We are disappointed by CIJA's recent post claiming that MAC "amplified calls for a 'Jew Free' world". It is unfortunate that CIJA is amplifying what appears to be a concerted attack against the MAC convention, an important annual event for the Muslim community.
MAC strongly condemned the antisemitic phrase as soon as it was brought to our attention and later rebutted in detail the broader smear campaign. We expected community organizations to exercise basic due diligence by reading our narrative.
It is not reasonable to attribute such sentiment to Muslim youth. Rather, such accusations risk stigmatizing Muslim youth who had no connection to the submission.
We are also concerned that this reflects a broader and troubling pattern in the discourse of some pro-Israel advocacy organizations: treating community safety as a zero-sum contest, where the security of one community is advanced by casting suspicion on another. That approach neither protects Jewish Canadians nor advances social cohesion. It deepens division and fuels the mutual distrust that ultimately puts all communities at greater risk.
Islamophobia and Antisemitism are not competing problems. Both are serious forms of hate that must be confronted, tend to travel together, and must be fought together.
We cannot remain silent when narratives are advanced that unfairly malign Muslim Canadians and place Muslim youth at risk. We hope that CIJA will retract the misleading statement and commit to working together to build a Canada in which every individual and every community can safely express their identity and live their faith.