antisemitism in canada

simon wiesenthal centre | 02.06.2004 11:27

in canada there has been a resurgence of antisemitic activity

Over the last few months, Canada has experienced the worst antisemitic activity in recent memory. Synagogues have been vandalized, cemetery stones overturned, homes desecrated with Nazi signs, a Jewish school damaged by arson, bomb threats sent to Jewish community centers, Jewish seniors taunted, and the distribution of hate propaganda. At right, Beth Jacob cemetery in Kitchener-Waterloo, where 12 gravestones were knocked over by vandals in April.

While the Canadian Jewish community is still reeling from this unprecedented series of antisemitic hate crimes, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies in Canada has been active in combating this rise by:

Leo Adler, Friends' National Director,
along with other Jewish leaders, met with Prime Minister Paul Martin (pictured left) resulting in a commitment by the government to speak out more forcefully against antisemitism, both in Canada and in international forums. In addition there was a new commitment to develop a national action plan to combat antisemitism and other forms of racism, to make a principled case against suicide bombings internationally, and to stop sending out mixed messages about Canada's attitude towards Israel.

Mr. Adler officially testified before the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on the campaign to make suicide bombings 'crimes against humanity'. This took place against the backdrop of an all-party resolution to have Canada take a leadership role in this initiative.

Our director publicly protested, and later met with Canadian Member of Parliament Patrick O' Brien, after the Parliamentarian had equated the construction of Israel's security fence with the creation of a concentration camp - comments O'Brien stood by even after meeting with the Friends' delegation.

Leo Adler lobbied for, and then participated in Canada's first National Yom Hashoah-Holocaust Remembrance Day Commemoration in ceremonies held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa (pictured right).

Canadian Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center established a telephone hate line and email address to report any antisemitic incidents (1-866-690-4792 or 1-866-690-4SWC;

reporthate@pathcom.com).

Tragically, this "new" antisemitism is often linked directly to events in the Middle East and the war against terrorism. A recent firebombing of a Jewish elementary school in Montreal was linked to Israeli actions in the Holy Land. Pictured left, reporters and school workers inspect the damage at the United Talmud Torah elementary school in Montreal. The school's library was firebombed overnight and antisemitic literature was left at the scene. A number of arrests of Arabs living in Montreal in connection with this hate crime have recently been reported.

Amid the spate of hate crimes and a new sense of concern and activism, the Simon Wiesenthal Center worldwide and Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies in Canada is asking that you join us in urging Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin to take a leadership role in making suicide bombings 'crimes against humanity', thus making a long range commitment to the fight against hate and terrorism.

This initiative, was presented in recent meetings with Prime Minister Paul Martin, Foreign Minister Bill Graham, (pictured right with SWC officials), Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, Canada's Conservative Party Foreign Affairs Critic and member of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Stockwell Day and Bloc Quebecois Member of Parliament Richard Marceau, all with the goal of gaining Canada's leadership in working against suicide bombings and those who sponsor this culture of death worldwide.

As legislation already exists in Canada against acts of terror and terrorism, Canada's lead would set an example to the rest of the world and would ensure that those who sponsor and inspire these heinous acts will be held legally accountable to the victims and their families.

Therefore, join us in reiterating our request to Prime Minister Paul Martin asking that he raise this issue with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and Arab nations attending next week's G8 summit meeting in the United States.

simon wiesenthal centre

Comments

Hide the following 8 comments

its very sad but....

04.06.2004 02:11

I'm afraid the only solution lies in the hands of the Israeli people and their democratic government.

They must cease their endless catalogue of brutal genocidal war crimes.

These crimes are now so extreme, blatant and almost unbelievable that the anger of right-thinking people around the world is bubbling over. It is inevitable that some of this righteous anger will spill off, via the perverted few, into unacceptable and unfair behaviour against jews in general. Sadly , violence breeds violence.

The solution does not lie in cajoling other governments, but in correcting the one government.

freddie

what is this doing on the newswire!!!!

04.06.2004 02:20

'Our director publicly protested, and later met with Canadian Member of Parliament Patrick O' Brien, after the Parliamentarian had equated the construction of Israel's security fence with the creation of a concentration camp - comments O'Brien stood by even after meeting with the Friends' delegation'

While agreeing that anti-semitism is wrong and also that suicide bombings are also wrong I cannot agree with the general stance of this article.

I too think that Israels security fence is turning the Palestinian territories into a concentration camp

Concentration camps have unfortunately existed at other times and places than Nazi places

Unless Israel gives back the lands that were taken from the Palestinians in 1967 there will never be a solution

I cannot understand at all why people who suffered so much in the 2nd world war and before under the Nazi regime have no compassion at all for the plight of the Palestinian people

How can you people justify the murder of so many innocent Palestinian civilians?

It is disgusting that IMC has allowed this to stay on the newswire
Probably they have not read it

And before you call me racist or antisemitic I might remind you that many Jewish people would agree with my opinion

antiracist

TYPICAL BOLLOX

04.06.2004 09:28

.. a few gravestones get vandalised (come to my local graveyard, you're find allsorts of disrespect and vandalism EVERYNIGHT!) and it's a wave of extreme anti-semitism, the only solution to which is to support israel to the hilt and stop making waves about its treatment of its slaves ...

what a joke

sure got canada sown up ain't they?

karen elliot

the nail on the head

04.06.2004 12:00

these three comments hit the nail on the head. this is the new antisemitism. presenting israel as some country so monstruos that it is obvious people will be angry at jews everywhere, as if other armies didn't kill people on a much larger scale. denyng that antisemitism exists ("gravestones are vandalized everywhere" as if there wasn't a wave of racially motivated attacks against jewish graveyards). sayng that indymedia should take this post off when all it does is describe antisemitic acts in canada, as if that was a crime in itself. supposing that whenever someone complains about antisemitism, they do it to make people support israel, even though the article doesn't say that anywhere.

the voice of common sense

the voice of absent sense

04.06.2004 13:46

After the 9/11 attacks were blamed on islamic fundamentalists, anti-islamic attacks increased in the US and UK.

After the US/UK attack on Iraq, there are some (particularly in the middle east) who see a return of the crusades, and a corresponding hatred of christianity rises.

SO it is NOT 'the new antisemitism' to suggest that the barbaric acts of the israeli state will inevitably result in some misguided individuals targeting jews in general. Saying "as if other armies didn't kill people on a much larger scale" ignores the fact that Israel is the largest recipient of US aid, mostly military, it is protected by US vetos in the security council (until it goes too far even for them), is provided with much support from western governments and receives much media attention correspondingly.

If more people were aware of the US-backed atrocities in columbia, there would be more outcry. If more people were aware of Turkey's US/UK backed ethnic cleansing campaign against the Kurds, there would be more action. The same for Saudi etc . . . There are good reasons to criticise Israeli state policy, antisemitism is a motive for a tiny minority. I have only ever met one activist who expressed (borderline) antisemitic views which were more from ignorance of the distinction between israelis and jews.

Crying antisemitism all the time is like the boy who cried wolf, people will treat accusations of antisemitism less seriously than they should and so real antisemites benefit. And while we're on the subject, Palestinians ARE semites, many Israelis are not, so 'anti-jew' is a more accurate term than antisemitism, which I suspect is used for it is so loaded with connotation i is more effective at silencing legitimate critics.

Tom

semites and antisemites

04.06.2004 14:21

yes, there's racist hatred everywhere in the world, but the fact is that jews are a tiny minority everywhere except in israel and so they obviously worry more. what's more history has shown that when ordinary people become convinced that jews are the source of their ills, the consequences can be terrible (now you'll tell me that not only jews have been persecuted in history, as if there was nothing specially bad about how the jews have been treated, and this reasoning is itself a result of antisemitism). the fact is anti-jewish views are on the increase among loads of people, including on the left. just look at the comments above. the way people deny israel's right to exist without giving much thought to the fate of the people living there is also suspicious.
and talking about semites, the arabs are not really racially semites any more, and nor are the jews. they are both mixes of different peoples. however the term antisemitism has historically come to mean anti-jewish prejudice, and there is no reason to drop it. it is loaded, and rightly so. people say that the arabs are also semites because they want to be able to accuse the israelis of antisemitism, so as to be more hurtfull.

the voice of common sense

more distractionary argument

04.06.2004 18:21

"if there was nothing specially bad about how the jews have been treated, and this reasoning is itself a result of antisemitism"

Jews (who are not a homogenous mass by the way, *that* is anti-jewish), have being persecuted terribly throughout history. The idea that their suffering is unique however is either ignorant or rooted in racial supremecism, I suspect the former in your case. 100 million native people were genocided out of existence in South America, 10 million in North America. In more modern times Stalin's purges were easily comparable to hitlers. A third of East Timor's population (200,000) was wiped out by indonesian forces after the invasion in the 70s. It is not anti-semitic to be opposed to all genocide, on the contrary in fact.

"deny israel's right to exist"

Many people on IMC UK are anarchist or libertarian and deny the right of *all* states to exist - clearly not a xenophobic attitude. In fact states don't have rights, they have whatever their populations allow them, or whatever they can squeeze from their populations by force. Similarly, many people oppose *all* organised religion, that doesn't mean they oppose beleivers themselves though.

I once attended a meeting on palestine, attended by muslims, christians and jews, where someone said 'all religion is medeival claptrap' - a hardline zionist screamed 'antisemite!' and stormed out. Of course his reaction cannot be generalised, however, it is the kind of politically motivated hysteria that distracts us from confronting xenophobia in all its forms, something that society, and particularly those who consider themselves progressive need to do more towards.

Tom

the truth

05.06.2004 10:47

I agree that religions are all crap. I'm an atheist. however that is no excuse to take up old anti-jewish stereotypes about how the talmud encourages jews to hate gentiles etc...
ok anarchist can be against israel's existence, but what about non-anarchists?
and indeed genocides have happened to many groups of people but the fact is jews have been discriminated against practically allways and everywhere in europe for about a thousand years without stop. what's more ordinary people have allways had a propensity to develope anti-jewish conspiracy theories which they do not have with others, and extremist movements of all sorts have allways been anti-jewish. I think only gypsies can be compared to jews from this point of view.
the idea that jews are racial supremacists if they claim that they are the most persecuted people is offensive and stupid. with who else would anyone say that they are racial supremacists because they say "we are particularly unfortunate and hated"?

the voice of common sense