TORONTO - A Jewish group breaks off decades of interfaith talks with Christian and Catholic denominations. Two synagogues are set on fire. Protests are held regularly in major cities.
Canada is feeling the effects of the Middle East conflict, reflecting its diverse population created by immigration policies that attract more than 200,000 newcomers and their political disputes each year.
Since the latest escalation of Palestinian suicide bombings and Israeli military assaults, the Canadian government's policy has focused on even-handedness, condemning the Palestinian terrorism and calling for Israel to withdraw from Palestinian-controlled territory.
Opposition groups want Canada to take a stronger role. The leftist New Democratic Party has condemned Israel's military response as terrorism, with one Parliament member who visited the West Bank accusing the Israelis of murder and torture. The conservative Canadian Alliance, meanwhile, supports Israel's right to defend itself.
In a sign of the rising emotions, the Canadian Jewish Congress has pulled out of interfaith meetings with Christian and Catholic church leaders that date back 30 years.
Keith Landy, national president of the Jewish congress, said Thursday that some of the churches blamed Israel for the conflict and lacked sensitivity for Israel's position.
"The silence of the churches to unequivocally condemn suicide bombers ... is cause for concern," he said in a telephone interview. "If they're not going to be moved by the slaughter of young people in a disco or families at a restaurant, there should be some resonance when a bomber comes into a Passover Seder."
Landy cited an April 5 statement by Anglican Archbishop Michael Peers on the Anglican Church of Canada Web site that blames Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory for the conflict.
"The current violence in Palestine has deep roots, but Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory in defiance of United Nations resolutions is at its heart," Peers wrote.
His statement referred to violence on both sides, saying healing would begin when "Israel withdraws from its illegal occupation of Palestine, when Palestinians are free to return in peace to their homeland, when civilians are no longer the targets of terror, either for suicide bombers or government tanks."
Other church leaders concurred, with Rev. Bruce Gregersen, the United Church of Canada's secretary for interfaith relations, saying the label of "illegal occupation" comes from a broad-based ecumenical reflection on the situation.
Gregersen acknowledged that it might take resolution of the Middle East conflict before Canada's Christian churches and Jewish community "actually are able to hear each other, because there is such a significant amount of pain on both sides."
To Landy, it comes down to a hypocrisy that distinguishes the Palestinian suicide bombings from global terrorism, such as the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States.
"There should be a recognition that terrorism is terrorism," he said.
The dispute also has reached the streets, with an arson fire last weekend at the library of the Congregation Agudas Israel synagogue in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, causing damage estimated at $84,000. Among the destroyed items were historical and religious texts.
Landy's Jewish congress says it has received dozens of reports of what it calls anti-Semitic incidents in the past six months, including the fire at the Saskatoon synagogue and another on March 11 at the oldest synagogue in downtown Toronto.
Protests against Israel's military campaign in the West Bank have occurred in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and other cities.
While some minor pushing has occurred, most of the protests have been peaceful with Muslim groups, peace groups and even pro-peace Israelis taking part.