OTTAWA — Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, released a public video addressing a terrorist attack in Australia that left 16 Jews dead, yet did not once use the words Jew, Jewish, or antisemitism, despite the victims being targeted at a Jewish gathering. The omission has drawn sharp concern from Jewish organizations and observers who say the message failed to acknowledge the nature of the attack or the community most directly affected.
The attack occurred during a Hanukkah gathering in Sydney, where terrorists opened fire on a peaceful Jewish event. Australian authorities confirmed that 16 people were killed and dozens were wounded. Law enforcement agencies have treated the incident as a terrorism-related mass casualty attack targeting Jews.
In her video, Elghawaby focused on Islamophobia and the need to prevent backlash against Muslim communities following violent events. While concerns about collective blame are widely shared across communities, critics say the absence of any reference to Jews, Jewish victims, or antisemitism effectively erased the specific hate motivation behind the attack.
The “Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia” Amira Elghawaby decided to make a video about the terrorist attack that killed 16 Jews in Australia, but couldn’t quite muster the words “Jew”, “Jewish”, or “antisemitism” during her focused topic of Islamophobia. pic.twitter.com/CJLYYk90Sd
— Leviathan (@l3v1at4an) December 15, 2025
Jewish advocacy organizations noted that the video did not name antisemitism as a driving factor, even though the victims were attacked at a Jewish religious gathering and during a Jewish holiday. Several groups pointed out that acknowledging antisemitism does not negate concern for Muslim Canadians and that both issues can be addressed without contradiction.
“This was an attack on Jews for being Jews,” said one Canadian Jewish community leader in a statement circulated widely online. “Failing to name that fact undermines trust and raises serious questions about whether antisemitism is being treated with the same urgency as other forms of hate.”
Elghawaby’s office has not disputed that the victims were Jewish. However, the framing of her response emphasized potential Islamophobic backlash rather than the antisemitic nature of the crime itself. Observers say this approach mirrors a broader pattern in which antisemitic violence is acknowledged indirectly or subsumed into broader discussions that avoid naming Jews as victims.
Elghawaby was appointed in 2023 as Canada’s first Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia. Her mandate includes advising the federal government on policies and responses related to anti-Muslim hatred. The role does not formally include antisemitism, which falls under other federal portfolios, including the Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism.
However, critics argue that when mass casualty attacks explicitly target Jews, senior federal figures should demonstrate moral clarity and precision, particularly when speaking publicly in the aftermath of terrorism.
“The issue here is not mandate overlap,” said a senior figure at a national Jewish organization. “It is the refusal to acknowledge who was murdered and why.”
Reaction across Jewish social media platforms and community forums was swift. Many users contrasted Elghawaby’s video with statements from international leaders and emergency organizations that explicitly identified the attack as antisemitic and named the Jewish victims.
ZAKA Search and Rescue, which deployed an international team to Australia following the attack, described the incident as a terror attack on Jews and emphasized the importance of Kavod Hameit, dignity for the dead under Jewish law. Australian Jewish organizations similarly identified antisemitism as central to understanding the attack.
Community leaders in Canada warned that repeated failures to name antisemitism contribute to a climate in which Jewish suffering is minimized or treated as politically inconvenient.
The controversy comes amid a documented rise in antisemitic incidents across Canada since October 2023. Police services in multiple cities have reported increases in threats, vandalism, and harassment targeting Jewish institutions and individuals. Jewish organizations have repeatedly called on federal officials to address antisemitism directly and consistently, regardless of parallel concerns about other forms of hate.
While Elghawaby’s video sought to promote social cohesion and prevent backlash, critics argue that cohesion cannot be built on omission.
“Words matter,” said one Jewish academic specializing in hate crime studies. “Naming victims is not optional. It is foundational to justice and prevention.”
As of publication, Elghawaby has not issued a clarification or follow-up statement acknowledging the Jewish victims or addressing antisemitism in connection with the Sydney attack. Jewish organizations are urging federal officials to ensure that future responses to terrorism reflect accuracy, specificity, and equal moral concern.
They stress that combating Islamophobia and confronting antisemitism are not competing priorities, but parallel obligations in a pluralistic democracy.
