Advocacy @ HBT: The week of February 18, 2026

Advocacy @HBT: Calling for an Apology for Canada’s Jewish Internees

You may have heard a recent Canadian Jewish News Podcast episode addressing the long-overlooked internment of Jewish refugees in Canada during the Second World War. Our congregant, Andrew Cassell, was interviewed for that conversation. He is now asking for our community’s help in ensuring this story is heard more widely.

Holy Blossom Temple has direct connections to this chapter of Canadian Jewish life. Rabbi Emil Fackenheim, who later taught at Holy Blossom, was himself interned. Among the internees were former Temple members, including the esteemed Heinz Richard Warschauer. We are certain there are other descendants of Jewish internees within our congregation as well.

Descendants across the country are now making a coordinated request to synagogues and organizations nationwide: to urge the Government of Canada to formally apologize for the internment of Jewish refugees and to support education and recognition efforts that confront antisemitism.

In 1940, more than 2,300 Jewish refugees were deported from Britain to Canada after being falsely labelled “enemy aliens.” Despite learning that these men included rabbis, students, and doctors fleeing Nazism, Canada classified them as prisoners of war. They were housed in harsh conditions behind barbed wire, compelled to work for minimal pay, including on Shabbat, while captured Nazi soldiers were treated far more humanely. Though Britain apologized within months and requested their release, Canada delayed freedom for years under an explicitly antisemitic immigration policy.

The Canadian government has since apologized to Japanese, Ukrainian, and Italian Canadian communities for similar wartime injustices. Jewish internees and their descendants are still waiting.

We encourage you to sign the official House of Commons petition calling for a formal apology and reparations, including funding for education and commemoration. The petition is sponsored by Anthony Housefather and will be tabled in the House of Commons.

Deadline to sign: February 27, 2026

We invite you to add your name, share the petition with your family and networks, and help lift the curtain of silence on this painful chapter of Canadian Jewish history.
Learn more and sign the petition here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7123

Learn more about Advocacy here.