B’nai Brith Canada demanded legislative changes permitting synagogues to hire armed, qualified security guards alongside the allocation and funding of law enforcement resources to ensure a sufficient police presence at every Jewish institution in Canada last Thursday.
The organization issued the demand following an incident on Yom Kippur when a gunman exchanged gunfire with a police officer outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, leaving the officer seriously injured.
B’nai Brith described the event as an attempted mass killing targeting congregants observing the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
In an interview with CTV News last Tuesday, B’nai Brith Canada’s Chief Executive Officer Simon Wolle emphasized that the Jewish community can no longer wait for authorities to secure vulnerable locations.
“In the wake of these harrowing events, Canada’s Jewish community cannot wait any longer for the government to act,” Wolle told CTV News.
The advocacy organization’s proposals include legislative changes to permit synagogues and community centers to hire armed, qualified security guards, noting that most Jewish institutions in Canada lack the protection afforded by a dedicated law enforcement presence.
B’nai Brith pushes for dedicated funding for police presence at Jewish centers
Additionally, B’nai Brith is pressing governments to allocate dedicated funding for law enforcement resources to ensure a continuous police presence at every Jewish institution across the country.
Wolle stressed to CTV News last Tuesday that the financial and operational burden of protecting communal infrastructure should not rest on the community itself.
“The burden of providing police protection to Jewish institutions should not fall on the communities themselves,” Wolle stated to the broadcaster. “It is a basic function of government to protect its citizens.”
