For Immediate Release
Toronto, July 18, 2002 — B’nai Brith Canada’s human rights division, the League for Human Rights, today released an Audit of Antisemitic Incidents in Canada for the first six months of the year. A total of 197 incidents were reported to the League from January to June 2002, compared with 286 for the entire 12 months of 2001. This increase comes on top of a 35% rise in the number of incidents already noted in the five year period 1996-2001.
Rochelle Wilner, President of B’nai Brith Canada: “We present these statistics to illustrate why there is such a heightened level of concern in the Jewish community today. We have to monitor carefully any changes in the level of prejudice and intolerance in this country, especially given the level of anti-Jewish activity that has risen so dramatically around the world. There is a fear and concern, and pretending that is not the case will not change the facts on the ground.”
Frank Dimant, Executive Vice President, commented “There are those who will tell us it is business as usual and the streets are safe. They may be safe for those who can pass unrecognized, but it is far different for the visible Jew. The torching of synagogues across the country, the physical assaults, the death threats — these are not indications that the streets are safe. When the Mayor and Chief of Police of the nation’s capital issue a one-month high alert for June that Jews in the city may be targeted, it is not business as usual.”
Toni Silberman, Ontario Chair of the League for Human Rights, noted: “When we compare these 197 incidents with the 121 incidents reported in the first six months of 2001, we note an alarming increase of 62.8%. In Toronto alone there were 96 antisemitic incidents in just the first six months of the year compared with 116 for the entire twelve months of 2001, while in Montreal there were 49 incidents, compared with 78 for the whole of 2001. Troubling increases were also reported in other parts of the country, such as Winnipeg which has already reported 14 incidents compared to only six incidents for the whole of 2001.”
Ruth Klein, National Director of the League, spoke of the shift towards increased violence that the League staff have noted, which reflects “a growing use of the images and terminology of aggression in the propaganda of both the far Left and the far Right. These groups disseminate not just age-old antisemitic tracts but also the propaganda of Arab extremists. This propaganda has percolated down to society in general, as the results of the Audit show.”
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For further comment contact 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.
The entire Audit is available online at:
http://www.bnaibrith.ca/publications/audit2002/interim2002.html
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