“He who saves one life, it is as if he has saved the world entire”

(talmudic saying)

Canadian Jews Reflect on Raoul Wallenberg Day, January 17, 2002

Toronto, January 16, 2002

For Immediate Release

January 16, 2002 — Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat whose actions in Budapest during the Second World War saved the lives of thousands of Hungarian Jews, who was arrested by and disappeared at the hands of the Soviet Union, is being recognized this week by the Government of Canada. January 17, 2002 has been designated the inaugural Raoul Wallenberg Day by the Ministry of Canadian Heritage. B’nai Brith Canada and the Canadian Jewish community join all Canadians in honouring this hero, whom the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Israel has designated as "righteous among the nations", and upon whom the Canadian government bestowed honourary citizenship in 1985. The work of many Canadians, including David Matas, Senior Legal Counsel to B’nai Brith Canada, who spared no effort in researching Wallenberg’s disappearance in the Soviet Union, should also be recognized at this time.

Rochelle Wilner, President of B’nai Brith Canada, remarked “This, the first Raoul Wallenberg Day in Canada, is a time for introspection. We must, individually and as a nation, examine the legacy of Raoul Wallenberg, and learn from his heroism. Saving a community from the terror visited upon them by totalitarian ideals was Wallenberg’s raison d’être. Today we are faced with another kind of terror, which requires us to learn not only from Wallenberg’s unflinching empathy for the Jews of Hungary, but also from his grim determination to save their lives.”

Frank Dimant, Executive Vice President, added “The irony is that in fighting one kind of tyranny and terror in his unique way, he fell victim to another. Wallenberg’s death at the hands of the Soviets can teach Canadians that though one can make common cause with those seeming adversaries who of necessity become partners, their actions will eventually reveal their true nature. Israelis have learned this about the Palestinian Authority. The lesson should not be ignored.”

Toni Silberman, Senior Vice President, and Ontario Chair of the League for Human Rights reflected “At a time when others stood by and did nothing, when Western countries shrugged and said ‘none is too many’ to the rescue of Jews from the clutches of the murderous Nazis, this one man single-handedly saved thousands of lives.”

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For further information, please contact Frank Dimant at (416) 633-6224

B’nai Brith has been active in Canada since 1875 as the community’s foremost advocacy and volunteer organization.