Federal security agencies have warned that Canada’s Jewish community could face a violent attack in the coming months, according to testimony delivered before the Senate human rights committee.Richard Marceau, senior vice-president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, told senators the threat is no longer hypothetical and mirrors deadly incidents already seen in other Western countries.“Our biggest fear is seeing the Jewish community attacked here as has happened in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia,” Marceau said. “Canadian security agencies have told us a violent attack targeting the Jewish community may occur in upcoming months.”Blacklock's Reporter says Marceau did not provide details regarding the source or nature of the warnings, and senators did not publicly challenge or question the testimony.He said 'antisemitism' in Canada has escalated dramatically in recent years and warned that support for extremist violence has become increasingly normalized.“What was once confined to the fringes of society is now visible in our streets, on campus, online and in Jewish neighbourhoods,” he said.Marceau pointed to a growing list of incidents targeting Jewish Canadians, including schools being shot at, synagogues being firebombed and vandalized, violent assaults and stabbings, intimidation campaigns and open displays supporting listed terrorist organizations.He specifically referenced a stabbing at a grocery store in Ottawa and alleged multiple terror plots aimed at Jewish communities across Canada..The testimony comes amid several recent terrorism-related prosecutions involving alleged anti-Semitic plots.On April 22, an unidentified Ottawa-area youth was convicted of conspiring to kill Jews.Earlier this month, Pakistani foreign student Muhammad Shahzeb Khana pleaded guilty in Montréal to charges connected to a plot targeting Jews in Brooklyn.Meanwhile, Ahmed and Mostafa Eldidi — an Egyptian father and son from Scarborough, Ont. — remain before the courts after being charged in connection with an alleged 2024 terror plot involving what police described as a “serious, violent attack” planned for the Toronto area.Marceau also referenced the December 2025 Hanukkah killings at Australia’s Bondi Beach, where 15 people, including two rabbis and a schoolgirl, were murdered.An Australian Royal Commission on Antisemitism later revealed that a Jewish community security organization had warned authorities before the attack that a terrorist strike against the Jewish community was likely and had reportedly identified one of the gunmen as a security risk..B’nai Brith Canada also appeared before the Senate committee, calling on Parliament to respond to what it described as a worsening 'antisemitism' crisis.Richard Robertson, the organization’s research director, urged lawmakers to support Bill C-9, legislation that would amend the Criminal Code to prohibit hate-motivated obstruction outside schools, religious institutions and cultural centres.According to a federal Justice Department background document, the proposed law would criminalize actions such as blocking roads, driveways or entrances used to access religious or cultural facilities.Robertson argued the legislation would not restrict lawful protests or violate Charter rights.“It only criminalizes intimidating or obstructing conduct,” he told senators.
