CBC journalist accosted outside Yom Kippur service and Americans are outraged: ‘Try this in Florida and you go to jail’

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A social media post by CBC National Radio News Reader Neil Herland has been widely shared, with some outraged responses from outside the country.

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Herland had recounted the intimidation he faced when trying to enter a building to attend a Yom Kippur service in Toronto on Monday night, adding that he may have to leave Canada amid rising antisemitism.

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“On Yom Kippur I went to a synagogue service in Toronto and was met by protesters trying to taunt and intimidate me from entering the building,” he wrote in a post on X, where he identifies himself as a journalist and a Jew.

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Florida Congressman Randy Fine, a Republican, responded yesterday, noting: “Try this in Florida, and you go to prison for five years.”

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He added: “Proud to have sponsored the bill to make that happen.”

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Meanwhile, Kyle Smith, a columnist, novelist and film critic for the Wall Street Journal, asked simply: “How did we let it get this bad for Jews?”

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And the X account of the U.S. Israel Education Association posted: “We have seen where unchecked hatred can lead. History has taught us that silence in the face of antisemitism comes at a terrible cost.”

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The group added: “On Yom Kippur, Jews should never have to face intimidation simply for walking into a synagogue to pray. We cannot normalize this. We cannot look away. And we cannot allow hatred of Jews to manifest itself in our communities unchecked. We stand with you!”

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