Sr. Rabbi Beth Tzedec Congregation, Toronto, where we inspire and enable our community to live a meaningful Jewish life. Retweet does not = endorsement.
Toronto, Ontario
Joined May 2009
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An Iraqi historian travels to Poland to research what "Go back to Poland" means. This is a must read. thefp.com/p/isis-mosul-omar-…
Rabbi Steven Wernick retweeted
Singling out Jews as the cause of economic pain is dangerous antisemitism. Thank you, @VanJones68, for speaking with moral clarity and once again defending the Jewish community by condemning this PAC ad.
I have spoken out against anti-Muslim hate in the Michigan Senate race. I will speak out just as loudly when the target is Jewish people.
Let me state a little-known fact: ISRAEL GETS LESS THAN 0.1 PERCENT OF THE FEDERAL BUDGET. That’s less than one tenth of a percent!
But there is an ad running that tells voters they can’t afford groceries because the United States gives so much money to Israel. In reality, the United States spends money in and on countries all around the world – but this ad singles out the Jewish state. The ad is as dangerous as it is dishonest.
You can disagree with how the United States spends money abroad. But telling hungry families that the Jewish state is the reason they are suffering is wrong and shameful.
Blaming Jews for people’s problems is an old story. Anybody who has read the last century of history knows where it leads. It is a dark pathway.
This ad is anti-Jewish hate and should come down immediately. Abdul El-Sayed should denounce it today.
1/3 For those who asked in good faith: the ad claims Americans pay more for groceries because of aid to Israel. That's false. U.S. aid to Israel is about $3.8 billion a year, roughly 0.05% of federal spending. It has nothing to do with the price of eggs.
Um...yeah...this is unadulterated Jew hatred. What's most scary is not that it exists, but how it is presented without shame, and without protest. And that's before one addresses the blatant lies it contains. @thedemocrats what is happening to you?!
2/3 Debate aid all you want. That's politics. But telling struggling families that the Jewish state is why they can't afford food is the oldest move in the antisemitic playbook: blame the Jews for your economic pain.
Rabbi Steven Wernick retweeted
Um...yeah...this is unadulterated Jew hatred. What's most scary is not that it exists, but how it is presented without shame, and without protest. And that's before one addresses the blatant lies it contains. @thedemocrats what is happening to you?!
This el-Sayed ad is openly antisemitic. It's is undisguised Jew hatred. What happened to @TheDemocrats?
Thank you @VanJones68
I have spoken out against anti-Muslim hate in the Michigan Senate race. I will speak out just as loudly when the target is Jewish people.
Let me state a little-known fact: ISRAEL GETS LESS THAN 0.1 PERCENT OF THE FEDERAL BUDGET. That’s less than one tenth of a percent!
But there is an ad running that tells voters they can’t afford groceries because the United States gives so much money to Israel. In reality, the United States spends money in and on countries all around the world – but this ad singles out the Jewish state. The ad is as dangerous as it is dishonest.
You can disagree with how the United States spends money abroad. But telling hungry families that the Jewish state is the reason they are suffering is wrong and shameful.
Blaming Jews for people’s problems is an old story. Anybody who has read the last century of history knows where it leads. It is a dark pathway.
This ad is anti-Jewish hate and should come down immediately. Abdul El-Sayed should denounce it today.
Rabbi Steven Wernick retweeted
Exactly this from Micah Goodman ⬇️
"Do Israelis really not care what the world thinks about them? No. They care a lot. But what concerns them even more is what their enemies think. Israel’s problem is that it must cultivate two reputations, one for the West and one for the Middle East. These two reputations clash. Israelis want the Western world to love them, but their enemies in the Middle East to fear them."
nytimes.com/2026/10/26/opini…
Rabbi Steven Wernick retweeted
As communities across the Greater Toronto Area prepare for new municipal government administrations, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and @UJAFederation are calling on elected leaders to make public safety, accountability, and the protection of all residents clear priorities.
With Olivia Chow re-elected as Mayor of Toronto, attention now turns to the commitments made during the campaign and the work still ahead. During the campaign, Mayor Chow outlined plans to build on policing investments, expand security funding for vulnerable institutions, and continue efforts to address antisemitism and hate. These are important responsibilities, and the next term of council presents an opportunity to demonstrate sustained progress through consistent enforcement, stronger accountability, and tangible improvements in community safety.
While Toronto's mayoral race attracted considerable attention, these priorities extend well beyond Toronto City Hall. Across Vaughan, Markham, Mississauga, and municipalities throughout the GTA, elected officials have an important role in ensuring that public spaces are safe, that municipal services are delivered without discrimination, and that residents can participate fully in community life.
Click here to read more: cija.ca/gta_elections_2026
Rabbi Steven Wernick retweeted
Abdul El-Sayed's antisemitic ad blaming Israel for grocery prices and healthcare costs in Michigan had nothing to say about all the other countries that benefit from tens of billions of dollars in U.S. military aid because it wasn't really about that.
It was about the Jews.
Um...yeah...this is unadulterated Jew hatred. What's most scary is not that it exists, but how it is presented without shame, and without protest. And that's before one addresses the blatant lies it contains. @thedemocrats what is happening to you?!
This el-Sayed ad is openly antisemitic. It's is undisguised Jew hatred. What happened to @TheDemocrats?
Rabbi Steven Wernick retweeted
This el-Sayed ad is openly antisemitic. It's is undisguised Jew hatred. What happened to @TheDemocrats?
Rabbi Steven Wernick retweeted
“This problem was not created by Jewish Canadians; it does not just affect Jewish Canadians. It affects all Canadians. And we cannot leave it up to our Jewish neighbours to solve.”
In a powerful piece for @TheHubCanada, Andrew Bennett and @BrianDijkema call on Canada's Christian community to stand with Jewish Canadians in the face of rising antisemitism.
We welcome this call for solidarity and the recognition that protecting Jewish Canadians is essential to protecting the freedoms and values we all share.
Read the full piece here:
thehub.ca/2026/10/22/its-tim…
Christians can add their names to the Canadian Christian Declaration on Antisemitism, already signed by more than 700 Christian clergy and lay leaders:
christiandeclaration.ca/
Rabbi Steven Wernick retweeted
No Toronto newspaper endorsed Chow. Those who did endorsed Bradford.
#topoli
I'm not necessaeily optimistic about Tuesday's election in Israel. After this week, I am optimistic about the Jewish people. A wedding, a grieving mother who chose joy, new olim who chose to come home. @TimesofIsrael. @JerusalemFdn
@JewishAgency blogs.timesofisrael.com/at-t…
Peace is a direction and an aspiration. Where to start and what are the GPS are the challenges.
There was a time when Israeli politicians spoke openly and proudly about their yearning for peace. It was not a sign of weakness but a source of pride. The word even appeared in @netanyahu’s campaign slogans and was regularly a central theme in his UN speeches.
In 2023, just weeks before October 7, Netanyahu used the word “peace” 42 times at the UN. A year later, that number dropped to 21, then to 13 in 2025. Last month, he mentioned it just once.
And he is hardly alone. @gadi_eisenkot, @naftalibennett and even @YairGolan1 rarely speak about peace anymore.
How did Israel, a country founded on the hope that one day its children would no longer have to fight, reach a point where even speaking about peace seems to have become taboo?
What happened to our belief that peace was something worth striving for, even when it seems impossible? When did we stop daring to dream of a different future?
My latest @Jerusalem_Post column with my good friend @LTCPeterLerner.
jpost.com/opinion/article-91…
We @BethTzedec join all Canadians in mourning the tragic loss of life at @CanadianForces Base Wainwright. And we add to our prayers those who were injured and are recovering. May God comfort the mourners and their families, and heal the wounded. Amen.
1/6 Genesis 6:11: "The earth was filled with hamas," lawlessness. The sin that brought the Flood.
On Oct 7, Hamas named its massacre "the Al-Aqsa Flood." A thread on what that name tells us. 🧵 blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-…
6/6 Rashi: hamas means robbery. The answer to robbery is to hold on to what is ours.
Full piece:
blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-…
5/6 Symbolism isn't proof. Documents are: Sinwar's handwritten Oct 7 blueprint is dated Aug 24, 2022. The name shows how they saw themselves: the Flood, with us as the drowned.