At creation, light came forth from darkness. Even in these difficult times, we are witnessing some signs of light.  

Last night, as reports of the pogrom in Amsterdam against Israeli fans attending a soccer game trickled in, I was attending the launch of a StopHateAB campaign against hate in Alberta. This group has produced a video to share firsthand accounts about experiences and impacts in the face of hate. Incidentally, one story comes from a young Calgary Jewish woman, who on a first date was told that “Hitler was right.” I was glad to see the Jewish experience represented among the five stories. As a small community, we endure a disproportionate amount of hate-motivated incidents and crimes, and this organization is taking steps to show that it is not welcome in our province.  

Earlier this week, leaders from Edmonton, Calgary and representatives from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) held a day of meetings with Premier Danielle Smith and several ministers at the Legislature, followed by a reception for community leadership to interact with MLAs and their staff. Throughout this advocacy day, we experienced a warm welcome (including inside the Legislature, you can read the Hansard transcript) and true concern for what Jewish Albertans are facing across many sectors. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, adopted by this Legislature in a bipartisan manner, was the focus of our discussions from beginning to end. More importantly, we focused on measures to implement recommendations from the IHRA Canadian Handbook, published last week by the Office of the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Deb Lyons.  

We were also pleased to welcome Consul General Idit Shamir to our community this week. Idit met with our board and leaders to better understand our experiences here and to share what she is seeing across Canada. Along with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the Honorable Nathan Cooper, she co-hosted a commemoration for October 7, where we welcomed the Lapidot family. Sadly, their niece and granddaughter, Tifferet Lapidot, z”l, was murdered at the Nova Festival. Having met her aunt, Galit, when in Israel at this time last year, it was an honour to have them in Edmonton and to hear about their beautiful niece. Once again, Speaker Cooper reaffirmed the commitment of the Government of Alberta with the people of Israel.  

We have seen how easily unbridled antisemitism and refusal to action by law enforcement can lead to violence in what took place in Amsterdam last night. The acceptance of language promoting hate within a society shows how readily it becomes normalized, leading to devastating outcomes.  

Rallies and events that promote a demonization of Israel, Zionists/Zionism and language that cross the line of free speech to hateful rhetoric have continued on our streets. We remain vigilant to ensure the safety of our community. We are collaborating with law enforcement and our elected officials to determine what measures we can take to stop this situation from worsening and protect Jewish Edmonton.  

With that in mind, I hope you will join us on Sunday at 7 p.m. for a brief commemoration ceremony of Kristallnacht. It will include an address about the recent events in Amsterdam, and give a warm welcome to Marsha Lederman, Globe and Mail columnist and author of Kiss the Red Stairs: the Holocaust, Once Removed. 

Shabbat Shalom, 

Stacey