Antisemitism And Racism

In total, 459 incidents were reported in Canada in 2002, representing an overall increase of more than 60 percent over the previous year, and the highest number of incidents recorded in the 20 years of record keeping by the League for Human Rights. Militant anti-Israel and anti-US groups, whose rhetoric is often anti-Zionist and antisemitic, have been gaining strength on Canadian university campuses.

THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

According to the 2001 census enquiry relating to ethnic origin, there were 348,605 Jews in Canada out of a total population estimate of 31,110,600. Thus, Jews represent 1.12 percent of the total population of Canada. The main centers of Jewish population were Toronto (161,215), Montreal (80,390), Vancouver (22,130), Winnipeg (14,440), Ottawa (12,890), Calgary (8,180) and Edmonton (5,530). According to the query about religious identification, the Jewish population for these centers was Toronto (164,510), Montreal (88,765), Vancouver (17,270), Winnipeg (12,760), Ottawa (11,320), Calgary (6,530) and Edmonton (3,980).

B’nai B’rith Canada and the Canadian Jewish Congress are the two major national Jewish advocacy organizations. The community publishes some 20 newspapers and journals, including The Jewish Tribune and the Canadian Jewish News. There is a vibrant Jewish educational system in Canada, serving close to 12,000 day school children. In addition, there are thousands of children in supplementary after school programs.

EXTREMIST GROUPS

Although they no longer openly recruit members, far right groups such as the National Alliance aggressively solicit youth on the Internet to their cause. In addition, poster and mail activities by white supremacist groups were reported during 2002 in Calgary, Toronto, London (Ontario) and Halifax, among other locations.

Increased activity by groups such as the Heritage Alliance, Tri-City Skins and the Northern Alliance was noted in London. In Guelph, Ontario, the Ontario Provincial Police opened an investigation into a website containing antisemitic material run by a group called the Earth Community Organization. In Toronto, there were at least two hate rock concerts. Although no violence erupted, there is concern about a resurgence of right-wing groups that seek to peddle their ideology through music.

In January 2002, Alexan Kulbashian, a former spokesperson for the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team (CECT), was charged with counseling to commit murder. The Hate Crimes Unit of the London police alleges that he facilitated the CECT website which declared war on Muslims and Jews. He is also cited as one of three operators of an Internet database containing addresses and home phone numbers of police officers and private citizens. Apart from a brief jail spell for breaching bail conditions, Kulbashian continues his activities while he awaits trial.

In a dramatic change from the past, much of the antisemitic rhetoric in 2002/3 originates not from the traditional extreme right wing, but from the intellectual left and the anarchist/anti-globalization/anti-US milieu. This often takes the form of questioning the legitimacy of Jewish nationalism while respecting the right to self-determination of all other peoples, as well as blaming the entire Arab-Israeli conflict – and at times other world problems – on the Jews. A common belief expressed in left-wing publications such as CounterPunch is that Jews control the media in the West and unduly influence governments there.

Also indicative of left-wing antisemitism is the continuing appearance of antisemitic tracts on so-called “progressive” media sites. In August 2002, antisemitic materials were detected on two Canadian Indymedia websites, in Hamilton and Windsor, both in the province of Ontario. These tracts included a piece entitled “The Hidden Tyranny,” based on the antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which recounted the supposed confession of a Jewish participant in a global conspiracy, and included a discussion claiming that Jewish racial origins were central Asian and Khazar, thus disclaiming the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel. The League for Human Rights (the League) has brought these sites to the attention of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, which is investigating the matter.

Links between the extreme left and the extreme right have also become evident. The Anti-Globalization Action Network (AGAN), for example, has established ties to the right-wing National Alliance, which participated in anti-globalization demonstrations in 2002. National Alliance organizers apparently view this milieu as promising recruiting territory with enough “common ground” between the two movements.

The presence of extremist Islamic groups in Canada, as reported by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), continues to be a cause for concern. In fact, almost all of the world's terrorist groups have some presence in Canada and CSIS reports that they coerce and attempt to manipulate émigré communities for fundraising and as a cover for recruitment and operational planning.

In November 2002, B’nai B’rith took the Government of Canada to court over its claim that Hizballah’s social service programs were lawful and over its refusal to class the group as terrorist in its entirety. While groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad were banned by the government as terrorist organizations under the new Canadian Anti-terrorism legislation, Hizballah was not included in this category. The only sanction applied was freezing the assets of the so-called military wing of the organization, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism. As a result, the organization in its entirety was added to this list, and was also listed pursuant to the Criminal Code amendments mandated by the Anti-terrorism legislation.

Efforts to outlaw the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Tanzim continued throughout 2002, and the former organization was subsequently banned.

ANTISEMITIC ACTIVITIES

Of the 459 incidents reported to the League in 2002, 282 (61.44 percent) were classed as harassment, 148 (32.24 percent) as vandalism and 29 (6.32 percent) as violence. This compares with 203 cases of harassment (71 percent) and 83 cases of vandalism (29 percent) in 2001. (Prior to 2002, violence was included in the harassment category.)

Out of the total in 2002, 154 (33.6 percent) were committed in April (86) and May (68) alone, representing more than three times the number of incidents that occurred during those two months in 2001. Of these incidents, 96 were classified as harassment, 52 as vandalism and 6 as violence.

This period coincided with Israel’s Operation Defensive Shield following the Passover terrorist bombing in Netanya that killed 28 people, and injured 140. The charges of a massacre relating to Israel’s action against the infrastructure of terror in the West Bank, and the wide media coverage that ensued until these allegations were disproved, provided fertile ground for antisemitic outbursts. The overwhelming condemnation of Israel appeared to be taken as validation for attacks against individual Jews and Jewish organizations in the country and was used as an opportunity to express latent antagonism.

After 11 September, the focus of the threat to the Canadian Jewish community moved from fringe right-wing groups and lone agitators to entities linked to international terrorism. In response, the Canadian Jewish community, like many communities around the world, was forced to take additional precautions around its synagogues, schools and community buildings. However, both the authorities and Canadian society at large were generally indifferent to Jewish fears, as well as to actual acts of violence such as fire bombings, synagogue desecration and cases of physical assault. This was illustrated by the silence of the Member of Parliament for Quebec City following the firebombing of the only synagogue in her constituency in May 2002.

The Jewish community became even more sensitive to this type of threat following the city-wide alert issued by the Ottawa chief of police and mayor for the month of June 2002. While the exact nature of the threat was unspecified, the implication was that it came from foreign agents linked to extremist Islamic groups. The fact that synagogues were reportedly included on various lists of possible terrorist targets in Canada intensified this concern.

Given the fact that crimes against other minorities appear to have declined in number and severity following a spike in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the findings for 2002 are alarming. In addition to a marked rise in antisemitic incidents, the increasing use of imagery and motifs of violence in antisemitic propaganda was reflected in a trend toward outright violence, including the murder of David Rosenzweig, a visibly Orthodox Jew. The attack took place in Toronto in July 2002 and was being treated by police as a suspected hate crime (see also below).

The most significant figures were reported for Quebec and Ontario, areas of residence for the majority of Canadian Jews. In Ontario as a whole there were 329 incidents, 217 of which took place in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). In Quebec there were 89 incidents, of which 87 took place in Greater Montreal.

In regional Ontario (not including Greater Toronto or the National Capital Region), there were 69 cases compared to 46 in 2001, representing a 50 percent increase. They included serious acts of harassment, distribution of hate propaganda, vandalism and violence. The Greater Toronto Area recorded 217 incidents of antisemitism including death threats, bomb threats, physical assault, anthrax scares with a hate/bias orientation, serious acts of vandalism and several cemetery desecrations. This marked an 87 percent increase in reported incidents over the 2001 figure of 116.

Police statistics for Toronto confirm these trends. Out of 219 hate crimes identified in 2002, 50 were against Jews. While the overall number of incidents reported to the police decreased by 35 percent, with crimes against Muslims, for example, dropping from 57 to 10, the decrease in crimes against Jews was much less marked (from 58 to 50), and the proportion of crimes against Jews relative to the total, in fact, rose from 17 percent in 2001 to 23 percent in 2002.

In the National Capital Region, there were 43 reported antisemitic incidents in Ottawa, including graffiti, vandalism and threatening e-mails, as well as two cases of physical assault. This represents an increase of 79 percent over the 2001 figures.

The League received reports of 87 antisemitic incidents in Greater Montreal, which represents an increase of 11.5 percent from 2001. Although the percentage increase is less marked than in other areas of the country, 14 percent of the total incidents in the Montreal area were violent acts, compared to 6 percent for all of Canada. There were 12 incidents in September alone, 6 of them violent, the majority of which took place during a riot at Concordia University on 9 September 2002 (see below). An additional two incidents were reported in regional Quebec in 2002, including the firebombing of Quebec City’s only synagogue.

Twenty-three incidents were reported in Winnipeg, Manitoba, compared to six in 2001. Five were recorded in British Columbia: four in Vancouver and one in Victoria. This represents the same level of activity as in 2001. There were six incidents in Alberta and four in Saskatchewan, including the firebombing of the Saskatoon Synagogue, compared to five reports of incidents for both provinces combined in 2001. The Maritime Provinces logged three incidents in 2002, compared to just one the previous year. One involved right-wing activities on Prince Edward Island, the others took place in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.

As mentioned above, the old canard about Jewish control of the media has re-emerged in Canada. In addition, Lebanese Ambassador Raymond Baaklini denounced “Zionist” and “Jewish” control of “90 percent” of the Canadian media, in an interview to the Montreal-based Arab newspaper Sada al-Machric in December 2002. Foreign Minister Bill Graham summoned the ambassador to inform him that such comments were unacceptable in Canada.

Similarly, charges about the “influence of the Jewish lobby” were made, notably by Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish to the Egyptian al-Ahram Weekly Online (29 Aug–4 Sept. 2002). The replacement of “Zionist” with “Jewish” in this context indicates that the two terms have become interchangeable in some sectors of the mainstream.

Parrish also tried to damage the name and reputation of an investigative reporter from the National Post after he received an award from B’nai B’rith. She demanded of his newspaper that each of his articles be qualified by a statement that he was linked to B’nai B’rith, implying that those who deal with Jews are forever tainted.

On Canadian university campuses, militant anti-Israel and anti-US movements have rapidly been gaining strength. Pro-Palestinian advocacy groups tend to include anti-Israel and anti-Zionist rhetoric, which often becomes antisemitic. Thus, for example, discussions by anti-Israel activists on campuses, such as York University in Toronto, have led time and again to the old canards of Jewish control of media and/or of western governments. Pro-Palestinian activists have made remarks to Jewish students, such as “Why don’t you people go back to Europe where you came from?” Jewish symbols have been defaced, or equated with the swastika on a number of campuses.

Anti-Israel advocacy has also occasionally led to violence. A Jewish student was assaulted by a prominent Palestinian activist one day after the 9 September 2002 riot at Concordia where a lecture by Binyamin Netanyahu was scheduled to take place. Students wishing to attend were kicked, spat upon, punched, and abused with crude racial epithets. York University, too, was also the scene of scuffles, including threats of physical assault.

Though Palestinian advocacy groups pay lip service to condemning antisemitism in conformity with the provisions of their constitutions, in practice they ignore or tacitly sanction anti-Jewish manifestations. For example, in January 2003 an event held by a Palestinian advocacy group at the University of Alberta in Calgary allowed a discussion of Jewish “complicity” in the 9/11 attacks among other “Jewish conspiracies.”

University clubs, often using university web servers, have been found to contain links to Holocaust denial material and references to antisemitic books. The Student Association for Muslim Awareness at Concordia University, for example, contained such materials on its website. After their disclosure, the site was closed down. Other campus club sites across the country, such as Dalhousie in Halifax, have also hosted antisemitic materials.

The Internet

With the marked increase in the number of hate sites, the problem of widespread dissemination of hate propaganda has intensified. In Canada alone, there are an estimated 100 hate sites, as well as 13 rock group sites that espouse hate.

Fifty-five complaints were made to the League concerning Internet hate sites and e-mails, representing over 12 percent of reported antisemitic incidents in 2002. Many more sites and chat rooms, including those on mainstream portals such as Yahoo!, which has hosted “hate clubs,” are monitored on an ongoing basis.

In referring to hate propaganda laws, the Supreme Court of Canada wrote in R. v. Keegstra [1990] 3 SCR 697 that “the harm which the government seeks to prevent is not restricted to certain mediums or locations,” thereby recognizing that the government has a role to play in regulating the Internet. Of concern is the unregulated nature of the content of Internet sites and the limited tools available to police and other agencies to stem the flow of hate, especially where there are cross-border issues. Even where rulings have been issued in Canada, such as the Human Rights Tribunal decision in the Zündel case (see ASW 2001/2), the Zundelsite has continued to operate from the United States and remains accessible to Canada without limitation. Zündel’s return to Canada in February 2002 and his attempts to claim “refugee” status in order to avoid deportation to Germany where he faces criminal prosecution under German anti-hate laws, have highlighted once again the difficulties inherent in enforcing protection against hate-mongering (see also below).

User ignorance or negligence can also serve to disseminate hate. A well-known Canadian reporter from a mainstream paper, for instance, recommended as “well considered” a conspiracy theory site which clearly contained antisemitic material; she later issued an apology that she had failed to notice it. However, both the original article and the subsequent update that include her apology still contain active “hot links” to the site in question. Furthermore, the reporter later qualified her apology by assuring readers that her original endorsement of the site still stood, albeit with the proviso that the antisemitic parts were unacceptable. Similarly, a clergyman from the Province of Alberta relied on such conspiracy theories from Internet sources when informing congregants that Jews were responsible for the September 11 attacks.

Hate e-mail campaigns, targeting a wide range of Jewish institutions and individuals, were sometimes reported in 2002. In one case, the hate content of an antisemitic site was copied and pasted into e-mails that were made to look as if they originated from a well-established security computer company based in the United States. They were then sent around the world, including to Canada.

Hate spread by other means of technology were also of concern. Reports were received of antisemitic comments espoused on shortwave broadcasts, which are re-broadcast from the top of the CN Tower. In addition, there were instances of callers on radio talk shows who made clearly antisemitic remarks, sometimes with no contradiction or comment from the talk show host. This was particularly glaring in cases where callers repeated the calumny that no Jews died in the World Trade Centre attacks or in variations of that theme.

ATTITUDES TOWARD THE HOLOCAUST AND THE NAZI ERA

Holocaust denial was evident in both the propaganda of the far right and of the far left. As of February 2002, Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel was being held in detention by the Canadian immigration authorities. In January 2002, the Canadian Human Rights Commission ruled that the Zundelsite contained antisemitic material and ordered Zündel to shut it down. Zündel has failed to comply with that order, contending that his wife is the owner of the site. Zündel moved to the United States until his expulsion on alleged visa violations. He was allowed into Canada after applying for refugee status on his arrival. Zündel is claiming that he would be persecuted for his beliefs if returned to his native Germany which has issued a warrant for his arrest for inciting hatred. The CSIS has stated at detention hearings that they believe Zündel continues to be a security threat. A final report and decision in this matter is pending.

Holocaust Commemoration and Education

Holocaust Remembrance Day was marked in Canada in 2002 in five provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, British Columbia and Saskatoon. A number of commemorative programs took place, including the League’s “Unto Every Person There Is a Name” on the steps of the various legislatures, as well as in community and school-based formats. Commemoration of Raoul Wallenberg Day also takes place every year on 17 January as an initiative of the federal Department of Canadian Heritage. The department is planning an educational program throughout Canada's schools, to teach about Wallenberg's heroism.

The League’s Yom Ha-Shoah Teacher’s Guide is available as a resource for educators to plan Holocaust observance and studies programs. This initiative was funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage.

RESPONSES TO RACISM AND ANTISEMITISM

Under the Criminal Code of Canada, hate crimes involve one of two specific types of acts: “Hate propaganda” and “public incitement of hatred.” The Canadian Human Rights Act is also applied in the prosecution of hate crimes. Section 1 of the Ontario Human Rights Code provides for freedom from discrimination, that is, equal treatment without discrimination based on race, ancestry, place of origin, color, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status or handicap, record of offenses (in employment) and receipt of public assistance (in accommodation). The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms also provides for such rights. These provisions were all utilized in 2002 to initiate or advance investigations relating to hate crimes.

Under the new federal anti-terrorism legislation, (formerly Bill C36) which became law in December 2001, the Criminal Code was amended to provide for enhanced search and seizure provisions of materials relating to hate propaganda offenses. A new offense under section 430 (4.1) was also added regarding offenses against places of religious worship or religious property motivated by “bias, prejudice or hate based on religion, race, color or national or ethnic origin.”

The Canadian Human Rights Act was also amended at that time to extend the prohibition against hate messages beyond telephone messages to include all telecommunications technologies.

If applied vigorously, these provisions should provide redress for a significant number of hate-related incidents, including those motivated by antisemitism. However, they remain untested so far.

An antisemitic incident that had some important legal ramifications in 2002 was the murder of David Rosenzweig, a visibly Orthodox Jew. This case drew attention to issues surrounding recognition of hate motivation, specifically by the police, because this determination can affect sentencing on charges ultimately brought against the assailant. The Criminal Code provides that “evidence that the offense was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate based on race, national or ethnic origin... religion...” is an aggravating factor which can lead to a greater prison term. In 2002, this provision was used on appeal to significantly increase the sentence of an individual convicted of fire-bombing a synagogue in Alberta.

The circumstances of the murder, including the absence of any robbery attempt, leads to the assumption this was a hate crime. However, without the arrest and interrogation of a suspect, the police have been unable to establish a motive.

Changes to the Citizenship of Canada Act are currently under review with the aim of streamlining the process of deporting war criminals or others posing a security threat. There are also changes to the Immigration and Refugee Act in the pipeline in an attempt to update and rationalize the system.

The seven World War II cases that were outstanding from 2001 were still at various stages of resolution. They relate to Helmut Oberlander, Wasyl Odynsky, Vladimir Katriuk, Jacob Fast, Walter Obodzinsky, Michael Baumgartner and Michael Seifert (see ASW 2001/2).

Public Education

The need for public education was highlighted by the antisemitic diatribe of a member of the First Nations communities. Following a profanity-laced speech, David Ahenakew, former Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, gave an interview, in December 2002, to a Saskatoon Star Phoenix reporter in which he said Adolf Hitler “fried six million Jews” to ensure they did not take over Europe. He stated that the Nazis sought to exterminate the Jews because Hitler “was going to make damn sure that the Jews didn't take over Germany or Europe.” He went on to say: “That's why he fried six million of those guys, you know. Jews would have owned the goddamned world. And look what they're doing. They're killing people in Arab countries.” Ahenakew said he had assumed these opinions during military service in Germany and Egypt.

Actions taken by the First Nations communities in response were an important public education campaign in themselves. Though initially some Aboriginal leaders dismissed the comments as merely the opinions of one individual, Matthew Coon Come, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), and Saskatchewan Grand Chief Perry Bellegarde were quick to denounce Ahenakew’s statements. Steps were immediately taken to strip Ahenakew of all positions and honors within the Aboriginal community. The Crown Prosecutor initiated an investigation and applications were also made to the Governor General to remove Ahenakew from the Order of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chretien reacted by stating that: “Such words are not acceptable in Canadian society.”

B’nai B’rith Canada subsequently met with Chiefs Coon Come and Bellegarde, resulting in several initiatives to ensure greater tolerance and understanding between both communities, including a Holocaust and Hope mission to Israel tailored specifically for Aboriginal educators, a joint visit to Israel with Chiefs Coon Come and Bellegarde, and visits to Aboriginal communities across Canada by B’nai Brith leadership. B’nai B’rith also supported the suggestion of an Aboriginal “healing circle” in order to give primacy in this case to the native justice system. Although Ahenakew did issue an apology for his remarks several days after his interview to the Star Phoenix, it is unclear whether he is interested in participating in such a process.

The “Taking Action Against Hate” program of the League continued to operate across Canada in urban, rural and suburban communities (see ASW 2001/2). It was offered to diverse target groups, including vulnerable religious and ethnic minority groups, government agencies, private sector workers, educators, students and police forces.

The Black Jewish Dialogue of the League has been active in the public arena with a variety of programs aimed at improving inter-ethnic understanding between blacks and Jews. The League’s Women’s Interfaith Dialogue has also worked to improve relations between various religious groups with the overall aim of bolstering public education in the field of tolerance and anti-racist education.

CANADA 2002-3