"The Canadian Jews on this list are quite possibly the most unflappable members of our Jewish community. I don’t think we’ll be intimidated by it, if that’s the intention. I don’t think it’s an acceptable thing to happen in Canada."

"I think there’s a pretty dark historical precedent for making lists of Jews. That’s what it immediately reminded me of. A database of Jews."

"[It was a] pretty clear expression of hatred for Jews."

Canadian-born Rebecca Garner, 34, former IDF volunteer 

 

"[Its purpose is to provide a database of] mini-profiles for as many Canadians that have fought in the Israeli military at any point as I could find [because] there is little existing research in Canada beyond one-off news articles about who these soldiers are and how they came to make the life choices that they did."

"[The type of Canadian who becomes an IDF soldier as, on average], a white Jewish man born and raised in Canada who immigrated to Israel in their late teens with the express purpose of joining its military."

"The soldier is most likely to have grown up in a Greater Toronto Area neighbourhood with a larger-than-average proportion of Jewish residents in what they’d describe as a Zionist household."

"[It was not a] doxxing website, as all of the information it contains was already in the public domain, primarily in articles published in other news outlets, including the National Post, the CBC and The Canadian Jewish News."

"There is nothing antisemitic about the website, as the individuals were included based on their service in the Israeli military, not their religious identity." 

Davide Mastracci, The Maple

The flags of Canada and Israel fly in Ottawa. Photo by Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press/

 

Months ago it was revealed that someone had taken it upon themselves to compile a list of Canadian Jews who had left Canada to volunteer their combat services with the Israeli Defense Forces -- propelled by news of the atrocities that took place in southern Israel on 7 October 2023 when thousands of terrorists led by Hamas streamed across the border from Gaza into Israel on a defined mission that had undergone months of practise to plan storming the separation barrier, honing in on IDF defence posts, targeting Israeli farming communities and a nearby music festival to rape, loot, torch villages, and slaughter 1,200 Israeli citizens, soldiers and foreign farm workers, which led to the Israeli military invading Gaza to root out the terrorists and destroy their command posts and weapons stocks. 

 

Graphic emblem from the “GTA to IDF” website

In media interviews with the man who proudly amassed these names complete with addresses, it was revealed that the list was an ongoing venture, the author appealing to the public to contact him if they had additional names to be placed on his database, as he considered it an ongoing project. Not that it had anything to do with antisemitism. His facile splitting of hairs in professing his innocence of racism couldn't possibly have convinced his interlocutors of his sincerity. 

 

A list of Jewish 'culprits' who had willingly offered themselves as Canadian conscripts in a foreign war. At a time when the streets and cities of Canada were rife with ongoing demonstrations of anti-Israel protestors championing Hamas terrorism, and charging Israel -- by inference and pointed declarations all Jews everywhere -- with the intent to slaughter Palestinians in a 'genocide'. The protests that echoed with chants of 'Palestine will be free from the river to the sea', with the destruction of Israel. Other chants like 'Final Solution' in allusion to the Holocaust on repeat, and 'Jews go back to Poland', unsubtle invitations to genocide of Jews. How to accomplish that? Why, by mounting a strategy to 'Globalize the Intifada'.

 

While Jewish groups in Canada shudder and shrink in horror at the implications, and the Holocaust Memorial was defaced, Jewish businesses vandalized by 'pro-Palestinian' mobs, Synagogues were firebombed, Jewish parochial schools shot at, marches comprised of masked, keffiyeh-clad Jew-haters tramped through Jewish neighbourhoods shouting invectives and police stood by to inform Jewish counter-protesters that their presence was provoking the haters, governments at all levels failed to act to enforce bylaws and offer equal protection to all citizens.

Protesters and counter protesters hold flags during a protest outside the screening of the documentary "The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue" about the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 10, 2025.

(photo credit: REUTERS/CARLOS OSORIO)

 

Now, a petition has emerged for investigations that could theoretically lead to charges against Canadians serving in Israel's military. Alberta NDP Member of Parliament running for election as leader of the federal opposition party whose numbers had shrivelled during the last election as members fled the party, sponsored that petition dated January 7, to the attention of the Minister of Justice, claiming "credible evidence of serious violations of international law by the IDF in the Middle East", which should ostensibly criminalize any Canadian citizens who fought with the IDF.  

 

The government, according to the petition should "direct the Canada Border Services Agency to screen Canadian citizens/residents returning from Israel for foreign military service" to issue "warnings that Canadians serving/volunteering with the IDF may face criminal liability under Canadian law". For a website to be created "to collect information from Gaza/West Bank war crime victims/witnesses". 

 

In response Simon Wolle, CEO of B'nai Brith Canada, addressed the issue with the information that the RCMP had launched an investigation into the Israel-Hamas conflict. A news release dated June of 2024 revealed that the RCMP had failed to identify anyone who committed "core international crimes", a finding that invalidated any further investigation into the activities of any Canadian. "Canadian IDF veterans are no different than any other foreign veterans who have made Canada their home", responded Wolle. 

 

This preoccupation by the candidate for the NDP leadership is not a one-off consideration. She released a statement in November stating her concern with IDF soldiers visiting Canadian universities, condemning them for 'platforming' the soldiers. Amir Epstein, CEO of Tafsik, the Jewish advocacy group, characterized the petition as a "transparent attempt to appease radical ideologues by targeting law-abiding Canadian citizens". 

"MP McPherson's motion amounts to an antisemitic witch hunt, unduly singles out Jewish and Zionist Canadians by making unfounded accusations against them, problematically insinuates that service in the IDF necessitates a degree of culpability."

"Malicious attempts to prosecute them contribute to an environment where Jewish and Zionist Canadians are increasingly persecuted for their beliefs."

"This petition should be denounced by MPs for what it is, a baseless attempt to incite against and ostracize Canadians who support the existence of a Jewish nation state."

Simon Wolle, CEO, B'nai Brith Canada