We are not immune

Editorial

Canada's largest anti-terrorist operation in history took place last week, with the arrest of 17 individuals in Ontario. The media are noting that all 17 are Canadian residents and most are citizens.

The suspects are alleged to have been participants in an al-Qaeda-inspired plot to execute a major terrorist attack on Canadian soil.

Canadian media reported Monday that the targets of the alleged plot included symbolic locations, including the Parliament Buildings' Peace Tower, the CN Tower and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Though the raid and 17 arrests represent a chilling reminder of our vulnerability, the result could obviously have been far, far worse. Canadian intelligence and police deserve great credit for their work.

The news, it is safe to say, affected Canadian Jews in a particular fashion. We who have watched in horror and impotence as bombs have exploded week after week in Israel over the past six years understand more intuitively than others how fortunate we have been so far – and where a wrong turn could lead.

Canadian Jews also have reason to exhibit more trepidation than other Canadians over any potential jihadist activity, given that radical Islamists are known to have, to put it mildly, anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic tendencies.

Recent events in Canada should do more to reassure us than to frighten us. There was something unreal about Canada's erstwhile freedom from obvious terrorist activity. Canadians knew that we were in the sights of international extremism – various intercepted communications in recent years affirmed that suspicion – but the absence of either tragic events or notable raids like last week's gave an ominous sense of worrying silence.

The discovery of alleged terrorist activity in Canada should give us a sense of security, not panic. We knew we could not be immune. The discovery of an alleged jihadist plot is a better outcome than the alternative.

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