For Immediate Release
Toronto.(February 20, 2001) Dr. Lawrence Hart, President of B'nai Brith Canada today released the 2000 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents. “There were 280 reported incidents of antisemitic harassment and vandalism in Canada last year,” reported Hart, citing the 45-page document by the League for Human Rights of B'nai Brith. “This represents a 5% increase over the 267 incidents reported across the country in 1999.”
“While the overall total of antisemitic incidents in Canada is up, regional patterns showed a tremendous variation. Montreal had a significant rise in antisemitic incidents, with 71 reported in 2000 - nearly double the 37 reported in 1999. Toronto, however showed a 7.6% decrease in incidents with 110 reported antisemitic occurrences, compared to 119 incidents reported in 1999. The western and eastern provinces, showed a slight decline in overt incidents, in spite of evidence of continued hate group activity in both regions,” reported Hart.
Reported acts of antisemitic vandalism increased for the second straight year. The number of reported incidents of antisemitic vandalism was 88 in 2000, a 42% increase over the 62 incidents reported last year. Vandalism in 2000 included synagogue firebombings and arson attacks, cemetery desecrations, and synagogues, schools and private residences sprayed with graffiti.
Harassment comprised the largest proportion of antisemitic incidents for 2000, with a total of 192 reported incidents. Although the overall number of incidents of harassment was down 6% from the 205 reported cases in 1999, there were several serious assaults last year, particularly in Montreal where victims were punched, kicked, knocked unconscious and held over the rails at a metro station. “It is hard to imagine that in modern day Canada, Jews are still beaten and threatened because of their religion”, continued Dr. Hart expressing his dismay. “These types of hate-motivated crimes have an impact not only on the individual but on the whole community.” Harassment also included death threats against Jewish leaders, bomb threats at a school, synagogues, the Israeli consulate and a ceremony to honour Holocaust survivors at the Parliament buildings in Ottawa. Hate mail, verbal assaults and slurs, and systemic discrimination accounted for the majority of the other incidents of harassment.
It is clear that the rise in incidents for 2000 was the result of the fallout from the increased tension in the Middle East. Data from the first half the year indicated a decrease in incidents from the number of reported acts of antisemitism during the same period in 1999. The second half of the year however, showed a drastic increase. There were 96 incidents of antisemitism reported across Canada in October and November of 2000, immediately following the recent escalation of the intifada. This was more than double the 41 reported incidents during the same months in 1999.
“The tragedy is that as Canadian citizens, we have seen the drama of the Middle East played out on the streets of Canada,” said Frank Dimant, Executive Vice-President of B'nai Brith Canada. “We at B'nai Brith support dialogue, discussion and efforts to increase understanding. We oppose the introduction of violence into the political debate in Canada. In recent months, the relationship between Canadian Jews and Canadian Muslims remains at best somewhat neutral. Some individuals, however, brought the Middle East turmoil across the ocean to Canada, and committed acts of violence and vandalism that dismayed both the Jewish and Palestinian population in this country,” added Dimant.
Rochelle Wilner, National Chair of the Institute for International Affairs and Senior Vice-President of B'nai Brith Canada, observed that “Many of the acts of vandalism and harassment were likely perpetrated by individuals using the turmoil in the Middle East as an excuse to vent their hatred against the Jewish people, illustrating yet again, that international events often have an impact on Canadians. Antisemites will use any excuse to spread their hatred. When the violence started in the Middle East we were concerned that it might be used as a pretext for such antisemitic actions. But we were appalled at the severity of the overt expressions of hate. I did not expect to be spat on and harassed, nor did we expect such a significant rise in antisemitic incidents in most visible Jewish communities across the country.”
“I was not only dismayed, I was actually frightened,” concluded Wilner.
The incidents of vandalism in October and November (including firebombings of synagogues and Jewish institutions targeted for graffiti) increased by over 200%, from 12 incidents in 1999 to 40 in 2000. There were 5 bomb threats to Jewish or Israel-related organizations, and 4 death threats to lay leaders and staff people of Jewish community groups.
During this period, two synagogues in Edmonton were firebombed and their windows were smashed. At one of the synagogues, the police found that a nearby tree had been scorched in an attempt to start the blaze. Three weeks earlier one of the synagogues had a molotov cocktail thrown through the window. In Ottawa, there was an arson attack at a Jewish memorial chapel, where the door was doused in gasoline and then set ablaze.
Anti-Israel demonstrations in Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa degenerated into antisemitism with participants chanting in Arabic “Kill the Jews”, while harassing local Jewish people and blaming them for the situation in the Middle East. Demonstrations across Canada turned from legitimate political protest to Holocaust trivialization, with placards equating the Star of David with the Nazi swastika. “Canadians must not allow the issues and conflicts of the Middle East to spill over into Canada. Let us have debate and civil discourse within our borders - not fire-bombings, assaults, synagogue desecrations and threats - behaviour that goes far beyond political discourse into the realm of hate motivated criminal activity,” said Professor Stephen Scheinberg, National Chair of the League for Human Rights. “It is time for the League and our colleagues to strengthen our Muslim/Jewish Dialogue Program, begun during the Gulf War, to ensure that human rights are not violated in this country, in spite of international events,” he added.
Toronto - In 2000 there were 110 reported incidents of antisemitism in the City of Toronto, including a number of death threats, bomb threats, assaults, and serious acts of vandalism. Although this represents a 7.6% decrease from 1999, when 119 incidents were reported, several of the incidents were far more severe than in the past. Toronto is the largest city in Canada with the largest Jewish population, so it is not surprising that it had 40% of all the reported incidents in Canada in 2000.
Regional Ontario - In regional Ontario (excluding the City of Toronto and the National Capital Region) there was a 12.7% decrease in antisemitic incidents, with 41 this year compared to 47 last year. Incidents included a cemetery desecration, serious acts of vandalism, and the distribution of hate propaganda. There was also evidence of increased hate group activity in this region.
National Capital Region - The 24 reported incidents in the Ottawa area represent a 25% decrease from the 32 reported incidents in 1999. This region experienced an arson attack, bomb threats, graffiti and vandalism.
Montreal - Antisemitism in the Montreal area increased markedly in the year 2000. That city suffered most from the increase in antisemitic violence, which was a reaction to the rising tension in the Middle East. Montreal Jews were victims of vandalism, threats, and a number of assaults resulting in serious physical harm. There were 71 reported antisemitic acts in 2000, a 92% increase over the 37 incidents documented in 1999, and a 255% increase over the 20 incidents reported in 1998.
Regional Quebec - There were 4 reported incidents of antisemitic graffiti and vandalism in regional Quebec in 2000, which is the same number as reported in 1999.
Manitoba - In Manitoba in 2000, there were 4 reported incidents of graffiti and harassment, 1 more than in 1999.
Saskatchewan and Alberta - There were 14 reported incidents of antisemitism in this region in 2000, including the well publicized firebombings of 2 synagogues during the upsurge in violence resulting from the Middle East crisis. This number represents a significant increase in antisemitic incidents over the 5 reported incidents in 1999.
British Columbia - B.C. had 9 reported incidents in 2000, the second consecutive decrease from the 12 reported in 1999 and the 17 reported in 1998. These incidents were comprised mainly of harassment and graffiti.
The Maritimes - There was only 1 antisemitic incident reported in the Maritime region in 2000, representing a slight decline from the 3 reported incidents in 1999. However, reports of hate group recruitment and activity remained constant in the region.
The formation of new hate groups was a concern in Canada in 2000. The Kitchener-Waterloo and London areas are the home of two new white supremacy groups: the Canadian Heritage Alliance (CHA) and the Canadian Ethnic Cleansing Team (CECT). The former seems to be an attempt to fill the void left by the diminishing Heritage Front and to inject some youthful vigour into the ‘freedom of expression’ groups such as the Canadian Association for Free Expression (CAFE) and the Canada First Immigration Reform Committee (CFIRC). Heritage Front activity has also been evident in the Maritimes. A widely publicized trial in Nova Scotia of a card-carrying member of a number of hate groups resulted in her conviction, with hate motivation considered as an aggravating factor upon sentencing. “The League will continue to monitor hate group activity. The hateful and hostile group mentality can give rise to increased violence and active recruitment of alienated youth looking for power, scapegoats and a quick fix for their problems,” warned Dr. Karen Mock, National Director of the League, who served as an expert witness at the sentencing hearing in Halifax.
For more than a century B'nai Brith Canada has been monitoring the climate of intolerance in Canada. B'nai Brith Canada's League for Human Rights' Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents was lauded in the recent Statistics Canada report - Hate Crime in Canada: An Overview of Issues and Data Sources:
“Since 1982, the League for Human Rights of B'nai Brith has produced an annual report on the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Canada. Due to the constancy in definitions and criteria used in determining how incidents are classified and recorded, these statistics may be the best data available on the incidence of hate crimes of a particular category. As a result, these data provide a unique historical record of a particular form of hate activity in Canada over the past 18 years.” (Page 17, 2001)
The Audit of Antisemitic Incidents serves as a resource to government, police and community groups across Canada and internationally. It was released in simultaneous press conferences today in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg and Calgary, as well as dispatched on the World Wide Web and to the Antisemitism Documentation Project at Tel Aviv University. “It is important that our local and international communities know what is happening to Canadian Jews”, explained Dr. Hart. “When people report antisemitic incidents to B'nai Brith Canada, not only are they assured something will be done to assist them but their reporting helps to complete the Canadian portion of the worldwide picture,” he explained.
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