B’nai Brith Canada Welcomes Bill Declaring National Holocaust Day, Applauds Work of Sponsors

Ottawa, October 21, 2003

For Immediate Release

Ottawa — B’nai Brith Canada today welcomed the tabling of a Bill in the House of Commons aimed at establishing an annual national Holocaust Memorial Day for Canada.

“B’nai Brith Canada, in partnership with other Jewish organizations, has lobbied for such a commemoration for a very long time,” said Rochelle Wilner, National President of the Jewish advocacy group. “The annihilation of European Jewry, an unprecedented and cataclysmic event which is still fresh in the minds of so many in our community who survived, remains the grim standard by which man’s inhumanity to man is judged. It is fitting, therefore, that it be commemorated in this manner as a reminder of what can happen when good people refuse to confront evil in the world. We are grateful for the efforts of all of the sponsors of this Bill, one from each political party represented in Parliament. They have done a great service to Canada and to all of humanity.”

“The timing of this announcement could not be more appropriate,” said Frank Dimant, Executive Vice President of B’nai Brith Canada. “Once again the Jews of the world find themselves at the epicenter of history, the targets of hate, vilification and, ultimately, violence. The words may be different, as may be the tactics, but the goals are the same. In the words of Edmund Burke, ‘all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.’ We welcome the fact that our Parliamentarians are taking this important step today and we congratulate them for doing so.”

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For more information call Joseph Ben Ami, Director of Communications at (613) 294-7313

B’nai Brith has been active in Canada since 1875 as the Jewish community’s foremost human rights agency.