Thank you very much for this question. Can you give me half an hour to respond?
Yes, absolutely. In the ecosystems we’ve been monitoring since the attacks of October 7, 2023, we have indeed observed a convergence of hate speech directed at the Jewish community, which is associated with the Israeli government without any nuance.
You refer to influencers. I’ll avoid naming names, but there are obviously radical Islamist groups in Canada and some prominent figures in Quebec who are trying to take advantage of the feelings of injustice and anger among some young people concerning the situation in Gaza to promote a narrative that emphasizes the supposed incompatibility between Islam and western values.
Obviously, this kind of speech tends to radicalize some of our youth, which is why it’s important to have extremely nuanced political discourse. Again, I don’t want to name names, but some groups do have a storefront, are present on major social media platforms, while others are on much more alternative platforms, and they still reach a fairly significant, albeit targeted, audience. I’m not sure, if I named them, that it would necessarily resonate.
As for antisemitism, as you know, it did not originate with the attacks of October 7. Antisemitism has been present in our societies for a long time, but this type of conflict indeed contributes to reactivating it. In my opinion, we should better regulate hate speech because—as the statistics show—hate speech against the Jewish community has significantly increased in recent years. It does not seem to be weakening. It has stabilized, but not actually decreased.
I hope I’ve answered your question.