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There is a serious and growing fault line between Toronto’s Jewish community and Mayor Olivia Chow. In its time of crisis unmatched since the 30s, the fear is that, when we most need her, she is on the other team.
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We judge politicians by their words, their actions, the causes they champion, the people whose approval they seek, those they are willing to offend and, most importantly, what they do when “doing the right thing” carries political costs.
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That is the basis of my judgement of her.
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And if I am wrong, she has made my conclusion difficult to rebut. Look at what happened this week.
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Toronto’s mayor was invited to a mayoral debate about antisemitism and the safety of her city’s Jewish community.
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She refused to attend. Her explanation was that she does not participate in candidate events before her campaign officially launched on Sept. 9.
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The debate was Sept. 8. That would be an amusing technicality if the subject were not so serious.
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It also belies common sense. The organizers had been communicating with Chow’s campaign for weeks without her providing that excuse. They offered to change the date, but she still refused to attend. Her opponents were attending. Jewish community representatives were to be there. But Chow did not. Imagine if there was an outbreak, accompanied by significant violence, of anti-black racism in the city. Or pick any minority group other than Jews. Can you imagine her not attending?
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This is not a scheduling problem but a revealing political choice.
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Toronto’s Jewish community is facing extraordinary violence and hostility. Jewish schools, synagogues and community institutions are being shot at, bombed and require security. Jewish businesses attacked. Many Jews are concealing any visible identity to avoid becoming a target. They are fearful in many cases of walking our streets.
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Toronto Police reported that Jews were the targets of 82 per cent of religious motivated hate crimes in 2025, despite Jews representing about three of the population.
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This is a public safety crisis involving one of the communities the mayor is sworn to represent. A debate devoted to that crisis offered Chow the opportunity to stand before Jewish Torontonians and answer difficult questions.
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Her defenders will point out that Chow has condemned antisemitism and expressed support for Toronto’s Jewish community and its necessary security measures
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Put those statements in the record. But put everything else on it too. The relevant question is not whether Olivia Chow has ever said something supportive of Jews. The question is what her record as a whole reveals.
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Last November, speaking at a fundraising gala for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, to applause, Chow said: “The genocide in Gaza impacts us all.”
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Genocide is the deliberate attempt to annihilate a people and where large percentages of them are exterminated. That is not a synonym for war or civilian suffering. It is one of the most consequential accusations that can be made against a state.