Advocacy @ HBT: The week of October 10, 2025

Advocacy @ HBT: We’re going to City Hall! 

As you may have read, our Advocacy Committee has been hard at work arranging meetings with City Councillors to discuss ways that they can further combat antisemitism in Toronto and make Toronto Jews feel safe again.  

This morning, dozens of Holy Blossom members came in to be trained by CIJA on how to have these vital conversations. What we heard again and again was the following. The truth is on your side. Tell your story. Be open-minded but firm. You are there to dialogue.  

Next week, members of our congregation will have the opportunity to put this training into action with the 5 City Council members who have agreed to attend our first round of meetings. We will do exactly this. We will tell our truth. It has been a frightening time. Some of us have created new normals, new contingencies, to deal with the swell of hate. We will tell our stories. From being harassed on the streets of Toronto to the open aggression at our places of employment.  

We will come back with information to share, with new perspectives on the inner workings of how our municipal government is trying to deal with this eruption of hatred. At the same time, we will not allow our concerns to be minimized. We will be heard.  

Above all, as the representatives of this sacred congregation, we will represent Holy Blossom Temple with honour and dignity.  

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,  

Learn more about Advocacy@HBT here.