TORONTO — Even before she set foot in Israel, Erin Lehrer knew it was home. That's what her mother told her — though she hadn't been to Israel either — and what she was taught at the Jewish day school she attended in Montreal, Lehrer said.
That's what her mother told her — though she hadn't been to Israel either — and what she was taught at the Jewish day school she attended in Montreal, Lehrer said. In prayer, she and her family referred to Israel as the homeland.
Several Canadians who were in Israel when Hamas launched surprise attacks on Oct. 7 were reportedly taken hostage, and six have since been confirmed dead. The Gaza Health Ministry puts the death toll there at 3,785, while Israel is reporting 1,400 dead in that country. There are only 15 million Jews in the world, and half of them are in Israel. In Canada, there are 335,000 people who identify as Jewish, according to the last census. There are also an estimated 35,000 Canadian citizens who live in the Jewish state, per Global Affairs Canada.
That same survey indicated that despite the common connection to Israel, the Jewish population in Canada was divided about the politics of the region. They were also divided about the belief that God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people. Forty-two per cent of respondents said they believed that, while 41 per cent said they didn't think that was literally true. The remaining 17 per cent didn't have an opinion either way.
Throughout the 20th century persecuted Jews fled to Israel — both before and after the state declared independence in 1948 — aided by the Law of Return, which was enacted in 1950 and allows all Jews the right to settle in the country.
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