The right response to gunfire outside a Belleville synagogue is solidarity, not panic. Congregants got back to worship, churches opened their doors and police boosted patrols around Jewish sites while the motive is still being investigated. Communities standing together and a hero officer like Const. Jeff Smith are proof that violence will not stop Jewish life in Canada.
Thoughts and prayers and extra patrols are not a plan. No Jewish family should need an armed officer outside the door just to pray on Yom Kippur, yet that is exactly what Canada has become while protesters mass outside holiday services. Leaders must name the antizionism fueling this violence, dismantle extremist networks and fund security now — before someone is killed.
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