Episode Ep 109 April 23, 2026 1 hr 8 min

109: The crisis no one is talking about in Canada, with Dr. Casey Babb

From Ask Haviv Anything Haviv Rettig Gur

Canada has long imagined itself as one of the safest, most tolerant societies on earth. For generations of Jews, it felt that way too. But something has changed, suddenly and profoundly. Synagogues have been shot at. Jewish schools targeted. People are hiding their identities, looking over their shoulder, taking down mezuzahs.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Casey Babb to ask a question few outside Canada are even aware needs asking: what is happening to Canadian Jews?

From the history of Jewish life in Canada to the shock of October 7 and its aftermath, we trace how a quiet, integrated community is now grappling with fear, isolation, and a growing sense that the country they helped build may no longer fully accept them. This isn’t just a story about Jews in Canada. It’s a story about what happens when a society loses the ability to confront its own realities -- and what that means for its future.

This episode was sponsored by Josh Sheptow and dedicated to the memory of Amnon Zilberspitz. Amnon was taken to the extermination camp at Auschwitz at age 20 with his brother and sister. Only he survived. After the war, he arrived at Kibbutz Dorot in 1947. On the Kibbutz he met Sara, the love of his life. Shortly after the War of Independence broke out, Amnon enlisted to fight. Amnon, the last of his family, fell in the Battle of Beit Guvrin at age 24. May we be worthy of Amnon and of all those who gave the only life they had to make the miracle of Israel possible.

You can learn more about Amnon in a video by Ofer Winter and Shimon Engel produced by Dov Abramson Studio for the Beit Avi Chai memorial project.

The video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDOj-C4mq3E&list=PLv2rnAORLiVBbV9uGbYC0ZdPq23pg2xPW

If you like what we do here, please consider joining our Patreon community at https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything. There you can ask the questions that help us choose our topics, join our great discussions where listeners share news and valuable resources, and take part in our monthly livestreams where Haviv answers your questions live.

If you would like to sponsor an episode, please email us at [email protected]⁠.

Musical intro by Adam Ben Amitai.