For Immediate Release
Toronto April 17, 2002 — With grave disappointment and deep concern, B’nai Brith Canada today reiterated its call for Prime Minister Jean Chretien to publicly and vociferously condemn the recent and continuing outbreak of antisemitic acts, including vandalism, synagogue burning, and assault which has erupted across the country. A recent call for such condemnation has gone unheeded. Much as governments in Europe have done, our own has remained silent in the face of growing and increasingly dangerous acts against Jewish individuals and institutions.
B’nai Brith Canada President Rochelle Wilner noted with alarm that while the government did speak out in the post-September aftermath when a backlash against Muslims in this country was initially feared, no such declarations in the face of tangible anti-Jewish actions has been forthcoming. As she wrote to the Prime Minister: “The Audit of Antisemitic Incidents recently published by our League for Human Rights has documented an increase of 35% in incidents targeting our community over the last five years, with a significant increase after the terror attacks on the US. There was an 11% increase over the course of 2001 in Quebec alone. Just because Jews have been the traditional targets of such hate/bias crimes long before September 11, does not mean that we can afford to ignore continuing attacks against them.” She added that the current wave of incidents only serves to reinforce the data presented in the Audit.
Frank Dimant, Executive Vice President, declared: “Our government has a responsibility to speak out. All Canadians deserve, at the very least, the concern of their government for their safety and security. When such concern is not voiced despite ample evidence and clear messages that it is needed, When not a single arrest has been made, to our knowledge, in this recent spate of incidents, the Jewish community is concerned that this silence will encourage the perpetrators of antisemitism in Canada”
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For further information contact 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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