Jewish and Christian leaders from across Canada are partnering to build the Simeon Initiative, a national movement to build relationships between members of the two communities in order to combat antisemitism.
The decision to work together was made June 24 to 25 at the inaugural Simeon Initiative Summit, which brought together about 100 Jewish and Christian leaders in Toronto.
The summit, which was sponsored by Cardus, a Christian-led think tank, and The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), was a follow-up to the 2024 Canadian Christian Declaration on Antisemitism, which was signed by more than 700 Christian clergy from across Canada.
The declaration originated with Andrew Bennett, the director of faith community engagement at Cardus and Canada’s first ambassador for religious freedom. By signing it, clergy condemned antisemitism in Canada and promised to peacefully stand against all “who seek to demonize and dehumanize our Jewish fellow citizens.”
For Michael Van Pelt, CEO of Cardus, the initiative is important because of the rise in antisemitism in Canada.
“This is a devastating trend,” Van Pelt said, citing statistics from B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish human rights organization, showing a 71 per cent increase in reported hate crimes against Jews between 2022 and 2023.
Through the initiative, Cardus wants to help Christian clergy address this problem — something that can be hard to do since many Christian leaders do not know people in Canada’s Jewish community, Van Pelt says.
As a result, “it’s easy for them to overlook the troubling realities facing Jews in Canada today,” he said.
At the summit, Christian leaders had a chance to get to know their Jewish counterparts by meeting around tables while listening to keynote presentations and panels. At the end of the summit, participants committed themselves to creating joint projects between churches and synagogues in their local communities as a way to help their members to learn more about each other, too.
‘Foundational brokenness’
While Cardus is concerned about all forms of religious hatred, including Islamophobia, the organization has decided to focus on antisemitism because of its “dramatic rise,” Van Pelt said.
At the same time, Christians have a responsibility to address it because of the way Christianity has historically been used to persecute Jews.
“Antisemitism is a foundational brokenness in the Christian tradition,” he said. “That’s why it requires our special attention.”
Richard Marceau, vice president for external affairs for CIJA, says he welcomes the initiative as a sign of Christian commitment to standing with the Canadian Jewish community in the face of rising antisemitism, especially since Oct. 7, 2023.
“Jews in Canada have been feeling under siege since then,” he said, adding the initiative “makes us feel less alone.”
Marceau is looking forward to seeing how Canadian Christians and Jews can work together, such as twinning churches and synagogues in various cities.
“We want to take it down to the local pew level,” he said. “We want to develop closer relations between our communities … we want to develop an alliance against hate.”
The Simeon Initiative takes its name and inspiration from an encounter in the Bible between Simeon, a devout Jew, and the infant Jesus. It is meant to represent the historic connection between Christianity and Judaism.
Dear John,
I hope you are doing well. I am writing in response to your July 16, 2025 article, “Jewish and Christian leaders unite to combat antisemitism,” published in Canadian Affairs. While the goal of building solidarity to combat antisemitism is commendable, I found the article incomplete in its treatment of the broader context in which these discussions are taking place—particularly around the misuse of the term antisemitism and the lack of comparable concern for Islamophobia and the humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians.
Today, the term antisemitism is being increasingly politicized. Zionist groups and some Western institutions have sought to equate any criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism. This blurring of definitions undermines the fight against real antisemitism and weakens the credibility of interfaith dialogue. Calling out human rights abuses by a government—any government—is not bigotry; it is moral responsibility.
The recent bombing of a Catholic church in Gaza by Israeli forces is only one of many deeply disturbing incidents. The late Pope Francis was one of the few global religious leaders who had the moral clarity to condemn the Israeli government’s extreme violence, while consistently showing compassion for the suffering of the Palestinian people. His voice was a reminder that defending the dignity of all human beings, regardless of faith or nationality, is central to any meaningful faith-based initiative.
Unfortunately, much of the Western media has remained conspicuously silent in the face of mass civilian casualties, starvation, and displacement in Gaza. The growing Islamophobia and demonization of Palestinian Muslims—and Christians—has not received the attention it urgently deserves.
Discrimination against any religion is wrong. That includes antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of religious hatred. But to meaningfully address hate, we must be honest about how language is being used—and misused. When criticism of state violence is silenced under the guise of opposing antisemitism, we do a disservice to both truth and justice.
I urge you and your colleagues to include these complexities in future reporting and to provide more balanced coverage that does not overlook the suffering of Palestinians or the dangerous rise of Islamophobia. We need moral consistency, not selective outrage.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Ranjan Bhaduri
Christianity celebrates a Jewish rabbi, a Jewish rabbi who was not a Christian. Christianity was initiated by Paul, who was a Jew named Saul who took the name: Paul. He became named St. Paul. Anti-Semitism? Ha!