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

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

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.

“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.

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

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

Try this in Florida, and you go to prison for five years. Proud to have sponsored the bill to make that happen. Muslim terror is not welcome here. https://t.co/ma4ayUQY4v

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?”

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.”

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!”

We have seen where unchecked hatred can lead. History has taught us that silence in the face of antisemitism comes at a terrible cost.On Yom Kippur, Jews should never have to face intimidation simply for walking into a synagogue to pray.We cannot normalize this. We cannot…