Toronto shootings expose leaders’ weakness on antisemitism and public safety
From targeted shootings at Jewish-owned Kiva’s Bagel Bar and the U.S. consulate in Toronto to the Berlin Pride terror attack, political leaders are hiding behind empty statements instead of taking on the threat.
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Article by Rebel News staff
Tonight on The Ezra Levant Show: two days, two terrorist shootings in Toronto, targeting a Jewish bagel shop and the U.S. consulate, followed by a jarring silence and a mixed response from leaders. Plus, why some politicians were quicker to condemn a terror attack in Berlin at a Pride event, yet still refused to name the ideology behind it. And a special report from Lise Merle on the latest battle to protect women’s spaces as gender ideology madness continues to encroach on women's rights.
Over the weekend, two locations of the Jewish-owned Kiva's Bagel Bar were targeted. One was shot at, with gunfire shattering the front window of the Yonge and St. Clair shop. Another location at Bathurst and Steeles had its window smashed. Thankfully, no one was hurt. But a bullet through the window of a Jewish business sends a message, and everyone in that neighbourhood understood it.
For more than a day, not a word from the prime minister, perhaps he couldn't fit it in amongst his posts about the Commonwealth Games in Scotland. His much-touted antisemitism council was equally silent, occupied instead with celebrating the opening of a bridge.
This has become the new normal. When violence is directed at Jews, Canada's political class barely manages a whisper.
Now compare that with Berlin. On July 25, a man drove a van into the city's Pride parade before getting out and stabbing people. One woman was killed and dozens were injured. The suspect, 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, is a German national reportedly linked to ISIS. Our prime minister found time to promptly comment on that attack, while carefully avoiding any mention of who the attacker was or the ideology that motivated him. Apparently, those details only matter when they fit a preferred narrative.
Berlin's Pride organisers responded by urging people not to "politicise" the attack. The hypocrisy is astonishing. Had the perpetrator fit a different profile, many of the same voices would have been shouting from the rooftops.
The cowardice isn't limited to Canada. You can find examples of it all around the world. Even after an Islamist terrorist attack, political leaders, activists and much of the media often refuse to name radical Islam for what it is. Instead of confronting the ideology behind attacks like these, they shift the conversation elsewhere, treating any discussion of Islamist extremism as more controversial than the violence itself. That's how deep the denial runs.
I sincerely hope these perpetrators are brought to justice for these despicable acts.
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) July 26, 2026
Canada has a serious antisemitism problem and the government needs to get SERIOUS about it.
Everyone needs to wake up. Attacks like this are the canary in the coal mine. The attackers are… pic.twitter.com/K1kFvDBNrz
So who was prepared to speak plainly? Not Canada's leaders. It took U.S. Senator Rick Scott of Florida to state the obvious: Canada has a serious antisemitism problem, the government must get serious about confronting it, and attacks like these are a canary in the coal mine for Judeo-Christian values. That kind of clarity is conspicuously absent north of the border.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow did condemn the attacks on Kiva's, calling them vile and unacceptable. She thanked Toronto Police and pledged to stand with the Jewish community. But standing with the Jewish community requires more than words. After the latest attack on the U.S. consulate, she reached for the same explanation she offered following the Salsa on St. Clair shooting two weeks earlier: illegal American guns. Blaming firearms for a targeted campaign of antisemitic violence is like blaming cars for a vehicle-ramming attack. It's the reflex of leaders unwilling to identify the real problem.
👀 In response to the 2nd U.S. Consulate shooting this morning, @MayorOliviaChow says she called @Gary_SRP to "remove the illegal American guns off our street," the same response she gave 2 weeks ago, after the Salsa on St. Clair shooting.
— CCFR/CCDAF (@CCFR_CCDAF) July 27, 2026
A passerby yells "Olivia Chow sucks." pic.twitter.com/XH0Y4hCGxr
The following day, Mark Carney finally issued a statement. He said he was appalled by the attack on Kiva's, reaffirmed his commitment to combating antisemitism and expressed full support for law enforcement. Fine words. But we've seen this script before: condemnation without action, platitudes without specifics, and no willingness to confront the ideology driving these attacks. In practical terms, nothing changes.
I am appalled by the targeting of two Kiva’s Bagel Bar locations — fixtures of Toronto’s Jewish community that have long served as places for people to gather and connect.
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) July 27, 2026
Jewish Canadians should be able to live, work, and worship free from fear, intimidation, and hate. Canada’s…
Then Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree offered his "full support" to Toronto Police following the consulate shooting, as though moral encouragement were the missing ingredient. By the end of the day, he had returned to posting about internet censorship. That seems to be where his priorities lie.
That is the cultural divide in miniature. The political establishment pays lip service to fighting hate while refusing to have an honest conversation about who is committing these attacks and why. The only people speaking candidly are commentators, independent journalists and, increasingly, American politicians. Until Canada's leaders find the courage to identify the threat they are confronting, Jewish Canadians will continue to receive little more than empty promises and shattered glass.
COMMENTS
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Tom Mcilravey commented 2026-07-28 08:21:09 -0400The sad reality is Jewish population in Canada is low compared to the vote getting Muslims for the liberals. We have to bring immigration numbers down to the Harper era. And deport like we did to Ernst Zundel ASAP. -
Tony Salotti commented 2026-07-28 07:12:07 -0400Time for the Jewish population in Toronto to fight back .
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Marilyn Hagerman commented 2026-07-28 00:31:58 -0400Ezra, you are absolutely correct! Official condemnations have become little more than empty talking points! There is a reason conversations about antisemitism and Islamist extremism are such “no-go”topics! Invited free rein guests would hardly be criticized…..Carney sends millions of our tax dollars to help these “friends” out so they have more arms for killing!!
Are responses from Prime Minister Mark Carney, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, backed by meaningful action? Is this supposed to be a joke?? -
Jane Vandervliet commented 2026-07-27 21:04:57 -0400Why didn’t the school have the transgender kid use the bathroom which was set aside for the developmentally challenged student? You see, he obviously is mentally challenged if he thinks he is a girl. No one is born with the wrong body; God doesn’t make mistakes. Transgender ideology is planted in children and those who do the planting are evil gardeners. Society needs this ideology ripped out by the roots.
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Bruce Atchison commented 2026-07-27 20:47:37 -0400 FlagWhat links both of these stories is the socialist mind virus. It assumes everybody to be basically good and it’s the system that makes them bad. The truth is that humans are born bad. We have a propensity towards evil. It’s why we need policing and laws to hold society together. But liberals deny the reality of our state of being.
