74% of Canadians Label Arafat a Terrorist

Toronto, April 16, 2002

For Immediate Release

Toronto, April 16, 2001 — 80% of Canadians see no essential difference between the passenger aircraft attacks on the World Trade Centre and the suicide bombings in Israel, according to a new national opinion poll released today by B’nai Brith Canada. This survey looks at the attitudes of Canadians towards the Arab-Israeli conflict, terrorism, and Israel’s military response.

This poll is part of a series of surveys by one of the foremost pollsters in Canada, Dr. Conrad Winn of COMPAS. These studies have been commissioned by B’nai Brith to look at the attitudes of Canadians towards issues such as democracy and pluralism, attitudes towards minorities, and ethnic and race relations.

Rochelle Wilner, National President of B’nai Brith Canada, stated: “These results indicate that Canadians hold firm to the principles of democracy that eschew all acts of terrorism for political gain. They appear to understand fully the threat of suicide-homicide bombers to the safety and security of democracies everywhere.”

According to the poll, a strong majority of Canadians blame Yasser Arafat and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein for the conflict. 74% of Canadians consider Arafat a terrorist, while 76% hold Iraq’s Saddam Hussein substantially responsible because of his encouragement of terrorism. 65% of Canadians hold Saudi Arabia responsible because of its financial support for the families of suicide-homicide bombers.

Frank Dimant, Executive Vice President, noted: “It is clear that there is a huge gap between how our government conducts itself in its relations with Arab leaders and how the majority of Canadians feel about these people. For the Canadian government it is business as usual, which in no way reflects our findings that the majority of Canadians blame these very individuals for the ongoing conflict and violence.”

In terms of Israel’s military response to the threat of terrorism, while half the respondents feel that the Israeli response was disproportionate, the other half feel that it was either appropriate or not strong enough. The under-30 age group and Alliance voters are the most inclined to believe that Israeli military action has been insufficient. Meanwhile NDP voters and French-speakers in general feel that Israeli action has been excessive.

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For further information contact Rochelle Wilner at (416) 254 1010 or Frank Dimant at (416) 802-1057

For a copy of the poll, go to www.compas.ca/html/archives/arabisraeliconflict_surv.html or contact B’nai Brith Canada at (416) 633-6224,

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