Ryan Bellerose, a Metis from Alberta, said the conference was “a valuable first step in building bridges between the indigenous Canadian and indigenous Judean people (Jews).”
“As someone who has been trying to build these bridges for years, it is great to see so many people of like mind, people who understand that it’s more than just a shared history of persecution, but also a shared history of love and veneration for our ancestral lands, that really helps bind us. And with Israel being a great example of a successful land back movement, there is much we can learn from our Jewish friends,” he told the Post.
Gilli Zemer and her family hosted two visiting Indigenous leaders, and she told the Post that she “came to learn more about the connections between Indigenous and Jewish communities, and left inspired by how deeply our foundational values align. We have much to learn from one another, and a key message was that Jews need to be more confident in advocating for our own indigenous story.”
Avi Attali, vice-president of Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation (CAEF), one of the sponsors of the event, told the Post that it “allowed us to exchange views, to learn about each other’s cultures and issues, and tried to seek solutions on how we can help each other in the future.”
The conversation often focused on building a shared framework for allyship — positioning dialogue and relationship-building as tools to counter misinformation about both communities. Sponsors also included the Israel Consulate of Toronto and Western Canada, Kanada House, Indigenous Embassy of Jerusalem, Allies Voices for Israel.
Robert Walker, assistant director of HonestReporting Canada, told the Post that “radical activists have weaponized everything from international law to indigenous lingo in their attempt to rewrite reality. That only works in a vacuum.
“The time has passed to permit this shameless inversion of reality to continue unchallenged. First Nations and Jews are both indigenous peoples who have a right to reclaim the truth from those who try to twist it.”
