B’nai Brith Canada renewed its demand for an investigation into the Goyim Defense League (GDL), a US-based neo-Nazi network, after antisemitic materials, believed to be associated with the group, were discovered plastered outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, on Thursday.
The discovery followed a shooting at the synagogue on Yom Kippur, when a gunman opened fire on a police officer stationed outside as worshipers gathered. Const. Jeff Smith was seriously wounded after being shot multiple times but stayed engaged with the assailant until backup arrived, halting what authorities called a potential mass casualty attack. The 29-year-old gunman, Sean Ward, died in the hospital the following day after sustaining life-threatening injuries in the shootout. Investigators later revealed he carried multiple firearms, ammunition, and gasoline.
Following the shooting, antisemitic flyers allegedly blaming Jewish people for various societal ills were distributed across Belleville and found outside the synagogue. B’nai Brith Canada noted that its research indicates the GDL has been active in Canada since at least 2023, utilizing social media and video-chat platforms to radicalize individuals, promote conspiracy theories such as blaming Jewish people for the COVID-19 pandemic, and distribute ready-made hate materials and antisemitic caricatures.
B'nai Brith previously warned against group's influence
The organization previously warned the federal government during 2025 about the group’s growing domestic influence, pointing to radicalization cases such as that of Pascal Tribout, a Quebec man convicted of willfully promoting hatred against Jewish people and attempting to manufacture 3D-printed firearms.
“The targeting of this synagogue, which is still reeling from the trauma of the attack during Yom Kippur, is a cowardly attempt to intimidate, terrorize, and taunt the Jewish community,” said Simon Wolle, B’nai Brith Canada’s Chief Executive Officer.
“There must be zero tolerance for those who seek to further target and endanger Jewish Canadians.” Wolle added, “We have, as a society, failed to combat the spread of hateful and extreme ideologies.”
Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy, stated: “The threat the GDL poses to Canadian society can no longer be ignored. We are calling on law enforcement at all levels to investigate the GDL and take the necessary action to protect Canadians from its hateful, extremist ideology.”
Robertson added that “the attacks against the community in Belleville demonstrate that online hate – which accounts for more than 90 percent of hate-motivated behavior B’nai Brith tracks in its 'Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents' – does not remain in cyberspace.”
Emphasizing the transition from digital rhetoric to physical danger, Robertson stated that “it is emerging from the shadows and resulting in real-world harm. We have said time and again that hateful language often escalates into hateful actions. One need only look at the Belleville attack to see that.”
CIJA, UJA Federation condemn flyer distribution
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto also strongly condemned the distribution of the flyers in a joint statement shared on X.
Noting that the community was still recovering from the Yom Kippur attack, the organizations emphasized that the distribution of antisemitic flyers is “more than hateful rhetoric” and that “libels and conspiracies about Jews and Israelis are fueling hate and violence against Canadians.”
The statement added that “Canada’s security services have sounded the alarm of the current situation in which acts of antisemitism become so prevalent and frequent that they create an environment that influences extremists toward more violent pathways.”
Concluding the post, CIJA and the UJA Federation expressed gratitude to local authorities, stating, “We are grateful for the quick response by the Belleville Police Service in responding to this troubling development,” and asserting that “Jewish Canadians are owed the basic standards that all Canadians deserve: to live, worship and participate in their communities without fear.”
Confirming to local news outlets, the Belleville Police Service stated that they are actively investigating the distribution of the flyers containing antisemitic messaging in the city’s east end. Police emphasized that “hate has no place in Belleville” and noted that they have increased visible patrols around places of worship and community gathering spaces.