Shofar FTP Archive File: orgs/canadian/league-for-human-rights/audits/incident-audit.1995
Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents 1995
Presented by
The League For Human Rights of B'nai Brith Canada
League for Human Rights
Lyle Smordin, National Chair
Rochelle Wilner, National Vice-Chair
Mark Sandler, Senior Counsel
Dr. Karen Mock, National Director
B'nai Brith Canada
Brian Morris, National President
Frank Dimant, Executive Vice-President
Pearl Gladman, Director of Field Services
Rubin Friedman, Government Relations Director
This report was prepared by Dr. Karen Mock, National
Director of the League for Human Rights, with ssistance from
Richard J Berman. Some text in this volume was extracted
from previous publications of the League.
We are grateful to the volunteers, students and staff for
their contribution both to this report and to the continuing
work of the League for Human Rights. We also acknowledge
the invaluable contributions of everyone who assisted us
with the collection of data for this edition of the Audit of
Anti-Semitic Incidents. Special thanks are due to the Hate
Crimes Units in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Winnipeg for
their co-operation and their ongoing efforts to combat hate
and bias crime in Canada.
No part of this book may be produced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher.
(c) 1996 League for Human Rights
B'nai Brith Canada
15 Hove Street, Downsview Ontario M3H 4Y8
Tel:(416) 633-6224 Fax:(416) 630-2159
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
DEFINITIONS AND DATA COLLECTION
Vandalism.
Harassment
THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN CANADA.
SUMMARY OF DATA
Nature of Incidents by Year
Geographic Distribution of Incidents
From Coast to Coast - Highlights of Specific Incidents
HATE IN CANADA.
The State of the Neo-Nazi Right.
The Current Climate - Highlights of Issues and Trends.
The Climate in Quebec.
Anti-Semitism in the Media.
Documentaries Highlight Hate.
Missionaries Target Canada's Jews .
The Internet: The Battle (Flame War?) Heats Up
THE LEAGUE RESPONDS TO ANTI-SEMITISM AND HATE
Education and Research
Legal/Legislative Initiatives.
Community Partnerships .
CONCLUSION
APPENDIX.
Hotline
Incident Reporting Form.
TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 1 - Nature of Incidents by Year
Figure 1 - Nature of Incidents by Year
Figure 1 (a) - Number of Incidents - Three Year Average
Figure I (b) - Incidents of Vandalism by Year.
Figure 1 (c) - Incidents of Harassment by Year
Figure 2 - Geographic Distribution of Incidents.
Table 2 - Geographic Distribution of Incidents.
INTRODUCTION
B'nai Brith Canada has been at the forefront of the battle
against anti-Semitism, racism and bigotry for more than a
century. Through the League for Human Rights, B'nai Brith
monitors the activities of hate groups in Canada and
documents all reported incidents of anti-Semitism. The
Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, published annually since
1982 by the League for Human Rights, is a major vehicle for
reporting our findings to the public.
In 1995, incidents of anti-Semitism continued to become more
diffuse in nature. Whereas trends in hatred and bigotry
directed at Canada's Jews between 1991 and 1993 were linked
to specific activities, including the Gulf War and the rise
of the Heritage Front and other neo-Nazi groups in Canada,
the last two years have seen a more random pattern of anti-
Semitism in this country.
Despite the decline of organized hate activity, several
"mainstream" incidents of anti-Semitism in the last year
proved to be equally disturbing. In September, two Toronto-
based radio broadcasters made overtly anti-Semitic
comments over the public airwaves. Although both
commentators apologized for their remarks, the fact that
they felt comfortable enough to air their biased views, as
did several journalists in various communities and on
campuses across the country, is a matter of serious concern
for Canadian Jews.
In October and November, the Quebec referendum also produced
a flurry of bigotry directed at the non-Francophone
population of the province. Jacques Parizeau, who was then
premier of Quebec, lashed out at "the ethnic vote" for the
narrow losses of his separatist forces. In earlier stages
of the referendum campaign, Pierre Bourgault, a
communications advisor to Parizeau, cryptically warned
Quebec Jews of "a dangerous situation" if they openly
supported the federalist side.
The significance of these events cannot be overstated.
While the comments made by the politicians or the
broadcasters were by no means as virulently intolerant as
the charged rhetoric of the neo-Nazi right, their remarks
served as signals that expressions of hatred and bias
against Jews and other minorities were acceptable in
contemporary Canadian culture. For political leaders and
media personalities to espouse views hostile to Jews gives a
message to the general population: anti-Semitism continues
to be part of the canon of our culture. The press and
politicians set the tone and terms of debate in our free and
democratic state. They have the responsibility to condemn,
not to promote, racism. Unfortunately, in 1995, this ideal
was seriously compromised.
Despite these cases, positive steps have been made in
fighting anti-Semitism, racism and bigotry in Canada this
year. The influence and impact of neo-Nazi groups continues
to sputter as a result of the legal troubles of many of the
movement's leaders and by a lack of available money. In
1995, George Burdi, Dan Sims and Wolfgang Droege all served
time in jail, which served to hamper the recruitment efforts
of the racist-right.
New legislation, including the controversial Bill C-41,
passed the House of Commons and the Senate, clearing the way
for sentence enhancement for perpetrators of hate-motivated
crimes. This law recognizes
the serious impact of crimes directed at minority
communities, and provides for penalties which reflect the
increased severity of the offenses.
Despite these positive developments, Holocaust denier Ernst
Zundel is continuing his worldwide distribution of anti-
Semitic books, tracts and electronic broadcasts from his
headquarters in downtown Toronto. The pace of spreading
hate and Holocaust denial via the Internet is speeding up,
and Jewish-owned homes and businesses, as well as schools
and synagogues, continue to be targets for vandalism and
harassment.
The annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents has been praised
by community organizations, police departments, and
government agencies from across Canada as a valuable
resource in the battle against racism and hate activity. By
providing an analysis of the nature and extent of reported
anti-Semitic activity in Canada, the Audit provides a model
for data collection and analysis, and helps guide decisions
in resource allocation, legislative development, and plans
for formal educational initiatives to confront racist
attitudes and to sensitize all Canadians to the problems of
hatred and intolerance.
DEFINITIONS AND DATA COLLECTION
The annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents is a record of
reported incidents only. The Audit depends on the
voluntary reporting of anti-Semitic incidents to the League
for Human Rights through B'nai Brith offices and the
nationwide B'nai Brith Lodge network. Recorded incidents may
have been reported by victims directly to our offices, or
may have been reported by other sources. Experts in the
analysis of crime, including officers in police intelligence
units, suggest that only a small percentage (in the
neighbourhood of approximately 10%) of hate crimes or
harassment are ever reported to any source. The situation is
akin to spousal or child abuse, both of which are
notoriously under-reported.
Reported incidents are documented and analyzed by League
staff for corroboration, and to determine appropriate
courses of action. Proper investigation is vital to
determine whether reported incidents are indeed racially-
motivated, and whether they are anti-Semitic in nature. For
example, harassment of a Jewish person in the workplace may
be real but may not be anti-Semitic. As well, while general
pamphleteering by a hate group will be condemned by the
League, and while the League will be actively involved in
countering its effects, if such pamphleteering does not
specifically target Jews, then for the purposes of the
Audit, it will not be included as an anti-Semitic incident.
Finally, where an anti-Semitic mail campaign takes place, or
where a number of Jewish businesses or people are targeted
by one group or one individual for harassment or vandalism
in a defined area over a defined period of time, such events
are recorded as a single incident. Incidents are catalogued
for the Audit in two broad categories:
Vandalism
Vandalism is defined as an act involving physical damage to
property. It includes graffiti, swastikas, desecrations
of cemeteries and synagogues, other property damage, arson
and other criminal acts such as thefts and break-ins
where an anti-Semitic motive can be determined.
Harassment
Harassment includes anti-Semitic hate propaganda
distribution, hate mail and verbal slurs or acts of
discrimination against individuals. Death threats and bomb
threats against individuals and property, as well as any
kind of physical assault, are also included in this broader
category.
THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN CANADA - a brief overview
The 1991 census published by Statistics Canada reported that
356,315 of the 27 million people in Canada were Jewish.
This amounts to only 1.3% of the entire population of the
country. In 1991, Toronto and Montreal were reported to
have 162,605 and 101,210 Jewish residents respectively, and
no other locale had more than 20,000 Jewish residents. In
fact, Jews comprise less than one half of one per cent of
the population of Canada outside of the two
aforementioned cities. The fact that Toronto and Montreal
have the two largest Jewish communities in Canada (three
quarters of the Jews in this country live in these two
urban areas , with 45.6% in Metropolitan Toronto, and 28.4%
of Canada's Jews living in Greater Montreal) accounts for
the fact that the overwhelming majority of reported cases of
anti-Semitism occur in these centres.
Vancouver, the third largest Canadian city, has 19,375
Jewish residents (5.8% of the Jews in Canada), 1.3% of the
total Vancouver population of 1,584,115. The Ottawa-Hull
area, known as the National Capital Region, is home to
nearly 12,000 Jews, 3.3 % of the Jewish population in
Canada. Winnipeg, with 15,000 Jewish residents, has the
highest concentration of Jews (2.3%) of any city other than
Montreal (3.3%) and Toronto (4.2%). In no other Canadian
urban area do Jews make up more than one per cent of the
total population.
Jews have lived in Canada since the 18th century. However,
the first significant waves of Jewish immigration from
Europe started in the 1870's. Eastern European Jews often
moved to Winnipeg or to rural areas to work as farmers - one
of the few occupations for which immigrants were allowed
into Canada.
During the Second World War the Canadian government refused
to allow Jewish immigrants fleeing the Holocaust to enter
this country, with one government official stating that
"none is too many" when asked how many Jews would be let
into Canada. However, thousands of Jewish war survivors
were permitted entry in the late 1940's and 1950's. The
impact of post-war emigres on the Canadian Jewish community
is perhaps the most significant difference between patterns
in American and Canadian Jewish immigration. Holocaust
survivors who came to Canada comprise a more significant
percentage of the total Jewish community here than in the
United States, largely because the Canadian government had
restricted Jewish immigration earlier.
Until the 1970's Montreal was regarded as the principal hub
of Canadian Jewry. Although other cities had Jewish
communities, Montreal was the oldest and largest, and was
considered the most important Jewish centre in Canada.
However, the threat of Quebec separation in the mid-1970's
was a frightening prospect for many Jews, the vast majority
of whom were Anglophone. Thousands of Montreal jobs were
relocated to Ontario, as were tens of thousands of
Montreal's Jews. Although the new census data will not be
available until late in 1996, a recent study conducted by J.
Torczyner, D. Brotman, and J. Brodbar (1995) entitiled
"Rapid Growth and Transformation: Demographic Challenges
Facing the Jewish Community of Greater Toronto" suggests
further shifts in the Jewish population, particularly in the
wake of the ongoing Quebec Referendum debate and the
increase in nationalist rhetoric. Today, Toronto is
considered the Jewish capital of Canada, with approximately
165,000 people in the community.
Canadian Jewry tends to be more traditional than the
American Jewish population. In 1990, forty per cent of
affiliated Jews identified themselves as Orthodox, another
forty per cent as Conservative, and twenty per cent as
members of the Reform movement. As well, in recent years
Reconstructionist congregations have opened in Toronto and
Montreal.
SUMMARY OF DATA
Nature of Incidents by Year
There were 331 anti-Semitic incidents reported to the League
for Human Rights in 1995. This represents an increase of
12.1% over the 290 incidents in 1994, and the highest number
reported in 14 years of documentation.
The number of reported incidents of anti-Semitic vandalism
was 80, a decrease of 13% from the 92 incidents reported
last year. It is likely that the demise of such groups as
the Church of the Creator, and the disarray of the Heritage
Front, has contributed to this decrease in vandalism. But
the decrease can also be attributed to increased
prosecutions and community vigilance and education.
Despite the drop in vandalism, in 1995 anti-Semitic
harassment, which includes the distribution of hate
propaganda, was at its highest level. Anti-Semitic
harassment rose to 251 reported incidents in 1995 from
198 in 1994, an increase of 20.8% Table 1 and Figure 1
(below) summarize the total number of anti- Semitic
incidents reported to the League for Human Rights of B'nai
Brith Canada over the last 14 years.
Figures 1(a), (b) and (c) present the three year total
averages, and incidents of vandalism and harassment
respectively.
Table 1
League for Human Rights - 1995 Audit of Anti-Semitic
Incidents
Nature of Incidents by year
Year Vandalism Harassment Total
------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------
1982 19 44 63
1983 25 23 48
1984 60 66 26
1985 52 43 95
1986 23 32 55
1987 18 37 55
1988 52 60 112
1989 63 113 176
1990 60 150 210
1991 50 201 251
1992 46 150 196
1993 105 151 256
1994 9 198 290
1995 80 251 331
[Comparative graphs omitted during transcription. knm]
Geographic Distribution of Incidents
There were 159 reported incidents of anti-Semitism this year
in Toronto, up 8.1% from 146 incidents last year.
Toronto is the largest city in Canada, and is also home to
the largest Jewish population. Not surprisingly, anti-
Semitic incidents in Toronto represented 48% of all reported
incidents in 1995.
Montreal, which last year reported 55 incidents, had 52 anti-
Semitic cases in 1995 (15.7% of the total), while Ottawa
figures remained consistent in 1995 with 37 reported cases
(11.2%), 36 in 1994.
Last year the Audit reported an appreciable increase in
reported incidents in smaller communities in Ontario,
other than Toronto and Ottawa. The 28 incidents in 1994
represented a 40% increase over the year before, and this
year there were 29 anti-Semitic incidents in these regions,
8.8% of the total number of reported incidents in Canada.
It is clear that as police hate crimes units clamp down on
hate and bias crimes in the cities, hate groups have
increased their recruitment activity in regional
communities, such as
Pickering, Brampton, Oakville, St. Catharines and the
Niagara region.
Winnipeg reported 14 incidents, consistent with the number
of reported cases of anti-Semitism over the last four years,
and 4.2% of all incidents. However, a significant increase
in reported incidents occurred in the western provinces in
1995. The total in Alberta and Saskatchewan was 13 in 1995,
up from 2 reported cases in 1994; and the number of reported
incidents in British Columbia jumped from 5 in 1994 to 23 in
1995, representing 6.9% of the total number in Canada. It is
important to note that it is likely this dramatic jump is
due to two factors: there is indeed evidence that hate
mongering activity has increased in the west, as will be
elaborated below; but there has also been a strengthening of
the B'nai Brith networks in the west, with a new lodge in
Victoria, League leadership in Vancouver and Calgary, and
stronger connections with other anti-racist groups who share
information and intelligence, thereby increasing the
likelihood of reporting when incidents occur.
Figure 2 (below) presents a summary of the 1995 data by
region. Table 2 provides a more detailed breakdown of the
data, indicating the specific nature of the reported
incidents.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF INCIDENTS
Vandalism Harassment
============================================================
=======
Vandalism Harassment Threats Assaults
1995 1994
MARITIMES 3 3 1
QUEBEC
Montreal 19 16 16 1 52 55
Other 1 1 2
ONTARIO
Toronto 30 104 23 2 159 146
Ottawa 12 20 4 1 37 36
Other 6 19 3 1 29 28
MANITOBA 6 8 14 15
ALTA/SASK 5 7 1 13 2
B.C. 2 20 1 23 5
============================================================
=======
80 198 48 5 331 290
From Coast to Coast - Highlights of Specific Incidents
January: "Toten Wir Juden" (Let's kill Jews) is written on a
wall of Nepean High School, in suburban Ottawa.
Police were notified. No perpetrators have been found. The
notorious forgery, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" is
distributed in Armstrong and Vernon B.C.
February: Detergent is put into the locks of the front doors
of Calgary's Congregation House of Jacob, Mikveh Israel.
Police were notified. "Winston's Journal", published in
Ponoka Alberta, asserts Jews are behind the abortion
industry, refers to the Holocaust as the 'Holohoax', and
declares itself to be a "beacon of light in the darkened
land of ZOG".
April: Glen Kealy, on radio in Vancouver, says Aryan Nations
and Zundel are set-ups by the Rothschild bankers to
divert attention from bankers' real activities.
May: Holocaust denial material is sent to Kelowna Secondary
School, originating from the Institute for
Historical Review, but mailed locally. Charles Scott, Aryan
of the Year, has hate-line announcing Jews are Satanic and
the children of Lucifer, that 'Jew-parasites' lied about
history and promote genocide through abortion.
June: Anti-Semitic propaganda is received in at least three
locations in Nova Scotia. Materials sent to the
Anglo-Jewish media.
August: Graffiti found on a wall in Toronto which reads
"Don't believe in their promised land, kill the rich now."
The incident was reported to the police and the graffiti was
removed.
October: The Yonge/Eglinton neighborhood of Toronto is
plastered with "European Heritage Week" posters
produced by the neo-Nazi Nationalist Party of Canada (NPOC).
Copies of the offending posters were sent to
B'nai Brith as well as to the Canadian Jewish Congress. The
NPOC is headed by well known racist and anti-Semite Don
Andrews.
September: "Juden Raus" (Jews Out) is found written on a
sign outside Vancouver's Har El Synagogue and the incident
reported to police.
November: Montreal's main Jewish Community Centre receives
an anonymous letter stating "We would have won
the referendum, if only Hitler would have done his job,"
someone imitating messages posted on the
internet after the Referendum. A Jewish day school in
Toronto receives a message on its telephone answering
machine stating "This is Hitler, I'm going to burn down your
f---ing school." The perpetrator has not been found. A law
office in St. Catharines, Ontario, is vandalized with the
words "Jew bastard". The incident was reported to local
police. A professor at Concordia University in Montreal
receives an anonymous note at his office containing
swastikas and the words, "Dirty Jew". Perpetrator(s) have
not been found.
December: A "Jews for Jesus" advertisement is placed in the
Toronto Star. The ad specifically called for
Jews to accept Jesus as their messiah. Complaints were
lodged with the paper's ombudsman's office, and
the publisher extended an apology to the Jewish community
for violating the Star's own guidelines.
HATE IN CANADA
The State of the Neo-Nazi Right
The organized hate movement in Canada continued to struggle
under the weight of legal challenges and public pressure.
The Heritage Front (HF), from 1990 to 1993 the most
important neo-Nazi group in Canada, is still reeling
from declining membership, lack of money, and the legal
troubles of its leaders. In 1995, the group's
founder, Wolfgang Droege, served jail time for a 1993
assault. He was released in April, but remains on
probation and subject to a lifetime weapons ban. In
December, HF leader Max French and his ex-wife June
were in court to appeal their convictions for violating a
court order related to their operation of a telephone
hate-line. Gerry Lincoln, the publisher of the HF newspaper
Up Front, also faces charges for allegedly harassing
anti-racists. Up Front did not publish an issue in the
last several months of 1995 - a clear indication that the
Heritage Front has fallen on hard times.
Attempts by the Nationalist Party of Canada (NPOC), a group
with close ties to the Heritage Front, to promote a
European Heritage Week were unsuccessful for a second
consecutive year. Last year's efforts, which included
an ambitious letter-writing campaign to mayors across
Canada, were foiled when Toronto's CITY TV broke the
story in mid-1994. This year, the NPOC restricted its
activities to placing posters throughout Toronto and
in smaller towns in Southern Ontario. In Winnipeg, a similar
effort by the National Action Party was equally
unsuccessful.
The meteoric rise of George Burdi appears to be crashing in
Canada. Burdi first came to prominence as the
Canadian leader of the Church of the Creator (COTC), a
violent neo-Nazi group with connections also to the
Identity Church movement based in the United States. As a
young and eloquent speaker, he was a major asset for
the recruiting efforts for the Heritage Front, of which he
was also a member. In addition, he was the leader of
RaHoWa (an acronym for "Racial Holy War"), a Toronto-based
racist rock group. The band played at several neo-Nazi
rallies, and released a cassette three years ago. Burdi was
a major player in the Canadian racist right until the summer
of 1993, when he was charged with assaulting an anti-racist
demonstrator in Ottawa. Following his arrest, Burdi stopped
making public appearances, and concentrated his efforts on
running his racist music label, Resistance Records out of
Detroit, and publishing his magazine, also called
Resistance. In June 1995, Burdi was sentenced to a year in
jail for the assault, and was paroled in September.
However, his magazine has not appeared since his release,
and it is reported that Burdi is no longer on good terms
with many of his former allies. While Burdi will most
likely try to make a comeback in 1996, his recent lack of
success may be an indicator that George Burdi, the one-time
wunderkind of the Canadian racist right, may no longer be a
major player.
Despite the failures of these individuals, there are certain
people involved with the racist right who are still
active in this country. In December, Holocaust denier Ernst
Zundel found himself in court once again as a result
of a criminal conspiracy charge. The preliminary hearing
will be held early in 1996 to determine whether or not
he goes to trial. However, Zundel is still actively
distributing his hate, using both printed materials
and a sophisticated link to the Worldwide Web (WWW).
In December 1995, Paul Fromm held a public meeting of his
Citizens for Foreign Aid Reform (C-FAR) group in
Toronto. Fromm, who has been a leader in the Canadian
racist scene for more than 25 years, is a teacher in
the Peel Board of Education, just west of Toronto. He has
not been allowed to teach high school-aged students
for several years as a result of a Ministry of Education
inquiry into his well-publicized racist activities,
including speaking at a Heritage Front rally on the occasion
of Hitler's birthday. Fromm's continuing role with C-
FAR, including speaking engagements in the West, bears
continued vigilance by anti-racist community groups.
In British Columbia, the enigmatic neo-Nazi, Charles Scott,
is still actively recruiting followers for racist groups in
Western Canada. Scott was responsible for the recruitment
of CSIS agent, Luke Desilets, into the U.S.-based
Aryan Nations, and was named "Aryan of the Year" by that
organization. However, Scott has reportedly left that
organization to start his own group. He announced that he
was moving to Ontario to get away from anti-racist
protesters who were harassing him; but the move never took
place. According to sources in B.C., Scott is
traveling to small towns in the west to build a support
network for his new organization. This is what is
likely responsible for the increased reporting of anti-
Semitic hate propaganda in the area.
Since the decline of the Heritage Front started in 1993, it
had been theorized that the Northern Hammerskins (NHS)
would move to Toronto to replace them as a the predominant
hate group. However, there has been no real
indication that NHS has been active in Toronto.
Nevertheless, they are quite involved in the hate
scene in British Columbia, and several NHS members have gone
to court in that province.
The Current Climate - Highlights of Issues and Trends
The decline of the neo-Nazi movement in Canada has not
resulted in a drop in levels of reported anti-Semitism over
the last two years. Instead, the sources of anti-Semitism
have diversified and become more diffuse. 1995 was
dominated by several issues which served to increase
tensions and anxiety within the Jewish communities
across the country, namely: the situation in Quebec,
increased incidents of anti- Semitism in the media, the
targeting of Jews by proselytizing missionary groups, and
the proliferation of hate propaganda via the Internet.
The Climate in Quebec
In 1995, the number of reported anti-Semitic incidents of
vandalism and harassment in Quebec were down.
However, as the year drew to a close, the insecurity of the
Jewish community was growing in the wake of a number
of incidents related to Quebec's bitter and divisive
sovereignty referendum debate.
Early in the year, the communications advisor to the
Premier, long-time separatist militant Pierre
Bourgault, warned of a "dangerous situation" if an
overwhelming vote by minority communities thwarted the
nationalist aspirations of francophone Quebecers. Despite
being censured and dismissed for his remarks, this
warning was a worrisome undercurrent, coupled with concern
about the possibility of a vote favourable to Quebec
independence. So there was much anxiety in the Jewish
community as the October 30th referendum date
approached.
The narrow margin of the NO victory set the stage for
Bourgault's prediction to come true. Even though
there was no violence or overt anti-Semitism to speak of,
this remained a very tense time for Quebec's Jewish
community, compounded by a series of events that followed
the very close NO vote. On the night of the
referendum, instead of initiating a period of healing,
Quebec Premier, Jacques Parizeau, spoke of "us" and
"them" and pointedly blamed "money and the ethnic vote" for
the narrow loss by the sovereignists. In the highly
emotionally charged atmosphere, some have suggested that the
Premier's actions bordered on incitement to hatred. Later
that same evening, Quebec's Deputy Premier, Bernard
Landry, verbally abused a hotel clerk who was of ethnic
background, ranting that immigrants were allowed into
this country only to turn around and vote NO. A few days
later, Pierre Bourgault reappeared, calling the
Jewish, Greek and Italian communities racist for their block
vote against Quebec sovereignty.
Racists outside of Quebec immediately picked up on
Parizeau's theme too. The next evening there was a
message from Western Canada on the internet discussion group
alt.revisionism which promoted hatred against Jews.
The title was "Quebec Leader Blames Jews". There was also a
message on the Heritage Front hotline blaming
immigrants for the unity problems in Quebec.
The uncertainty about Quebec's future, and assumption that
another referendum is on the horizon, together with
these intolerant statements and actions by prominent
political leaders in Quebec, has created a gloomy and
almost frightening outlook for the Jewish community. Terms
like racism, intolerance and xenophobia are being
bandied about recklessly. There is increased talk of
another exodus from Quebec, similar to the 1970's.
The recent news that a convicted Front de Liberation du
Quebec (FLQ) terrorist from the 1960's has founded a
new movement to aggressively push for Quebec sovereignty
only serves to intensify the dread.
However, there have been a few good signs as well, which do
provide some measure of hope to many Jewish Quebecers.
Several franco phone commentators have denounced most of the
incidents described above. And towards the end of the
year, when a Quebec Superior Court judge made an
inappropriate Holocaust analogy that was perceived as
minimizing the suffering of Jews in concentration camps, he
was quickly and roundly censured and a disciplinary hearing
was convened.
In order to quell the fears of anti-Semitism and intolerance
and to 'lower the temperature', it is hoped that a
much more accepting and open vision of Quebec society will
be projected by the new Premier through substantive
debate within the Quebec nationalist movement to address
these very sensitive issues head on.
Anti-Semitism in the Media
In Ontario, a major controversy of the year surrounded a
commentary made by radio host Brian Henderson of CHUM.
In his broadcast, Henderson remarked that Jewish mothers
were pushing their children into the legal profession,
and that lawyers were bilking the legal aid system. While
his piece was meant as a comedic look at the legal aid
program, his humour missed the mark and offended Jews
across Metro Toronto. The following week, Dick Smyth, a
host on CFTR radio, openly supported Henderson's
broadcast - this was somewhat ironic, as CHUM, and Henderson
himself, had disavowed his original commentary.
Nevertheless, the two broadcasts brought issues of anti-
Semitism to the forefront in the Toronto media.
The League also received several complaints from university
students because of distasteful features in the campus
press that fueled the flames of anti-Semitism. It is
regrettable that overzealous editors, usually in a
poor attempt at humour, insist on invoking arguments of
freedom of the press, and the license of satirists,
when these are usually arguments in defense of poor taste
and offensive material.
Documentaries Highlight Hate
On 28 February 1995, CTV aired the show "Hearts of Hate", a
documentary on the inner workings of the Heritage
Front. While the film was made with the intention of
exposing the hate and violence of the group's leaders,
some accused the film of serving as a recruitment tool for
the racist right. The film maker's decision not to
provide a countervailing voice to the speeches of Wolfgang
Droege and George Burdi, particularly scapegoating
minorities and immigrants on the steps of the parliament
buildings, made the neo-Nazis seem more important and
credible than they actually are. In the week following
the airing of "Hearts of Hate", there were seven major
incidents of vandalism directed at synagogues and
Jewish schools across Canada. Although opinion is still
sharply divided on the merits of the programme, there
appears to be a direct correlation between the showing of
"Hearts of Hate" and a spate of anti-Semitic violence
in Canada. As the programme is rebroadcast around the world
and youngsters are exposed to it in their living rooms
without guidance, there is considerable anxiety
regarding possible reactions to the show. A Teacher's Guide
has since been created, as the film has proved to be a
useful teaching tool when used by skilled educators in the
right context. Indeed, the League uses the film
frequently in workshops and presentations to raise awareness
of the dangers of hate group recruitment and the
nature and extent of their activities, but balanced with
practical strategies to counter their hate propaganda
with the facts about minority groups, immigration,
employment equity, and the Holocaust.
Other recent documentaries include "Profession Neo-Nazi",
"Hate and Hate Crimes", "Crimes of Hate", and "The
Faces of Hate". All of these films should be used with
appropriate preparation by educators in order that
they do not have exactly the opposite effect that was
intended by the producers.
Missionaries Target Canada's Jews
In 1995, missionary groups continued their proselytizing of
Jews in Canada. While these recruitment efforts are
NOT counted for the statistical sections of the Audit, heir
increased activities are of great concern to the
League. While we recognize the rights of all Canadians to
practice their faiths, missionary groups are
infringing on the rights of others to feel comfortable in
their observances of their religious traditions.
Jews for Jesus, a group primarily funded by Christian
missionary groups, has been active in recruiting Jews
to join their ranks. Other groups, including the Toronto
Jewish Mission, have also been targeting Jews to join
their congregations. Russian immigrants and university
students are often selected by these organizations,
who ask their members to participate in traditional Jewish
rituals laden with Christian symbolism. While most
Jews would never consider joining a Christian sect, these
Hebrew Christian groups continue to try to convince
Jews that the two faiths are not incompatible, and that Jews
can be Christians and still remain true to their
original faith. The Jewish community must remain vigilant
in counteracting the efforts of missionaries who prey
on Jews.
North of Toronto, in Newmarket and Richmond Hill, a group
called the Vineyard Ministries tried to recruit in
areas with heavy Jewish populations. They put on a
Christian missionary play, entitled "Toymaker and Son"
in a public park, and tried to get permits to perform the
show in several other venues, all of which were near
synagogues and other Jewish institutions in so-called Jewish
neighbourhoods. The show was advertised with flyers which
made no mention of the nature of the play;
furthermore, it was targeted at children. The Vineyard also
was allowed to present its play in a public elementary
school with a large Jewish population. The principal of the
school did not screen the script before the
performance, and several parents complained to the school
board and to the League. There was a mail campaign
targeting the Jewish Community in Ottawa as well.
In Ottawa, and also in Toronto a program during Holocaust
Education Week was being sponsored behind the scene by
the Grail Foundation, an organization dedicated to bringing
the world "the Saving Revelation from the same origin
as the true Message of Christ". The purpose of the program,
a lecture by Micah Rubenstein, was not Holocaust
education, but to introduce "In the Light of Truth: the
Grail Message" written by German citizen Oskar Ernst
Bernhardt under the name of Abd-ru-shin. While the
programs did not take place, the appearances during
Holocaust Education Week appeared to be a deliberate
attempt to have the program endorsed by the unsuspecting
Holocaust Education Committee of the Jewish Federation
and then use the endorsement in later promotional material.
The League played a role in alerting co-ordinators to
the role of the Grail Foundation behind these scheduled
programs.
It is critical for Jews in Canada to be vigilant, and to
counteract the missionary efforts directed at the
Jewish community. While it is imperative that all Canadians
be allowed to practice their religions, it is also
important for members of minority faiths to feel that their
rights are not being infringed by governments,
organizations, or individuals.
The Internet: The Battle (Flame War?) Heats Up
Last year, the Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents reported that
neo-Nazis were gaining access to the Internet, and were
relying on computers to transmit their hatred. This trend
has continued at accelerated rates as hate groups
employ Usenet and e-mail to spread their hatred. As well,
the Worldwide Web (WWW) is being used to allow Nazi
groups and supporters around the world to make their
materials available in Canada.
While some strides are being attempted in Europe, the legal
challenges posed by the Net regarding Canadian law are
well-documented (see "Hate on the Internet" below). The
Internet allows material prohibited in Canada from
entering this country without interruption or legal
challenge. But even as community groups, legislators,
lawyers, and government agencies seek to find new ways to
fight hate in cyberspace, it is imperative also to
seek out and vigorously implement non-legislative solutions
to the problem.
Neo-Nazis such as Ernst Zundel , who are based in Canada are
using websites, and there are dozens of such locations
around the world which do not fall under the domain of
Canadian law. In addition, neo-Nazis and Holocaust
deniers such as Canadians Marc Lemire, George Burdi, and
"Stormtrooper 88" are posting their hate on
newsgroups. While many of these are devoted to racist views
and topics, they are also actively posting on non-hate
groups which cover such topics as music, art, and even
sewing!
Ken McVay, a resident of Vancouver Island, has been actively
fighting hatemongers on the Net for several years. He
is the Director of the Nizkor Project, which is compiling an
on-line library designed to combat Holocaust deniers
through extensive research and wide dissemination of the
facts, including through links to several of the
racist sites themselves. McVay and others are routinely on-
line to refute the racist, anti-Semitic diatribes and
"evidence" that the Holocaust never occurred. As well, the
Nizkor website provides a resource for researchers who
want to investigate the claims of hatemongers on the
Net.
McVay is among those who promote free speech on the Net, in
the belief that it is easier and more effective to
deal with Nazis when they are in the open and you can expose
and refute their lies. But he also works closely with
the League and other organizations on pro-active educational
initiatives, as described below. Even as government
and community agencies try to develop a solution to
hatemongering on the Net which is both legally and
technologically sound, the neo-Nazis are continuing to
use the Internet to further their goals. It is imperative
to work quickly to develop a comprehensive solution to
cyberhate.
THE LEAGUE RESPONDS TO ANTI-SEMITISM AND HATE
In addition to responding on a case-by-case basis to
reported incidents, it is by using the tools of
education and research, legal/legislative interventions, and
community action and coalition building that the
League strives to fulfil its goals of combatting racism,
bigotry and anti-Semitism, and to promote and achieve
human rights for all Canadians.
Education and Research
Education is one of the major tools with which to counteract
hate in high schools, colleges and universities.
Through its Education and Training Centre, the League
provides educational materials for students and
teachers, conducts countless professional development
workshops in school boards and on campuses, and
provides training programs in the public and private
sectors. In 1995, the Centre conducted anti-racist
education workshops, courses on human rights and workplace
harassment, programs on the criminal justice system,
and public lectures and symposia on Holocaust education.
In 1995 the Human Rights Youth League continued it promotion
of student-driven activism in the struggle against
racism, anti-Semitism, and hate group activities. Conceived
by the League in 1993 as a forum for young people to
develop legal, productive and non-violent strategies to
counter discrimination, this year the Youth League
held a very successful Anti-Racist Benefit Rock Concert, and
participated actively in school forums.
Towards the end of 1995, the League began a research study
for the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto on the
"Nature and Extent of Racism and Hate Activity in Metro
Toronto". Building on the League's early study of
"Victim Impact of Racially Motivated Crime", conducted for
the Commission on Systemic Racism in the Justice
System whose final report was released this year, the new
study is correlating demographic data with incidents
of hate and bias crime, utilizing a 1-800 number for direct
reporting of incidents, and conducting extensive focus group
discussions and interviews to determine a more effective
model of coordinated action, data collection , service
delivery and victim protection in this area.
The League's databases on hate crimes, hate mongers, hate
groups and reported incidents were refined in 1995. A
Task Force has also been convened to monitor hate mongering
on the Internet and to propose educational curriculum
and policy development and implementation to regulate in
some way the transmission of hateful messages. The
League is working closely with the Nizkor Project, the Urban
Alliance on Race Relations, the Anti-Racism Response
Network, the Canadian Anti-racism Education and
Research Society, among others, as information partners on
the electronic highway to solve this challenging
problem. The League and Nizkor have prepared a document
entitled "Hate and the Internet: Selected Readings" to
assist in this work. The creation of a B'nai Brith web page
(http://www.canada.ibm.net/bnaibrith/) facilitates the
cause. By conducting and disseminating in-depth primary
research, the League provides law enforcement officials, the
media, and the public at large with up-to-date accurate
information on hate groups and strategies to counteract
their influence.
Legal/Legislative Initiatives
In 1995 the League continued strong efforts to achieve
passage of Bill C-41, which included amendments to the
Criminal Code directing judges to take hate motivation into
account during sentencing. The League was one of the
few organizations selected to present its position verbally
to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice
and Legal Affairs, and during the debate in the House,
League research and statistics were cited by several
speakers to strengthen their positions on the question
of Bill C-41.
The League was also invited to make a presentation to the
Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
in the final stages of the deliberations on Bill C-41. It
was immediately following this presentation that the
Senator who chaired the Committee was angrily approached by
a number of hostile observers in the meeting room. One
of them actually threatened the League representatives,
shouting "it's because you Jews are always pushing things
that what happened in Europe happened. If you keep
this up, it could happen here." Feedback from the Committee
indicated that these comments helped to convince
members even more of the need for the inclusive revisions to
the law. Bill C-41 passed by both the House and the
Senate in 1995.
Further to the astonishing revelations of white supremacist
activity in the Armed Forces following the murder of a
Somalian teenager by Canadian peacekeeping forces, as
highlighted in last year's Audit, in 1995 the
Commission of Inquiry into the Deployment of Canadian Forces
in Somalia was begun. B'nai Brith was granted full
standing in the Inquiry, as an organization with expertise
in hate and bias crime, hate group activity, human
rights violations, and the psychological factors of racists
and victims. At the preliminary hearings in 1995, the
League presented an overview of issues of harassment;
conflict of interest in the chain of command when
reporting through the ranks; assessment, selection and
training; presence of racists in the Armed Forces; and
the distinction between international humanitarian and
human rights law. The League has since cross-examined
several witnesses at the hearings and assisted in
bringing out important points on the lack of investigation
and relative indifference to racism and white
supremacists in the First Airborne in conjunction with the
deployment to Somalia.
The League had intervenor status in the Malcolm Ross case,
which was heard in the Supreme Court in the fall of 1995.
The New Brunswick Human Rights Commission appealed the New
Brunswick Court of Appeal's overturning of the tribunal
decision to remove Ross from the classroom on the basis of
the poisoned environment created by his publishing and
disseminating Holocaust denial material and other anti-
Semitic and hateful propaganda. We eagerly await the
Supreme Court decision on Ross.
The League was pleased to be granted leave to intervene in
the pending Keegstra appeal, lest the Supreme Court re-
open the issue of the constitutionality of the hate laws,
which were upheld as constitutional in 1990. The
Keegstra appeal will be heard early in 1996.
Community Partnerships
The League is committed to working with other organizations
and agencies to promote multicultural understanding and anti-
racism awareness and action. Through direct community
action, coalition building and information sharing, the work
of the League is expedited. It is essential that
partnerships are formed and resources pooled, particularly
during this time of declining resources. Such initiatives
of the League as the Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue
programs, such as the Muslim/Jewish Dialogue, the Black
/Jewish Dialogue, and the Women's Interfaith Dialogue, are
all ways to promote understanding, mediate differences, and
to plan and implement constructive inter-community
initiatives. The League also continues to be active on
provincial and municipal race relations committees across
the country, and to strengthen the partnerships with various
police Hate Crimes Units, in the spirit of community
policing, and to work to ensure safe cities.
The League hosted the 20th annual Media Human Rights Awards
in Winnipeg in 1995 to commemorate the International Day for
the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This annual event
is attended by members of the human rights and race
relations community, as well as journalists. The awards
recognize print and broadcast journalists for outstanding
coverage of human rights issues. Media monitoring continues
in order to protest against bias and to acknowledge
balanced, responsible reporting.
CONCLUSION
Despite the setbacks suffered by the racist right, with many
of their leaders in and out of court and serving jail
sentences, hatemongers continued to be active in Canada in
1995. Holocaust denier, Ernst Zundel continued to
distribute anti-Semitic hate propaganda at home and abroad,
primarily over the Internet. Charles Scott, "Aryan of
the Year" openly toured British Columbia trying to attract
more people to his racist cause. And open gang and
hate group activity was evident in smaller Ontario towns
such as Pickering, Oakville, Brampton, and St. Catherines.
Christian missionary groups seemed to be picking up their
proselytizing and targeting of Jewish communities, in
particular, usually not revealing their true identity or
intention until an unsuspecting organization or
institution has accepted their booking or their material for
distribution.
Still, the majority of incidents reported to the League for
Human Rights were instigated by individuals with no
apparent affiliation to organized groups. In 1995, as in
recent years, Canadian Jews routinely received hate
letters espousing everything from Holocaust denial, to
conspiracy theories, to death threats, to advocating
the destruction of the State of Israel.
Two major concerns expressed by the League in 1994 have come
to fruition. The first is the use of the Internet and
other electronic communication networks for the distribution
of hate propaganda. At present in Canada, no
mechanism exists to implement existing legislation to
regulated racist and anti- Semitic transmissions via
computer. The League has launched a Task Force to address
this and other creative ways to counter the ever-
widening effects of hate on the internet, including active
educational programming and materials.
Secondly, in 1994 we predicted that it was only a matter of
time before new organizations emerged, tapping into
the pool of racist race, fuelled by the increasing backlash
against immigration, multiculturalism and equity
hiring programmes. Ignorance of policies, and anger at
rising unemployment leave a fertile ground for
scapegoating of minorities. Backlash against inclusive
human rights policies leave victims feeling even more
vulnerable. And vocal opposition to strengthening and
broadening human rights legislation, albeit legitimate
opposition in the parliamentary context, gave license
for right-wing extremists to come out of the woodwork and
perpetrate crimes of gay bashing and vandalism. Mean-
spirited comments from political leaders in Ontario and
Quebec about immigration, 'ethnics', 'special interest
groups' , and stereotyping 'welfare cheats', create a
climate of tension, scapegoating, and fear-mongering
that is a breeding ground for more extremist activity. Even
though some of the better-known racist groups seem to
be weakened at this time, it would be naive to assume
that large-scale organized hate will not resurface in
Canada.
As we move into 1996, we are encouraged by the legislation
passed last year for sentencing enhancement for hate
motivated crime, and by the proliferation of hate/bias
crimes units in police forces across the country. But
law making and law enforcement is only part of the battle
against hatred in Canada. We have said before that it
is essential to promote multicultural anti-racist education
to heighten awareness of racism and to provide
practical non-violent skills to counteract it. But
important programs of this nature have been eroded and
even eliminated completely through government cutbacks,
weakening the strides that have been made in this area
in the last few years. At the same time, incidents of
violence and harassment have increased in schools and
communities.
More than ever, now is the time to strengthen community
coalitions and launch informed and coordinated
community action to ensure that all Canadians strive to
refute the hatemongers and to build upon and promote
the diversity that has made Canada the great country it is
today. We cannot afford to allow all of the advances
we have made in human rights and equality be eroded any
further.
APPENDIX
Hotline Information
Incident Reporting Form
TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 1 - Nature of Incidents by Year
Figure 1 - Nature of Incidents by Year
Figure 1 (a) - Number of Incidents - Three Year Average
Figure I (b) - Incidents of Vandalism by Year
Figure 1 (c) - Incidents of Harassment by Year
Figure 2 - Geographic Distribution of Incidents
Table 2 - Geographic Distribution of Incidents
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Nizkor
© The Nizkor Project, 1991-2012
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