to fight the Nazis of Hamas,” he said, adding a “huge majority” of people in Great Britain “stand with Israel.”

“We will not tolerate this evil,” he said. “We will keep fighting, keep organizing.” 

For Pandith, a Muslim, having people of other faith communities speak up for Jews is key.

“A different voice carries a different weight,” she said. “The messenger matters. It can’t just be Jews standing up against antisemitism or Muslims standing against Islamophobia.”

She encouraged members of the Canadian Jewish community to reach out to other faith groups, “otherwise we will never get to where we need to be.”

On the subject of social media, Schnurbein noted the Europe Union has created a new digital service act to force social media companies to police online hate on their platforms.

If they don’t respond quickly to complaints about online hate speech, the companies can be fined, she said, noting there has been an “explosion” of online antisemitism following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

“We are reminding them [the companies] of their obligation under the Act to enforce the rules,” she said.

Pandith said the U.S. government has been “very sloppy” in its enforcement of online hate regulations, adding people were “naïve” about the role social media would play when it first started.

“We didn’t understand the impact it would have,” she said. “We didn’t ask hard enough questions. Now we are dealing with a toxic environment.”

Pandith admitted she was not optimistic about the future online “if we don’t get more serious” about dealing with hate on social media. “If we don’t, we will see things get even worse,” she said.

Also speaking at the session was Jason Kenney, former premier of Alberta who also served as Minister for Multiculturalism for eight years in Prime Minister Harper’s government.

Kenney was critical of what he called “pseudo intellectualism” on some Canadian university campuses that justifies antisemitism, both online and in demonstrations “glorifying” attacks on Israel by terrorist organizations like Hamas and other hate directed at Jews.

Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, indicated the federal government intends to bring legislation forward to combat online hate speech. “We need safe online environments just as we need safe streets,” he said.

The conference, the first national event of its kind in Canada. is sponsored by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), with support from Jewish Federations across Canada, including the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg.

Joel Finkelstein talks to participants at the conference . 

5. Warning system for antisemitism needed: Expert

OTTAWA, Ont. -- Just like there are early warning systems for hurricanes and tornadoes, Canada needs a system to warn about oncoming hate on social media.

That’s the view of Joel Finkelstein, chief science officer and co-founder of the Network Contagion Research Institute at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Hate on social media “is a predictor about real-world actions,” said Finkelstein in an interview at the Oct. 16-17 Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It conference in Ottawa.

“What we see on social media turns up in real life,” he said, comparing his work to those who forecast storms. “Social media is a signal of what’s to come.”

This is true whenever there is a conflict in Israel, he said, noting that online activity translates into real-world hate. “The conflicts are short, but there is a long tail, a spillover effect,” he said.

By way of illustration, Finkelstein pointed to a report about a conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza in 2021.

An analysis by the Institute of more than 100 million social media posts at that time showed a relationship between online antisemitic remarks on social media platforms and actions a week or two later against Jews in cities like Toronto and Montreal.

This included antisemitic activities such as chants of violent slogans against Jews during protests, vandalism of synagogues, hate graffiti in Jewish neighbourhoods, and other hate crimes.

With the current war between Israel and Hamas, “there is looming anticipation of a similar surge in antisemitism in Canada,” he said. “We have already started to see several similar trends emerging.”

Content on social media is created and shared by ideological hate groups, he said, but then propelled by bot farms and troll accounts operated by authoritarian regimes like China, North Korea and some in the Middle East — regimes that “want to disrupt and destabilize western democracies.”

Through his Institute, Finkelstein tracks hate towards other visible minorities in the U.S., such as Muslims and Hindus, reporting the findings to law enforcement agencies, the FBI, politicians and others.

This includes reporting to social media companies to let them know what’s happening on their platforms. “We alert them so they can respond in good faith,” he said.

Finkelstein believes Jews in Canada could lead the way in helping to set up such an early warning system in this country.

“It should not just be for Jews, but we should make it possible,” he said, adding “community security must evolve in the age of information disorder to meet these threats with faster, real-time data collection.”

Becca Wertman-Traub directs research for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). She agreed with Finkelstein that such an early warning system would be helpful in Canada.

“In 2021, we didn’t make the connection between social media and actions,” she said. “Now we are aware of the relationship between the two. It shows we can anticipate something after a spike in online hate towards Jews.”

Currently, most of what CIJA can do is reactive since information about hate from Statistics Canada is a year old, based on reports from police across the country, she explained.

That is like doing clean-up and recovery work after a storm instead of proactively getting people, governments and police ready for one so they can be prepared and weather it better, she said.

That’s why research by people like Finkelstein is so important. “By tracking social media, we can get current data by the day, hour and minute,” she said. “We can act much quicker.”

Such a system doesn’t currently exist in Canada, but CIJA is exploring it as an option, she noted.

The conference, the first national event of its kind in Canada. is sponsored by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), with support from Jewish Federations across Canada, including the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg.

CIJA's National Chair, Gail Adelson-Marcovitz, welcomes Trudeau to the podium to speak at the conference.

6. Federal party leaders condemn Hamas attack, pledge support for Canadian Jewish community

OTTAWA, Ont. -- “The hearts of all Canadians are broken.”

With those words, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau began his remarks October 17 at the Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It conference in Ottawa.

The Prime Minister was one of four political leaders invited to speak at the event, including Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party, Jagmeet Singh, leader of New Democratic Party, and Bloc Party leader Yves-François Blanchet.

The Prime Minister went on to condemn the October 7 attack by Hamas and to call for the immediate release of all their hostages, adding his government “deeply cares” for those who are missing and is in close touch with families of hostages.

The Canadian government is also working as quickly and safely as possible to evacuate Canadians in the region impacted by the fighting, he said, noting that 12 flights have taken out over 1,300 people.

“We will not stop being there for affected Canadians,” he stated.

Israel, he added, has a right to defend itself, and Canada “will always be a friend to Israel, defend its rights, including its right to exist.”

He decried the “unimaginable acts” of indiscriminate killing of Israelis by Hamas, adding that Hamas “doesn’t represent Palestinians or their legitimate aspirations for a better future.”

Hamas, he said, only stands for “more suffering for Israel and Palestinians.”

Noting he has heard stories of Canadian Jews who are worried about wearing yarmulkes or stars of David necklaces, Trudeau said the RCMP is working to “keep the Jewish community safe and secure.”

“You are not alone,” he stated. “The work of fighting hate is the work of all of us, all Canadians, especially non-Jewish Canadians . . . we all need to stand up and step up.”

He concluded his remarks by saying “this too shall pass . . . we will get through this together, my friends.”

Trudeau was followed by Pierre Poilievre, who said Jews in Canada are not alone at this time. “You have friends who are with you through thick and thin and onward to triumph,” he stated.

He went on to condemn Hamas, who he said had the goal of maximizing the “bloodshed of Israelis, Palestinians and Muslims as well.”

Iran, he said, was behind the attack because it wanted to disrupt negotiations between Israel and Arab countries in the region. “They were worried the talks could lead to peace and stability in the Middle East,” he stated.

That, he said, would be “Iran’s worst nightmare” since it would end the “unending supply of suffering and resentment” that fuels conflict in the region.

While saying he grieved equally for innocent Israeli and Palestinians killed and wounded by the fighting, Poilievre said there is “no equivalence between terrorists that seek to maximize the deaths of innocent civilians and the state of Israel that seeks to protect them.”

He went on to say Canada must ensure there is the minimum loss of life and suffering of the Palestinian people, and that safe zones should be created in Gaza along with a humanitarian corridor for food, medicine and water.

He went on to call for a comprehensive review of Canadian aid to Palestinians to “make sure it reaches people in need, not terrorists.”

In his remarks, Jagmeet Singh, leader of New Democratic Party, also condemned the attacks, adding he has heard the pain of Jewish Canadians who “are deeply afraid . . . I want to acknowledge that.”

He also grieved for Palestinians killed and injured by the fighting, he said, and called for the upholding of international law to protect civilians in Gaza.

Celebrations of the attack in Canada are “never justified,” Singh stated, adding “we must all do what we can to tackle the rise in hate.” This includes, he said, doing more to secure places of worship and tackling online hate.

“In these dark times, we must treat each other well,” he said, going on to call for an immediate ceasefire — acknowledging, ad he noted, that “not everyone will agree with me.”

In the future, he stated, he hoped Canadians could “build a world where all our children can live in peace.”

The evening ended with an expression of gratitude for Irwin Cotler, the outgoing Special Envoy for Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism.

A crowd of pro-Palestine protestors was outside the convention centre main exit at the end of the evening, requiring conference participants to leave by another door.

The two-day conference, the first national event of its kind in Canada, was sponsored by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), with support from Jewish Federations across Canada, including the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg.