
Rochelle Wilner President	Frank Dimant Chief Executive Officer	Prof. Stephen Scheinberg National Chair	Ruth Klein National Director of Advocacy

1997 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents

INTRODUCTION

B’nai Brith Canada has been at the forefront of the battle against anti-Semitism, racism and bigotry for more than a century. Through the League for Human Rights, B’nai Brith monitors the activities of hate groups in Canada and documents all reported incidents of anti-Semitism. The Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, published annually since 1982 by the League for Human Rights, is a major vehicle for reporting our findings to the public.

In 1996, we witnessed, as in the past few years, that incidents of anti-Semitism continue to become more diffuse in nature. In the early 1990s, trends in hatred and bigotry directed at Canada’s Jews were linked to specific activities, including the Gulf War and the rise of the Heritage Front and other neo-Nazi groups in Canada. However, the last four years have seen a more random pattern of anti-Semitism in this country. As in the past, Metropolitan Toronto, Canada’s largest and most ethnically diverse city, had by far the largest number of reported anti-Semitic incidents. This is primarily due to the size of the Jewish population, the continued presence of many of the “leaders” of Canada’s hate movement, and the ethnic frictions which are usually evident in all large and ethnically diverse cities.

Despite an apparent decline in organized hate activity, and in the overall level of incidents in 1996, several serious incidents of anti-Semitism during the past year proved to be disturbing. In April, the Jewish National Fund office, located in the Calgary Jewish Community Centre, received a package bomb that injured an employee. Fortunately, the bomb malfunctioned and only partially detonated, thus sparing the Centre and the many people inside its full impact. In Toronto, a house was broken into and severely vandalized with swastikas and other anti-Jewish graffiti. In Winnipeg, a Jewish group home for teens was vandalized extensively with anti-Semitic graffiti. On the eve of Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, a former Front de l’Liberation de Québec (FLQ) bomber issued a statement to the press that contained threats of violence to the Jewish community and a number of its individual leaders.

As will be seen in the analysis of the trends in the data, there has been a dramatic increase in the spread of anti-Semitism via the Internet and the so-called ethnic press. Neither of these trends has been included in the statistics as their impact is not quantifiable, although it is felt broadly throughout the community.

Despite several serious cases and systemic trends, positive steps have been made in combatting anti-Semitism, racism and bigotry in Canada this year. The influence and impact of organized neo-Nazi groups remains low; however, there are indications that the Heritage Front and others are starting to rebuild their grassroots movements and continue to recruit.

Bill C-41, requiring sentence enhancement for perpetrators of hate-motivated crimes, was enacted into law in September 1996. This law recognizes the increased victim impact of crimes directed at minority communities, and provides for penalties which reflect the hate motivated nature of these offenses.

Several important court cases took place in 1996 involving the spreading of hate towards Jews. In the case of Jim Keegstra, the Alberta teacher accused of promoting Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories in his classroom, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld Keegstra’s conviction as constitutional. The Supreme Court confirmed its earlier decision against Keegstra for spreading hatred and promoting anti-Semitism in his classroom. In 1996 the Supreme Court also upheld the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission’s order to keep Malcolm Ross, known purveyor of Holocaust denial and other racist doctrines, out of the classroom. Both of these unanimous decisions by Canada’s highest court have sent a very strong message that hate will not be tolerated in Canada.

The Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents is an important resource for government, human rights organizations, educators, police, media and others to gauge anti-Semitism in Canada. By providing an analysis of the nature and extent of reported anti-Semitic activity in Canada, the Audit provides a model for data collection and analysis, and helps guide decisions in resource allocation, legislative development, and plans for formal educational initiatives to confront racist attitudes and to sensitize all Canadians to the problems of hatred and intolerance. Finally, the Audit also serves as an important indicator of the general level of racism in Canada.

The Audit is part of the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith’s commitment towards combatting anti-Semitism. Canadians must be able to identify and name it if we ever hope to eradicate it.