For Immediate Release
Toronto, January 9, 2003… “Crude and offensive” is how B’nai Brith Canada has described the statement of Remon Behaklini, Lebanese Ambassador to Canada, who has blamed Canadian “Zionists” for the Government’s decision to ban Hezbollah. He has also implied that individuals visiting Lebanon who identify themselves as Canadians will not be safe.
In a letter to the Honorable Bill Graham, Minister of Foreign Affairs, B’nai Brith asks the government to reprimand the Ambassador and re-examine his credentials for the Ottawa-based appointment.
Rochelle Wilner, National President of B’nai Brith Canada, stated:
“The Ambassador’s reference to Zionists controlling the media — standard fare for the propagandists of the Middle East — is just a rehash of age-old antisemitic canards that have no place in Canada. Canadians have worked hard to build a democracy based on cultural and religious pluralism and peaceful dispute resolution. It would put us all to shame if individuals with quite different agendas — whatever their diplomatic status — were allowed to pollute our society in this fashion. Clearly, an unequivocal government response is necessary.”
Frank Dimant, Executive Vice President, stated:
“We stand proudly by our decision to challenge the government’s initial reluctance to ban Hezbollah in Canada, not just in our capacity as a Jewish human rights organization, but because like many Canadians, we do not want to see this country become a haven for terrorist groups that use murder and mayhem as political tools. We can only assume that Ambassador Behaklini is fully supportive of Hezbollah’s open agenda of violence. As such, we question whether the government can continue to accept his credentials.”
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For further comment, call Rochelle Wilner at (416) 254-1010 or
Frank Dimant at (416) 802-1057
B’nai Brith has been active in Canada since 1875 as the community’s foremost advocacy and volunteer organization.
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