Canada 2008/9

 

Canada witnessed an 8.9 percent rise in antisemitic incidents from the previous year. The 1,135 incidents reported were almost double the number reported in 2003. A large number of antisemitic events were linked to the societal fall-out from the global recession, while the start of the war in Gaza at the year’s end resulted in December being the month with the highest number of incidents in 2008. There was an increase in antisemitic outbursts, harassment and intimidation against Jewish students on university campuses.

 

THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

Based on the 2006 Statistics Canada census, there are approximately 315,000 Jews in Canada out of a total population of 33,224,000. This figure represents a significant drop from the 2001 census figure of 348,605. The main Jewish centers are Toronto (177,300), Montreal (68,500), and Vancouver (21,500). Jewish communal organizations generally regard these figures as an underestimation since the 2006 census was based only on questions regarding ethnic origin; the question relating to religious origin is asked only once every ten years.

            The main advocacy organizations are B'nai Brith Canada and the Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA). CIJA oversees the activities of the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Canada−Israel Committee and National Jewish Campus Life. B'nai Brith Canada maintains an independent parallel structure with its League for Human Rights (henceforth, the League), Canada Israel Public Affairs Committee (CIPAC), and Campus Action Initiative.

            The Canadian Jewish community publishes some 20 newspapers and journals, including the Jewish Tribune and the Canadian Jewish News. Approximately 12,000 day school children are served by the Jewish educational system, while thousands more attend supplementary after-school programs affiliated with synagogues. It is estimated that more than half of all Jewish students in the Toronto area, the largest urban concentration in Canada, receive some form of Jewish education, whether formal or supplementary. A recent survey indicates that there are some 70 day schools and supplementary programs and 1,700 Jewish educators in the greater Toronto area alone.

 

 

EXTREMIST GROUPS

While the range of symbols and slogans featured in graffiti sightings was broad, swastikas and Nazi-related symbols featured prominently in 176 incidents in the vandalism category of antisemitic manifestations reported in 2008. This constitutes a 17 percent increase from 151 such incidents registered in 2007, despite the fact that a number of police forces have ceased classifying the swastika as an antisemitic incident without further proof of motivation, even if drawn on a Jewish institution

In a 2009 report, the United States-based Southern Poverty Law Center reported that there were 920 neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups within the United States, including areas bordering Canada. Postings on online forums frequented by individuals who share white supremacist views confirm that persons and groups sharing such opinions can be found throughout Canada.

The increased presence of white supremacists in Calgary has been a cause for concern. In March 2008, a white supremacist group organized a “White Pride” march in downtown Calgary. In July, the same group posted an offer on an online forum providing housing incentives to potential group members. Other recruitment activities were reported to police in August. Like-minded groups have also been active in London, Ontario where white supremacist flyers were distributed in 2008. A case in Winnipeg, in which a young girl arrived at school with a swastika drawn on her arm, led to considerable public condemnation and brought the family to the attention of Child and Family Services. Although school staff reportedly erased the swastika, the mother later redrew it. The child was removed from the custody of the parents and was under review before the courts. An individual expressing white supremacist views in Saskatchewan has been the subject of criminal and human rights investigations.

Anti-Israel activities led by Muslim and Arab groups, and especially on university campuses, were marked by displays of anti-Jewish slogans and propaganda. Complaints of hate crimes against the Jewish community as a result of such incidents were dismissed by police (see also below). Left wing groups, including unions and church groups, have been active in such activities.

. Security and enforcement experts continue to warn about the preparedness for terrorist action of Islamist-based extremist groups operating under cover in Canada.

 

ANTISEMITIC ACTIVITY

In 2008, 1,135 incidents were reported to the League, as documented in its Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, up 8.9 percent from the previous year and almost double the number since the 584 incidents reported in 2003.

            Of these, nearly one half (547) took place in the last four months of the year. The year-end spike was clearly linked to the upsurge in concern about the economy and widespread coverage of the Madoff scandal (see USA). Further, the beginning of the war in Gaza had an effect. Of the 151 incidents registered in December, the month with the highest total of the year, 70 related to the emerging Mid-East crisis. Of these, 36 occurred in the last few days of the year as tensions heightened. This is typically a very quiet period due to the holiday season (see also below).

            Although there were regional differences, a further concentration of incidents (101) was noted in July in Canada overall. Increases during the summer were particularly noticeable in Quebec during July and August, when 63 out of the 245 cases reported in the province occurred − that is 25.7 percent of the total for the entire year in just two months. In rural Quebec, 33 out of the 44 incidents reported during 2008 (75 percent) occurred during those two summer months. This can be explained in part by ongoing prejudice against members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, who customarily vacation in the countryside each year. This is, in fact, a continuation of a trend noted in the 2007 Audit.

            Over the last 10 years, there has been an overall upward trend, with incidents jumping more than four-fold. The majority of antisemitic manifestations tend to occur in Ontario, where in 2008, 682 incidents (60.1 percent of the total) took place. Of these, 538 incidents took place in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and 62 in Ottawa. The figures for Quebec − representing 21.6 percent of all Canadian cases − dropped by 15.8 percent to 245, compared to 291 in 2007. Of these, 201 incidents took place in Montreal. Significant increases in antisemitic incidents took place in 2008 in the western regions of the country − British Columbia (31.1 percent increase), Saskatchewan (56.3 percent), and Alberta (78.6 percent).

 

Violence, Vandalism, Harassment and Graffiti

Of the total number of reported incidents, 803 involved harassment (70.7 percent) compared to 699 in 2007. There were 318 cases of vandalism, up marginally from the 315 cases in 2007. Violence, however, was down from 28 incidents in 2007 to 14 in 2008. Despite this overall drop, three areas that did not experience violence in 2007 − Quebec Region, Alberta, and Ottawa − all reported violent incidents in 2008.

Within the harassment category, there were 80 threats of physical harm, including death threats, bomb threats, and threats of physical assault. This was a slight decline from the 95 threats registered in 2007. Despite the slight increase of one percent over 2007 in vandalism, certain areas, such as the Atlantic Region, Montreal, Quebec Region, Saskatchewan, and Alberta saw a significant rise.

Fifty vandalism incidents involved synagogues in 2008. These attacks, which were reported throughout Canada (such as Moncton, Barrie, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Kelowna), represent a significant increase from the number reported in past years: 22 in 2007, 42 in 2006, and 35 in 2005. Twenty-seven cases of harassment involved threatening calls and e-mails to synagogue staff and clergy. One case of violence (physical assault) took place within a synagogue setting.

In 2008 the federal government launched the Communities at Risk: Security Infrastructure Pilot (SIP) Program, designed to enhance the security infrastructure of communities targeted by hate-motivated crime. Funding for SIP will be made available to eligible places of worship, community centers, and provincially recognized educational institutions.

Antisemitic graffiti was also reported at ten Jewish institutions compared to only six such incidents in 2007. The language of the graffiti was often vicious and threatening, including death threats. Many of these graffiti attacks were accompanied by neo-Nazi symbolism.

A total of 105 private homes were vandalized, down from an all-time high of 132 in 2007. Included in these cases were mezuzah desecrations, a traditional form of antisemitism because the mezuzah instantly identifies a house as Jewish. Swastikas were found on homes and cars in a number of regions. One Jewish resident’s car was defaced with the slur “Jewboy.” Harassing phone calls to families were frequently reported.

There were 40 cases related directly to the victim's workplace, up from 31 in 2007. These included on-the-job harassment and discrimination by colleagues and supervisors who failed to make reasonable accommodation for religious observance days. Eight of these incidents occurred in government settings. In many of these cases, employees found themselves subject to reprisal as a result of their requests for religious accommodation.

 

Analysis

The ethnic origin of the perpetrators of reported incidents was documented only where relevant information was available. This was possible in face-to-face encounters where self-identification was provided by the perpetrator. In 2008 there were 31 acts of harassment, vandalism and violence where the perpetrators were identified as being of Arab origin. There is concern that the virulent propaganda being disseminated by “mainstream” Arab/Muslim groups based in Canada may be seen by some of their constituents as a virtual call to action against Jews. Other ethnic groups identified in incidents of harassment and violence in 2008 were: aboriginal (7), black (5), Russian (5), German (3), Hungarian (3), Chinese (2), Greek (2), Polish (2), and Iranian (1).

 

Early 2009

The upsurge in incidents noted in December 2008 continued into early 2009. The effect of the economic downturn and the ongoing war in Gaza, which were identified as prime reasons for the spike in incidents at the end of 2008, continued to play out throughout January 2009. Demonstrations against Israel across Canada featured open displays of Jewish hatred. “Death to the Jews” was a chant that was heard along with “Down with Israel” on the streets of major cities in Canada. University campuses were a prime venue for this continued animosity as tensions heightened and anti-Israel activities intensified. Jewish students reported acts of ongoing harassment and even death threats from fellow students. For example, at York University in Toronto, Jewish students were confronted with open hostility and threats by an angry mob on February 11, 2009. The incident followed a campaign involving both Jewish and non-Jewish student groups to oust the existing student administration (see also General Analysis).

 

Campuses and Schools

There were 76 cases of antisemitism on campuses, sustaining the dramatic escalation in antisemitic activity at universities in 2007 when 78 were cases reported, significantly more than the 36 registered in 2006. Many students report hiding their Jewish identity and refraining from participating in classroom discussions in order to avoid negative interaction in the classroom and university corridors where threats and intimidation are commonplace. The level of anti-Israel activity has escalated. Overall, there was an increase in openly antisemitic outbursts, harassment, and intimidation against Jewish students. The 2007 and 2008 figures suggest that this campaign of hate is in danger of becoming entrenched in Canadian universities.

The scope of violence in educational settings has received significant attention in the public school system, but there has been a much more lackadaisical approach on campus. Ontario’s Youth Commissioners Roy McMurtry and Alvin Curling, commenting on youth violence, noted that “racism is worse than it was a generation ago, while there are fewer resources and structures to counter this great evil than existed in years past…Racism is alive and well and wreaking its deeply harmful effect on Ontarians.” These comments apply as much to university campuses as to the school system.

There were 57 incidents in school settings, compared to 82 reported in 2007. In nine of those incidents, Jewish day schools or their students were targeted. Others involved vandalism of school buildings with swastikas and other symbols of hate. Neo-Nazi references such as “I love Hitler” were also used. Jewish individuals within the public schools were also singled out. A Jewish teacher received threatening phone calls to her personal residence and a Jewish student at a public school was assaulted.

 

Internet

In 2008, the League’s Anti-Hate Hotline received 405 reports of web-based hate activity with a Canadian connection in terms of content, perpetrators and/or victims, an increase of 30.6 percent over the 310 cases in 2007 and more than double that of 2005. Nearly one-third involved threatening messages, directed at Jewish victims of all ages. The trend toward using a wide variety of networking means, such as blogs, online videos, and text messages continued. On one occasion students on a Toronto campus reported that text messaging was used to quickly gather a group to harass Jewish students. On websites, and via email and social networking sites, Jews were blamed for the economic recession and disasters, such as a propane blast in the city of Toronto in August 2008. A YouTube video declared “Zionist control of world economy causing financial crisis,” while a Montreal-based group named “Nazi” was created on Facebook “for the promotion of racism and antisemitism.” Virulent hate material, such the notorious forgery Protocols of the Elders of Zion, was freely available on Internet sites, while white supremacists used the Internet to discuss strategies and programs to spread their brand of hate.

 

ATTITUDES TOWARD THE HOLOCAUST AND THE NAZI ERA

Holocaust Denial

There were 42 reported cases of Holocaust denial, down from 55 in 2007, but a significant increase from the 17 recorded in 1999. International events, such as the 2006 Holocaust denial conference sponsored by the Iranian president, and ongoing efforts to spread this type of pernicious propaganda at another Iranian Holocaust denial conference in 2009, have given great encouragement to Holocaust deniers throughout the world.

Holocaust denial appeared frequently in antisemitic postings on the web. The persistence of Holocaust denial in Canada was also encouraged by neo-Nazi and white supremacist activity within the country. The Holocaust was trivialized in the debates leading up to the 2008 federal election where for example during ugly exchanges, one candidate called another a “Nazi.”

 

Holocaust Commemoration and Education

Canada has continued the process of seeking full membership in the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research (ITF). In June 2009, the St. Louis Era Conference, a conference examining Canada’s restrictive immigration policy during the Second World War, will take place. Organized by the League, this conference is the culmination of Canada’s efforts to seek membership in the (ITF).

Community events commemorating the nationally proclaimed Holocaust Memorial Day continue to be held in various cities, including the capital city Ottawa, where politicians and other public figures join with community members to reiterate the call for tolerance and understanding. A bill proposing a national monument in Ottawa to commemorate the Holocaust was introduced in the Federal Parliament. Various community groups continue to hold educational events to mark the day. The Law Society of Upper Canada, the organization representing lawyers in the province of Ontario, organizes a commemoration event each year in partnership with the League; the theme in 2008 was the struggle for full disclosure of documentation on war criminals. Holocaust Education Week, hosted by Canada’s Holocaust centers, featuresorah' a wide variety of educational programs that are widely attended.

 

RESPONSES TO RACISM AND ANTISEMITISM

Legal and Legislative Activity

Only 301 out of the 1,135 cases documented by the League were also reported by victims to the police. In 2007 and 2006, more than one-third of incidents were reported to the police, as well as to the League. This decrease might reflect the fact that a higher percentage of reported cases involved verbal or written harassment, where a criminal remedy is unlikely. It might also reflect a reluctance by police to classify incidents such as swastika graffiti as hate motivated. There appears to be a chronic hesitation to contact the police, as victims apparently fear that their claims will not be taken seriously. Likewise, the number of charges laid by police decreased from 18 in 2007 to 15 in 2008. Sociologists and police estimate that only 10 percent of victims of hate crimes ever report their experience.

A 2008 incident involving an attack against two gay women highlights some of the difficulties in seeking redress for criminal acts of hate. Police refused to label the incident a hate crime, despite the slurs shouted at the women in front of several witnesses. The police stated that the matter fell outside the scope of the legislative provisions of inciting hatred. A coalition of community groups, including the League, had urged that hate motivation be a crucial part of the investigation.

Similarly, after a year long investigation, police in Hamilton, Ontario, announced in February 2009 that no charges would be brought relating to a 2008 McMaster University campus rally where slogans such as “Death to Jews” were shouted. Hate crime officers indicated that they did not have the necessary evidence to proceed, although they noted that some protestors had “crossed the line.”

Even where charges were brought, some of the punishments were considered by the League to be too light. In November 2008, for example, Rouba Elmerhebi Fahd was convicted as an accessory after the fact in her son’s 2004 firebombing of the United Talmud Torahs Jewish Day School by a Quebec court and given a 12-month probationary sentence. In February 2009, while Omar Bulphred, one of two individuals charged in connection with the firebombing of Montreal Jewish institutions in 2006 and 2007, was handed a seven-year sentence after pleading guilty, Azim Ibragimov, his co-accused, was sentenced to only four years. Further, in 2006, Mustafa Taj attacked four teenagers in Calgary after determining that they were Jewish. In July 2008, he received only a one-year jail sentence with credit for time served.

In October 2008, the Ontario Court of Justice imposed a 45-day jail sentence on Luke Granados for willfully promoting hatred, followed by one year of probation. He was arrested for displaying a black plastic skeleton mounted on a flagpole flying the Confederate flag. The skeleton was suspended by its neck with a noose. This incident, along with other hate-related activity in the same area targeting Asian fishermen, was lauded by community groups as a paradigm for what “a coordinated effort by law enforcement officers and the judicial system” can achieve.

Other prominent court cases heard in 2008 included the November hate crime re-trial of Aboriginal leader David Ahenakew concerning remarks he made at a conference and then to a journalist in 2002 (see ASW 2003). In February 2009, the decision of the Saskatchewan provincial court was handed down acquitting him. Whether this decision is ultimately appealed by the Crown or not, B’nai Brith Canada has called on the federal government to step in and review the existing hate crimes legislation.

In February 2008, the criminal system levied a six month prison sentence on Bill Noble, who was convicted of “willfully promoting hatred against identifiable groups, namely Jews, Blacks, homosexual or gay persons, non-whites and persons of mixed race or ethnic origin” with virulent hate on the Internet. His six-month sentence is to be followed by three-years of probation, which included terms restricting his Internet usage. Though such convictions are rare, this case emphasizes that the criminal system is capable of combating the ever-growing problem of web-based hate.

Canada’s human rights system dealt with a number of antisemitic incidents in 2008. In one, a tribunal examined a white supremacist website (BC White Pride) that included postings decrying the alleged power of the Jewish community. One article on the website accused Jews of using their “vast power and their unchallenged control of almost every walk of life” to manipulate and control “White nations.” In January 2008, the site’s operator was fined $6,000 and ordered to desist from posting similar messages on the Internet. Another website, the Canadian Heritage Alliance, which included postings calling the Holocaust a “holohoax,” “big business,” and “the most important trump card for international zionism,” was also ordered to cease posting such comments. The tribunal decision (September), however, did not mandate a monetary penalty.

There has been much discussion in the public realm about the human rights system. In one incident, the complainant alleged bias and requested disclosure regarding staffing of the commissions in order to determine whether there were conflicting allegiances or loyalties. Additionally, there is a question as to whether tribunal decisions can be sufficiently enforced. Terry Tremaine, for example, was reportedly still posting antisemitic material to the Internet, despite a 2007 cease and desist order issued by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (see ASW 2007).

 

Nazi War Criminals

The “Tenth Annual Report on Canada’s Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Program 2006−2007” was released by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, Department of Justice and the Solicitor General of Canada in 2008. According to the report, 160 allegations had not moved beyond the initial stages; 20 active files were being investigated and 7 cases were under litigation.

In January 2008, Michael Seifert, who tortured and killed at least 18 prisoners in Italy’s Bolzano concentration camp between 1944 and 1945, was extradited to Italy to face the life sentence imposed on him in absentia after losing all appeals in Canada (see ASW 2000-1 and subsequent reports).

Revocation proceedings against Jura Skomatczuk, a former guard at the Travniki concentration camp in Poland, were ongoing in the Federal Court (see ASW 2004). In May the federal government announced that it would revoke the citizenship of Walter Oberlander and Jacob Fast clearing the way for their deportation. Oberlander appealed the decision, but on October 27, 2008, the Federal Court upheld the decision to revoke his citizenship. In 2009, the Federal Court was to judicially review the decision not to strip the citizenship of Wasyl Odynsky, a former guard at the SS forced labor camps of Trawniki and Poniatowa, following a court challenge by B’nai Brith Canada in 2007.

 

Public Education

Promoting tolerance and understanding continues to be the focus of public education efforts by Jewish communal organizations. For example, the League holds an annual Student Human Rights Awards to encourage grade school students from a range of backgrounds to engage creatively on issues relating to human rights. Public schools and educators can also take advantage of outreach and educational programming offered by Holocaust education centers based in communities across Canada, and by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies which runs a Tools for Tolerance program. Fast – Fighting Antisemitism Together continues to host school-related activities to promote harmony and diversity through its “Choose Your Voice” anti-racism education program. Several grassroots initiatives continue to operate, such as the “Walking Together,” project created by Edmonton-based Rabbi David Kunin, designed to encourage understanding of religious diversity in Canada among school-age children. One such example of outreach and educational programming took place in November 2008. The League organized the Community Alliance Forum: Building Partnerships to Counter Hate in order to collaborate and communicate in a forum targeted at promoting positive change. Numerous speakers and panelists addressed issues of racism in the workshops and seminars spread out over the course of two days, and discussed effective means of countering its ongoing strength.