93% of survey respondents in British Columbia feel ‘less secure’ since Oct. 7, CIJA reports

A recent community survey in British Columbia found that 62% of respondents have experienced at least one incident of Jew-hatred while 93% feel “less secure” than they did before the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs reported.

The survey , released by CIJA and the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, also showed that 61% of the Jewish community members who responded to the survey have struggled with mental-health issues since Oct. 7. Such issues included anxiety (90%), anger (70%), fear (65%) and feelings of hopelessness (64%).

The data is based on responses from 302 community members, representing about 7% of British Columbia’s Jewish population.

“We know our community is resilient. We have survived persecution for more than 2,000 years, and we will keep coming together to survive the next two millennia,” said Ezra Shanken, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver. “Rising antisemitism is a problem here in B.C. and across the country. This survey puts real numbers to what we’ve all been feeling.”

Of those who encountered Jew-hatred, 46% said they experienced more than one incident. The nature of antisemitic incidents included remarks or verbal abuse in person (65%), remarks online (62%), vandalism (37%) and physical attacks (5%).

Additionally, 61% of those surveyed avoid wearing items identifying them as Jewish, and 65% have avoided places and events due to safety concerns.

“I wish these results were surprising, but unfortunately, they are not. I want to thank our allies for standing with us to fight the oldest of hatreds,” said Nico Slobinsky, CIJA’s vice president of the Pacific Region. “We will continue to shine a light on antisemitism.”

The CIJA-Federation study echoes similar sentiments reported in a recent online survey conducted by Research Co., which found that 78% of respondents were troubled by aggressive behavior from pro-Palestinian protesters, and 80% were concerned about violent attacks on synagogues, Jewish schools and businesses.

© JNS