Details about the latest arrests in Ottawa remain unclear, but community leaders and experts say the ongoing Israel-Hamas war is leading to an increase in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hatred, leading to increased radicalization among young people. He says he is concerned about the risks.
Ottawa RCMP announced Saturday that they had arrested a young man and charged him with two offences. One of the charges involved knowingly “directly or indirectly directing an individual to carry out acts of terrorism against Jews.” Police are not releasing additional information because of his age.
However, RCMP took the opportunity Saturday to note what it described as a worrying trend in online radicalization, including the arrest of five young people for terrorism-related crimes since the summer.
“I think this is very concerning on many levels,” said Sikander Hashmi, an Ottawa-based imam.
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe speaks about recent charges against young people in Ottawa and their possible connection to terrorist activities against Jews.
“What I think all Canadians can agree on is that we truly enjoy the safety and security of this country that this country provides, and when that safety and security is threatened, by no one… , it’s a matter of concern to all Canadians, including members of our communities, regardless of who they’re against,” he told CBC News in an interview Sunday.
Hashmi stressed that while the details of the specific incident in Ottawa are still unclear, given the past, events like the Israel-Hamas war can have a radicalizing effect.
“Clearly these kinds of horrific tragedies and wars and horrific instances of pain and grief can be used to radicalize young people,” he said.
“We are not in a good place right now, given the amount of horrific images flooding our social media streams, and the young people who are being exposed to more of those images.”
Jewish community leaders told CBC on Sunday that they were disappointed to hear of the alleged terrorist threat, which they said was certainly linked to the rise in anti-Semitism since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Ta.
“I’ve said it over and over again: If things don’t get better, they’re going to get worse, and here we are, making things even worse,” said Rabbi Idan Sher of the Mahajikei Hadas order in Ottawa. I did,” he said.
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Shah praised the cooperation of Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and the city’s police force in maintaining confidence in the safety of the Jewish community, but it is clear that anti-Semitic sentiment and behavior is on the rise. said.
“I definitely think that after October 7, people became bolder in expressing their hatred for the Jewish community,” he said.
Growing concerns about online hate
Sarah Beutel, interim chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, told Radio-Canada that the alleged threat was “in line with what we have always said is that anti-Semitism, anti-Semitic acts and hate speech lead to acts of violence. It draws a clear line.”
Beutel said the Jewish community is deeply concerned about the arrests, but will not allow them or other forms of anti-Semitism to interfere with their lives.
“We can’t hide in our homes out of fear. We have to get out. We have to take action and we have to live our lives,” she said.
But Beutel said it’s clear that online conversations are a key factor in creating more extreme views.
“We are really concerned about online hate. We know that online hate has been tolerated and we are now seeing how young people are being radicalized.” , called on the federal government to take serious action on this issue. The federal government is still working on the Online Harms Act, which was first promised in 2019.
Expert: “Social media is a factor in radicalization”
Lorne Dawson, a professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo who specializes in terrorism and radicalization, said that while the impact of social media on radicalization is still not fully understood, the radicalization of young people is “much more pronounced around the world. It’s clear that it’s happening,” he said. ”
“With social media and all the interaction on social media, the viewership is expanding to younger and younger people, even though it was always young people who were initially interested,” he said. said.
Dawson said radicalization, including traumatic or emotional events such as the Israel-Hamas war, often has common characteristics and patterns. A community of like-minded individuals is also an important factor, he noted.
“There’s so much evidence [that] “The key to radicalization is being mobilized into networks,” Dawson said.
“Those networks will be populated by people who long ago decided that their mission was to get people to do things and motivate people to take action.”
Dawson said it’s important for young people to feel there are other, less extreme ways to make an impact on the world and crises. To help their children, parents must be ready to have serious and open conversations, which can be very difficult, he said.
Dawson pointed to the recent arrests of two men charged with terrorism-related offenses connected to the far-right neo-Nazi movement, and pointed out that it is not just the Israel-Hamas war that is having a radicalizing effect.
Hashmi, the Imam of Ottawa, said the Muslim community can understand the pain when the Jewish community is targeted by hate.
“Every time there’s an incident of anti-Semitism or targeting the Jewish community, we know exactly what that feels like, right? In Canada, we’ve actually seen cases of overt hatred over the past few years. We have lost 11 Muslims,” he said. .
Hashmi said it’s clear that international events have a knock-on effect on Canadians, often driven by family ties, but also by stronger community ties and a sense of isolation that fuels radicalization. He said he could fight back.
“It’s certainly the presence and connectedness of the community that actually causes these kinds of problems.”
