Montreal, December 10, 2025 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is raising the alarm over a recent Toronto Sun column by Joe Warmington which notes that the “re-introduction” of the far-right and anti-Palestinian Jewish Defence League (JDL) in Canada is “very close,” and sympathetically claims that “It’s getting harder to disagree with those arguing for such help.” CJPME condemns Warmington’s apparent endorsement of the JDL’s revival, which comes amid a rise in disturbing far-right pro-Israel activity.

CJPME notes that the JDL is a far-right, racist organization with a history of violence against Palestinians. It is considered a terrorist organization by the FBI, and the Canadian branch of the JDL has a history of coordinating with the US-branch. Further, the JDL is closely associated with the Israeli extremist political party Kahane Chai (Kach), as both organizations were founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane, an ultra-nationalist politician who served one term in Israel’s Knesset and was notorious for his anti-Black and anti-Arab racism. Critically, Canada considers Kahane Chai (Kach) to be a terrorist organization. 

The Canadian branch of the JDL was co-founded by Meir Weinstein, who led the organization from 1979 to 2021, when it disbanded. Weinstein openly identifies as a “loyal disciple” of Kahane and regularly discusses his admiration for him. In November 2025, Weinstein called for an escalatory counter-protest at Bathurst and Sheppard where a JDL supporter was arrested for threatening a visibly Muslim Palestine solidarity activist with a dangerous chemical substance.  The Canadian JDL has also been widely implicated in violence, including assaults on pro-Palestine demonstrators and clashes that led to Weinstein’s ban from York University. 

“The fact that even Canada’s terror-listing regime —which has historically reflected anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab biases — designates Kahane Chai (Kach) as a terrorist organization demonstrates just how extreme this group is in both ideology and practice,” said Jason Toney, Director of the Media Accountability Project at CJPME. “Ultimately, JDL and Kahane Chai (Kach) share the same ideological foundations,” he added.  “Legitimizing extremist vigilante groups risks deepening divisions, escalating tensions, and endangering Black, Muslim, Palestinian, and other marginalized communities who have historically faced violence from JDL activity in North America,” said Toney.