Ottawa Redefines Antisemitism to Include 'Anti-Zionism'

The federal government has officially identified “anti-Zionism” as a driver of anti-Jewish hate, according to reporting from CityNews Toronto. The policy shift was detailed in a Sept. 24 progress report published by Public Safety Canada, which stated the government aims to better recognize “contemporary manifestations of antisemitism,” specifically including anti-Zionism.

As reported by CityNews Toronto, the federal report noted that protesters in Ontario have increasingly used the term “Zionists” to shield hateful speech from criminal liability. The report highlighted a case involving a Windsor man sentenced in April for public incitement of hatred after using the term as a derogatory label for Jews.

Support for the shift comes from Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, who called the report an “important document,” and University of Ottawa professor Michael Geist, who argued that substituting the word “Zionist” for “Jew” often serves as a veil for antisemitism. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), a Zionist organization, has also supported the move, stating that the demonization of Israel provides a “green light” for extremists to target Jewish Canadians.

However, the terminology remains deeply contested. The Association for Canadian Studies, in a report commissioned by Ottawa, defined anti-Zionism as a movement calling for the erasure of Israel. Conversely, Independent Jewish Voices, an anti-Zionist organization, defines the term as the rejection of “Jewish settler-colonialism in Palestine.”

While the Network of Engaged Canadian Academics told senators that anti-Zionism relies on distortion to claim the Jewish collective is “uniquely evil,” others argue the term describes the Israeli government's subjugation of Palestinians. The shift follows the October 2023 Hamas attack that killed approximately 1,200 people and the subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza and Lebanon.