The Canadian-based Israel Now movement has officially announced the formation of a new initiative, the “New Jewish Defense Force,” aimed at addressing and pushing back against rising antisemitism and threats directed at the Jewish community in Canada.
Israel Now, led by director Meir Weinstein, is an advocacy and grassroots organization dedicated to defending Israel and the Jewish community, frequently mobilizing public demonstrations and campaigns against rising antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment.
The launch comes amid a wave of violent antisemitic attacks across Toronto over the past week, including gunfire that targeted two locations of the Jewish-owned Kiva’s Bagel Bar chain, a separate shooting incident at the US Consulate, and gunfire that struck the North York headquarters of INKAS Armored Vehicle Manufacturing. These events follow months of mounting tensions and prior attacks on Jewish community infrastructure.
The announcement of the new defense initiative was made via social media by Weinstein alongside an accompanying video address.
In the video, Weinstein detailed the urgent necessity behind the newly formed organization, stating that it is being established to address “Jewish businesses being targeted, shot up, Jews being attacked, violence against the Jewish community.”
Weinstein asserted that established Jewish organizations have fallen short, that “the government of Canada is not really receptive to Jewish leadership in our community,” and that “there needs to be action” rather than mere statements and passive reactions.
Declaring that “enough with the nonsense of reactions, we have work to do and we have to confront these pieces of garbage who are attacking our community,” Weinstein called for a decisive shift toward active community protection.
Group intends to publish personal information of Hamas supporters
According to Weinstein, the group’s immediate focus will involve documenting where hostile groups and individuals operate, conducting necessary research, and gathering intelligence to confront ongoing security threats. Emphasizing the need for a mobilized counter-effort similar to historical defense models, Weinstein urged supporters to push past institutional inertia. “Now is the time to join the new Jewish Defense Force and fight back against those who threaten the Jewish Community. Enough being a victim!” he stated.
Weinstein urged supporters and interested individuals to connect with the movement through the official Israel Now website, noting that a new website will be created for the New Jewish Defense Force.
Following the online launch, Weinstein told The Jerusalem Post that the organization intends to pursue aggressive tactics, such as identifying the names and home addresses of Hamas and other terror supporters to stage demonstrations outside their residences, emphasizing that their response to antisemitism will diverge sharply from traditional community approaches.
Weinstein pointed to specific local establishments, some of which he has highlighted on social media, describing them as restaurants that glorify terrorists and function as gathering places for Hamas supporters living as neighbors within the Jewish community.
Detailing the initiative’s operational scope, Weinstein stated that the purpose of the new organization is to prevent these establishments from operating unchallenged by gathering intelligence on the individuals, organizations, and businesses dedicated to targeting the Jewish community, with a dedicated website expected to launch within a week.