Canadian Women Against Antisemitism organizes rallies, educational and other events, and advocates government for measures it believes will make Canada a safer country. A Vancouver chapter of CWAA is in the midst of forming. (photo from CWAA)
Revi Mula, a Toronto Jewish mother and interior designer, was shocked when she saw anti-Israel protests erupt in her city a day after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel. She and her friend, Talia Klein Leighton, knew immediately they had to do something.
The women-run, not-for-profit organization that Mula and Klein Leighton founded, Canadian Women Against Antisemitism, began with a Facebook post, where they invited likeminded women to come out and meet. They formed a leadership team with Klein Leighton as president and Mula as vice-president and, by March 2024, were organizing CWAA rallies. Their first, at Toronto’s Queen’s Park, drew 3,500 people, making it the second-largest Jewish rally anywhere in Canada.
“We exist to fight for Jewish rights in Canada and, specifically, Jewish women’s rights in Canada,” Mula said. “Our vision is an organization with chapters across the country that empowers women to join and volunteer because they want to see a difference in Canada, and to make Canada a better place for their communities. We want to create a country where all Jewish women are believed, feel safe and have the same benefits as all other women. Through our advocacy, we want to help promote a safer country for all Jews.”
CWAA is dedicated to fighting antisemitism, racism and gender-based violence, aligning with democratic, feminist and Canadian values. Its website says the organization “stands for pride in our identities as Jewish women, relationships with each other and allies, empowerment through unity, and collective responsibility to our history and our future.” It invites Canadians of all religions and nationalities to unite and work together, adding “together we will send a message that hatred has no place in Canada, a country founded on values of tolerance and inclusivity.”
Most of CWAA’s activities to date have been in Toronto and Montreal, but a Vancouver chapter is close to launching, said Mula. The organization promotes its advocacy through chats on social media and WhatsApp, and Mula said participants in the chat groups span from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal. She estimates that 80% of them are Jewish and 20% are allies.
Group members are constantly reaching out to CWAA to discuss the antisemitism they’re experiencing, she noted. “We’re hearing about problems in universities or K-12 spaces. Moms and dads are telling us what happened at their children’s school or their extracurricular activities, or about their doctor, who showed up wearing a keffiyeh.
“There are lots of issues affecting Jews and Jewish women across the country,” she continued. “It’s been difficult for them in crisis centres, shelters, on campus and in public spaces, where they’ve felt marginalized because those spaces are taking a geopolitical stance.”
CWAA launched a national campaign called Voices Unbroken, to advocate for women’s rights to all services. Its goal is to give women the platform, courage and community to speak out without fear of hate, ideology or politics.
The group also spent months assembling a comprehensive dossier about Samidoun.
“That was the biggest project we worked on to date, and it took a lot of energy,” Mula said. The dossier was submitted to the federal government with the intention of aiding the government in listing and designating Samidoun as a terrorist organization. (That designation occurred in October 2024, but it wasn’t until late last month that Samidoun’s federal nonprofit registration was formally dissolved.)
CWAA began a membership program in February. For an annual fee of $36, members have access to presentations, learning opportunities and events. Membership fees support these activities, as well as administrative costs for the organization, community work and the leadership team’s trips to Ottawa to meet members of Parliament and senators to discuss the amendments for which they are advocating.
April’s events included, in Toronto, an in-person art therapy evening and a lunch meeting with keynote speakers Einav Avizemer, an Israeli media personality, and Michelle Ferreri, a former MP. The event promised “bold voices, big energy, powerful inspiration and a day of empowerment and sisterhood.”
The hope, Mula said, is that CWAA chapters in other cities will bring local women into their fold and hold empowering events of their own. Those wanting to join the Vancouver chapter can reach out to CWAA via social media or visit cwaa.ca for more information.
Lauren Kramer, an award-winning writer and editor, lives in Richmond.