Antisemitic incidents rise to record level in Canada

"Canada had a record number of anti-Semitic incidents in 2017, B'nai Brith Canada reported in its annual audit.

There were 1,752 incidents of harassment, vandalism and violence, a 1.4 percent increase over the record 1,728 last year, according to the Audit of Antisemitic Incidents released Tuesday.

The vast majority of the incidents took place in Canada's two largest provinces. Ontario recorded nearly half the total, with 808, while Quebec had 474. The rest were scattered among the nation's eight other provinces.

Acts of anti-Semitic vandalism doubled to 322 from 158 - the audit called it a 'whopping national increase.'

The audit also saw as a 'disturbing anti-Semitic trend' a rise in anti-Semitism from both the far right and far left of the political spectrum.

Quebec, with Canada's only majority francophone population, 'is home to Islamist extremist enclaves, a sophisticated far-right scene, and many of Canada's largest anti-Israel groups,' the audit said..."