Activists Use Spices to Push Political Agenda
Anti-Israel activists in Canada have launched a coordinated campaign to strip Jewish children’s summer camps of their accreditation, marking a disturbing new frontier in the targeting of Jewish institutions that should alarm every American who values religious freedom and the protection of our children.
Story Highlights
- Coalition of anti-Israel groups sent over 800 letters demanding 17 Jewish children’s camps across Canada lose accreditation
- Camps accused of “supporting genocide” for celebrating Jewish holidays, using Hebrew, and even serving Middle Eastern spices
- Ontario Camps Association condemned the campaign as discriminatory and antisemitic targeting of a minority group
- Campaign occurs amid surge in Canadian antisemitic hate crimes including synagogue shootings and attempted kidnappings
Activists Target Children’s Camps With Political Campaign
A coalition including BDS, the Palestinian Canadian Congress, Just Peace Advocates, Ontario Palestinian Rights Association, and PAJU Montreal organized a systematic effort targeting at least 17 Jewish summer camps across six Canadian provinces. The groups flooded provincial accreditation bodies with more than 800 letters demanding these camps lose their certifications. This represents the first organized, concerted effort by anti-Zionist activists specifically targeting Jewish children’s programming rather than adult-oriented institutions. The campaign coordinators publicly declared that “when children’s camps support a genocidal state, it’s time for gigantic change,” framing their attack on children’s summer programs as moral activism.
Absurd Accusations Reveal True Antisemitic Nature
The specific accusations against these camps expose the campaign’s discriminatory intent. Organizers condemned camps for celebrating Israel’s Independence Day, employing Israeli citizens as staff, using Hebrew language in materials, and even serving za’atar—a Middle Eastern spice—which activists characterized as “cultural appropriation.” Other supposed violations included commemorating Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers, and adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. The activists claimed these camps were problematic not for encouraging Jewish identity but for supporting what they falsely labeled a “genocidal, settler-colonial State,” despite international courts not finding Israel committed genocide. This reveals an attempt to criminalize basic expressions of Jewish identity and connection to Israel.
Accreditation Bodies Reject Political Manipulation
Joy Levy, Executive Director of the Ontario Camps Association, issued a strong rebuke of the campaign’s tactics. She stated clearly that “OCA is a provincial standards and accreditation body. We do not adjudicate international geopolitical conflicts, nor do we evaluate member camps based on their religious or cultural identity.” The association condemned the campaign’s characterizations as “discriminatory and antisemitic in nature” and warned against “the singular demonization and wholesale attempt at the delegitimization of one minority group.” The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto characterized the effort as deliberate intimidation designed to bully and harass Jewish camps, campers, and staff. This principled stand demonstrates what happens when institutions refuse to let activists weaponize administrative processes for political ends.
Pattern of Escalating Antisemitic Targeting
This campaign represents a dangerous escalation in anti-Israel activism that has progressively expanded targets since October 2023. Anti-Zionist groups previously focused on nonprofits, university clubs, and synagogues, but now directly target children’s institutions. The campaign was preceded by the release of a database called “GTA to IDF” that identified Jewish institutions attended by Canadians who served in the Israeli military, explicitly framing these camps as “breeding grounds for IDF conscription.” B’nai Brith Canada warned such databases create “a catalogue for hostile actors who are looking for targets,” making them inciting and dangerous. This targeting occurs within a broader surge of Canadian antisemitic hate crimes including gunfire at synagogues, violent chants at Holocaust museums, antisemitic bullying of schoolchildren, and attempted kidnappings of Jewish women.
Anti-Israel Groups Are Targeting Jewish Children's Camps Now https://t.co/XZVLgTRb6o
— Jimbo Trump (he/she/bullshit) (@jimbotrump) February 16, 2026
Dangerous Precedent Threatens Religious Freedom
If successful, this campaign would establish a blueprint for attacking Jewish institutions through administrative pressure rather than direct confrontation. The attempt to leverage provincial accreditation bodies as political weapons threatens the principle that such organizations should evaluate camps based on safety and operational standards, not religious identity or political positions. Jewish organizations rightly fear this could expand beyond camps to target Jewish schools, community centers, and other youth organizations. The tactics mirror international patterns where anti-Israel activism in one country quickly spreads elsewhere, similar to how “Death to the IDF” chants moved from UK protests to American demonstrations. Americans should pay attention: what happens to Jewish communities in Canada today often foreshadows what our own Jewish neighbors will face tomorrow.
Sources:
Anti-Zionist groups in Canada target Jewish children’s summer camps – Times of Israel
Anti-Israel campaign targeting Jewish summer camps in Canada – Jerusalem Post