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Gerry Weinstein |
Frank Dimant |
Allan Adel |
Ruth Klein |
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Gerry Weinstein |
Frank Dimant |
Allan Adel |
Ruth Klein |
The release date of the 2005 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents comes just weeks after a young man, Ilan Halimi, was abducted, tortured and murdered in Paris, France. This year’s Audit is dedicated in his memory, in the hope that the study of antisemitism, so aptly called the world’s “oldest hatred”, will lead to a renewed commitment to countering the insidious re-emergence of this phenomenon across the globe, at a level of toxicity that incites violence and even murder.
The Audit is also being released at a time when the controversy over the Danish cartoons continues to simmer. Debate over what constitutes free speech and what can be construed as hate speech has assumed an urgent relevance given the ugly violence that has been triggered by those opposing the publication of these cartoons. We are dismayed at the ongoing intimidation that has ensued which, far from leading to any progress in the ongoing struggle to counter hate-related activity, has been utterly counterproductive. As the Audit will discuss, there are legitimate routes to strengthening the legal and legislative frameworks that offer protections and recourse for victims of racism.
We note the double standards that have been betrayed in this debate, with the states and individuals who have been the most vehement in their insistence that the cartoons are intolerably offensive, being the same ones that condone and even sponsor the most inflammatory anti-Jewish material, whether visual images or verbal propaganda. This propaganda reaches Canadians as much as the citizens of the countries in which it is created through the insidious spread of hate on the Internet, as well as more traditional outlets.
Events in the Middle East have often been blamed for the sharp rise in antisemitism experienced in recent years not just in this country, but across the globe. This view has been corroborated by Mr. Doudou Diène, the UN Commission on Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and all forms of discrimination, who stated that “hostility towards Jews arises in a new context in which new forms of anti-Semitism, linked to the Middle East conflict, are overlaid on top of traditional anti-Semitism...”1 His observation is well illustrated here in Canada where 38 incidents showed a direct connection to Middle East events, and many more suggested indirect motivation. Although in 2005 we do not see the major trigger points emanating from specific Middle East events that have prompted past spikes in antisemitic incidents, it is clear that the Israeli-Arab conflict has intruded into Canadian attitudes and behaviour towards Jews in many negative ways.
Far right wing agitators have learned the nuances of the language of hate and understand only too well how to dress up anti-Jewish sentiment in the lingua franca of anti-Zionism. This has led to a striking similarity in propaganda style that emanates from both the anti-Israel camp and the neo-Nazi sector. Far right wing agitators have even suggested that animosity towards Jews can be expressed with impunity as long as the word “Jew” is not used, but rather code words such as “Zionists”, “Pro-Israel Lobby” or even just, in shorthand “the Lobby”. Similarly, anti-Israel propaganda commonly uses the rhetoric and motifs of “traditional” antisemitism. This theme is discussed further in Section II.4.
One of the main themes of the year, as documented in this year’s Audit, is scapegoating. Age-old canards have been notched up in volume and intensity using all the conveniences of modern technology. The year under review began with an absurd conspiracy theory being disseminated over the Internet alleging that Israel and Jews were responsible for the Tsunami disaster, a theory put forward by propagandists of the Middle East. In the closing weeks of the year, the hottest web-based rumour was that Israel and Jews were responsible for the Bird Flu, an allegation emanating from the far right fringes.
When we see the traditional themes of medieval antisemitism - the Jew as the carrier of plague - mutating to a newer variant - the Jewish State plotting to unleash a deadly disease on its Arab neighbours - we have a prime example of how prejudice and politics collide in mutually expedient ways. This provides a context in which to evaluate and analyze the data documented in this Audit.
Section I of this study will focus on the raw data for 2005, with analysis of some key findings. Section II will incorporate in-depth discussion by five experts on central themes emerging from these findings. The Conclusion will offer some overall observations and recommendations for future action to combat hate.
The first expert submission in Section II is by Toronto-based lawyer Marvin Kurz who discusses legal developments during the year 2005. Mr. Kurz has represented the League as legal counsel in numerous anti-hate initiatives in the courts over more than two decades, including the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal hearings on Ernst Zundel, which ended in 2002. The successes and limitations of the Canadian legal system are highlighted in this analysis, with recommendations for legislative change along the lines of some other western democracies.
An analysis of hate on the Internet follows, with an overview by Ottawa-based lawyer Richard Warman of recent complaints brought before the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The Commission has become the lead arena for fighting this type of hate activity, given the reluctance of other authorities to act in many of these cases. What may not be readily apparent from this chapter is that Mr. Warman has spearheaded the overwhelming majority of these cases entirely on his own initiative and at his own expense, making him a trailblazer in the field. The League is proud to co-operate with him in this crucial area.
Our discussion of web-based hate continues with a look at key international developments by Professor Michael Geist of the University of Ottawa, a renowned expert on Internet law, who serves as co-chair of the League for Human Rights, Ontario Region. His assessment of measures taken in other jurisdictions will be useful in developing recommendations for progress in this area on the Canadian scene.
Holocaust denial is featured not just on the message boards of neo-Nazi groups, but also in campus settings, dressed up as pseudo-academic debate. This thesis is expanded in a chapter by Professor Alain Goldschläger, University of Western Ontario Holocaust Literature expert, who serves together with Professor Geist as the League’s Ontario Region co-chair. Professor Goldschläger examines how subtle and less than subtle anti-Jewish themes have crept into campus discourse both inside and outside the classroom, often under the guise of anti-Israel rhetoric, leaving Jewish students feeling isolated and intimidated.
In the final chapter, world-renowned expert David Matas, Senior Legal Counsel for B’nai Brith Canada, examines the intersection between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, using his vast experience fighting a variety of human rights cases in Canada and abroad. Mr. Matas, author of many seminal publications on hate speech and legal remedies, suggests that we need to take into account the broader definition of antisemitism currently being used by the European Union Monitoring Centre on racism and Xenophopia, which recognizes the co-mingling of these two phenomena.
While we focus specifically on Canadian incidents in our analysis and discussions, it is becoming increasingly clear that antisemitism knows no borders. We need to keep in mind a global perspective that includes an appreciation of how antisemitism manifests itself elsewhere, and how other states respond. One of the primary goals of the Audit is therefore to encourage debate and proactive planning in order to counter the pervasiveness of a hatred that has led, in recent years, to new levels of harassment, intimidation, and even violence against Jews in Canada and in countries around the world.