Dueling pro-Israel and anti-Israel demonstrations at McGill University in Montreal, Canada; May 2, 2024. Photo: ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect

Is the media fully explaining the ideological drive behind the actions of Seth Scott Hatfield, whose shooting rampage in the heart of Montreal on June 22 led to the deaths of a police officer and a Jewish civilian?

Based on a manifesto that was made public following the attack, both the Canadian media and international outlets (such as CNN, The Guardian, and Le Monde) have compiled an ideological profile of Hatfield, focusing on his stated hatred for feminism, liberalism, capitalism, pornography, “favored males,” and immigrants.

The manifesto reads as though it is inspired by a mixture of revolutionary Marxism and incel (involuntary celibate) culture and is being presented as such by the mainstream media.

However, one aspect of Hatfield’s hate-filled screed that has received little to no mention by the media is his abhorrence of the Jewish people.

Either his antisemitism is mentioned in passing several paragraphs into an article or it is not mentioned altogether.

Despite this lack of media attention, Hatfield’s hatred for the Jews is not an insignificant part of his violent ideology.

As a revolutionary Marxist, the bourgeoisie (owners of capital) are the one of the main focuses of Hatfield’s ire — and according to his manifesto, Hatfield viewed the bourgeoisie and Jews as being inextricably linked.

In Hatfield’s view of the world, the post-war era saw a large number of Jews join the bourgeoisie, and they established the State of Israel as a base “from which they were to assist in the expansion of capitalist hegemony in conjunction with American and British corporations.”

While Hatfield does attempt to qualify his view by stating that not all Jews are capitalists, he does find the connection between “Zionist Jews” and the bourgeoisie to be so close that he sometimes refers to the ruling class of the west as the “Judaeo-bourgeoisie class.”

Further in his manifesto, Hatfield lists “influential Zionists” as one of the groups that he views as a “valid potential class A target” for “liquidation.”

Hatfield’s negative view of the Jewish people was not just a hatred that he harbored in his heart — he believed in taking direct action against a host of “valid” potential targets, including those who advocate for the continued existence of the Jewish state. His belief in direct action was not only hyperbole — on June 22, he followed through on his violent ideology and opened fire in one of Canada’s largest cities.

As noted by Casey Babb of The Free Press, since October 2023, Canada has seen an unprecedented rise in antisemitism, arguably making it one of the most hostile countries for Jewish people in the West.

The Canadian political class has been slow to respond to this tidal wave of anti-Jewish hate. At the same time, the media has downplayed the antisemitism tsunami’s intensity, justified anti-Zionism as a legitimate ideology, and severed the connection between the hatred of the Jewish state and the Jewish people.

The media’s focus on the numerous hatreds that fueled Seth Scott Hatfield’s deadly rampage in Montreal while simultaneously minimizing or omitting his antisemitism is the latest example of Canadian and international media not taking the rise of antisemitism in Canada seriously.

Originally from Toronto, Canada, Chaim moved to Israel in 2018. He has a B.A. (Hons) in Political Science and History from York University as well as an MA in Israel Studies from the Rothberg International School at Hebrew University. Prior to joining HonestReporting, Chaim worked with a variety of Israel advocacy organizations in both Canada and Israel. This article was originally published at HonestReporting.