Stand Together: An Ally’s Handbook Against Antisemitism

You don’t have to fix the Middle East. You just have to refuse to let hatred go unanswered on your own street.

Antisemitism in Canada has reached the highest levels on record. Jewish schools are hiring guards. Synagogues are installing bollards and cameras. Families are taking the mezuzah off the door and the Star of David off their kids. And too often the decent people nearby say nothing, unsure of the facts or whether it’s their place to speak.

This handbook is written for them. It’s a calm, fact-based guide for non-Jewish Canadians who sense something has gone wrong and want to help. It won’t ask you to take a side in a war overseas, become an expert on a century of history, or hate anyone, it asks the opposite. It asks one thing: when hatred shows up, in your city, your campus, your feed, or your workplace, don’t look away, and don’t stay silent.

Author Trevor Cohen immigrated to Canada from South Africa in 1981 and has built a company, a family, and a future here. The father of three and grandfather of seven, he chose Canada as a country that was respectful and welcoming to people of every religion, race and ethnicity. His uncle was a close friend of Nelson Mandela and supported the Black freedom movement. As the conversation in Canada has changed to focus on the safety of Jews, he still believes that Canadians are the same welcoming people he met in 1981, and that, given the facts and words, they will stand up again.