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

1996 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents

APPENDIX A

Is Your Child A Target?

Guidelines for Parents and Teachers on the Dangers of
Hate Group Recruitment in Canada

This document is available in pamphlet form.
Please call your local B’nai Brith League for Human Rights office to find out how to become a partner in its distribution.

HATE GROUPS IN CANADA TODAY

Hate groups are composed of bigots and racists who hate everyone unlike themselves, particularly minorities such as Blacks, Asians, South Asians, Muslims, Jews, Catholics and Homosexuals. They hate these people, not because of anything they’ve done, but merely because of who they are.
Hatemongers feed their own self image of superiority by blaming society’s past and present problems on these identifiable minority groups.
Hate groups operate through a network of inter-related, pseudo-religious and right-wing political organizations.
In the 1990s, Canada has become fertile ground for groups like the Heritage Front, Ku Klux Klan and racist Skinhead gangs.There are approximately 40 known hate groups in Canada today, networking nationally and internationally to promote their White Supremacist ideology.
These groups are known to join both political and religious organizations, especially in Caucasian Christian Communities, but their ideologies are far from Christian.
Current hate group activities include telephone “hatelines” across the country run by the Heritage Front, Ku Klux Klan, Liberty Net, and others; racist rock concerts sponsored by groups like the Church of the Creator (now defunct); paramilitary training camps for young recruits; assaults against anti-racist activists, and an increase in gay-bashing and racially motivated crime.

A Brief History

Racism and hate propaganda have long been part of the Canadian experience. It began with the campaign of dehumanization of Native peoples by European settlers, resulting in cultural genocide and unpunished abuses. There is also evidence of rampant anti-Semitism in the early days of Canada, with later hate propaganda against Chinese, Sikh and Japanese Canadians.

By the the 1920s and 1930s, Blacks, Catholics and Jews were being viciously attacked by hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan. As Immigration increased following World War I, so did the backlash against foreigners, minority groups and individuals. In those days, as now, hate groups feasted on tension and turmoil.

During World War II, prominent Canadians praised Hitler’s leadership, while government policy denied safety to European Jews fleeing Nazi persecution.

Hate group activity is related to shifts in attitudes towards politics and minority groups. In times of prosperity, as acceptance of diverse groups and communities increases, hate groups and overt racist activity declines. Economic downturn is usually accompanied by the scapegoating of minorities and immigrants by those looking for someone to blame for their problems. As in the 1920s and 1930s, the recession of the 1990s has proved an opportune time for a rise in hate group activity.

In these difficult economic times, many young people can be enlisted through exposure to continuous hate propaganda aimed at recruiting them to the racist cause. Parents, teachers and others must be observant to prevent this from happening.

The Threat of Hate Groups and Hate Propaganda

The goal of hatemongers and hate propaganda is to falsely portray a group as inferior, even less than human, undermining the norms and values of a society by potentially taking control of the culture through power or sheer numbers.

Hate propaganda plays on people’s doubts and fears. It feeds on misconceptions, increasing barriers to understanding. Hate propaganda contributes to disunity in society, compromises democratic values and maintains inequality and oppression.

When one group is aggrieved, we are all aggrieved. Hate propaganda is not a free speech issue. It is the promotion of hatred against an identifiable minority group and is against the law in Canada.

The Current Reality

Hate groups are growing steadily and are currently at levels not seen in Canada since the 1920s. The League for Human Rights has measured a 200% increase in reported antisemitic incidents since 1988. Police and community groups documenting racially motivated crime have corroborated this evidence.

Hate groups such as the Aryan Nations, Heritage Front, Church of The Creator, Ku Klux Klan, Northern Foundation and the Mountain Church are all actively recruiting young people in Canada today.

Recently, established white supremacists groups have attempted to co-opt the skinhead movement. Not all skinheads are racist, however many in Canada are and these groups show a propensity towards violence. Since 1990, skinheads in North America have committed at least 24 racially or sexually motivated murders.

Is Your Child a Target? Is Your Friend a Target?

Hate groups concentrate their recruiting efforts primarily in high schools and to some extent in colleges and universities.
Young people are more likely to accept at face value the racist ideology of the hatemonger. They are often naive and easily brainwashed by racist propaganda because they don’t have the experience or facts at hand to refute the lies and myths being fed to them.
Lonely marginalized youth seeking a sense of identity and belonging are both the most attractive targets for racists and their most useful tools once recruited.
Emotionally vulnerable or angry young people are easily indoctrinated by hatemongers and are often convinced to engage in violence and to commit criminal acts to prove themselves by following orders.
Eager to be accepted, young recruits don’t recognize the abuse of power by group leaders and can, therefore, be used to intimidate opponents and to recruit other new members.

How Hate Groups Recruit

Through rituals, regalia and impressive ceremony, individual youth are easily impressed and recruited, often due to their lack of identifiable future. Once recruited, they are catapulted into an environment of violence and hatred.
Disenchanted youth who are abused, angry, unemployed, dropouts or runaways, and who may be looking for someone to blame for their problems, are prime targets.
Hate groups prey on lonely youth who are socially isolated by learning their weaknesses and drawing them into a group in which they feel accepted.
They befriend students and invite them to meetings. They make them feel wanted and important by providing membership cards, titles and a sense of belonging.
Hate groups recruit followers by distributing flyers and leaflets at schools and on the street, attracting young people to meetings, concerts or rallies, and inviting them to call a hotline for more information.
Members of racist groups provide a false camaraderie and friendship that is motivated by reasons not readily apparent to the target.
They intimate that their hate group is simply a social club, a legitimate nationalist political party, or a movement interested in preserving Canadian culture.
They always lie to new members, never telling them of their true agenda of hatred and violence until it is too late.
Hatemongers either demand “Equal Rights for Whites” or denigrate minorities through racist and bigoted articles, newsletters, rock music and cartoons. Increasingly the Internet is also being used.
Young people are brainwashed through rituals, rallies, training camps and the dissemination of hate propaganda, until they give up their independent identity, join the cause and become hatemongers themselves.

Early Warning Signs

A change in behavior or appearance of your teenager may indicate involvement with hate groups. Some of the telltale signs include:

sudden lack of interest in school;
adopting new groups of friends and staying out late without any explanation;
violence or secretive behavior;
overt hostility to parents and family, disobedience, rudeness;
racist graffiti, drawings and doodling;
playing loud, heavy rock music with violent lyrics such as the racist rock music of groups like RaHoWa or Skrewdriver;
stereotyping and scapegoating of certain groups, name-calling, racial and religious slurs in conversation at all times;
making racist or bigoted comments about minorities, immigrants or foreigners;
a marked repugnance to consider certain ethnic or religious groups as fully Canadian or even human;
the wearing or displaying of Nazi propaganda and symbols such as swastikas, the Iron Cross and/or military clothing and paraphernalia
becoming a skinhead or acquiring skinhead friends, wearing black or red Dr. Marten’s combat boots, tight jeans rolled up at the ankles, padded bomber jackets or shaved heads;
writing or tattooing of racist symbols, slogans or code words such as RaHoWa (Racial Holy War), ZOG (Zionist Occupation Government) and JOG (Jewish Occupation Government);
preoccupation with military themes, clothing and weapons;
possession of hate propaganda and publications such as Holocaust denial materials, the Heritage Front’s Up Front and the Church of the Creator’s Racial Loyalty, as well as videos, music books, flyers and cards produced by hate groups.

Once Recruited

Hate groups use techniques similar to religious cults in recruiting and retaining members.

Once involved, the youth are encouraged to isolate themselves from their former lives (parents, family, and friends) and (to) commit full-time to the movement, which often means engaging in illegal activity.
Young people find it difficult, if not impossible, to leave. Hate groups foster an atmosphere of violence, abuse and intimidation, often forcing new recruits to commit criminal and violent acts.
The racists learn so much about the recruit’s life that it is next to impossible to withdraw.
Youthful recruits with second thoughts often find themselves the target of threats and violence if they try to drop out of the scene.

How To Respond

Do not ignore evidence of hate group activity — speak up!
Report any overt incidents to your local police service
Most local police departments have either a Hate Crimes Unit or specific officers assigned to deal with hate groups. They are more than willing to help and should be contacted if you have knowledge of hate group activity.
Save any written materials, posters or items that can be useful to police in their investigations.
Your municipal race relations committee, local school board, the League for Human Rights and other agencies have professionals trained in these areas and have experience in dealing with incidents of hate group actvity and recruiting.
If you or your child are victimized by racist hate groups, contact one of the agencies listed in this pamphlet.
Remember that the Criminal code of Canada prohibits the distribution of hate propaganda and the promotion of hatred, incitement of violence or advocating genocide, and you will have the force of the law behind you.

Agencies Dealing with Racism and Hate

Most municipalities have a Committee on Community and Race Relations that deals with these issues. In addition, most have Race Relations Divisions or departments within the municipal government that can offer assistance.
Your provincial government should have an Anti-Racism Secretariat in the Ministry of Citizenship and/or Culture to offer assistance and programs in combating hate and promoting anti-racist education.
You may also need to contact the Attorney General’s Ministry or the Race Relations and Policing Unit of the Solicitor General’s Ministry if the incident has legal or policing implications.
The Multiculturalism program in the federal Department of Canadian Heritage includes anti-racist initiatives; and the Ministries of Justice, Immigration and the Solicitor General also have useful information and expertise.
The Provincial Human Rights Commission investigates complaints of individuals who are victims of discrimination based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission investigates complaints in their jurisdiction, such as telephone lines, electronic media and federal agencies.
Contact community based organizations that can mobilize their members, conduct anti-racist training in schools, and assist individual victims and communities.

REMEMBER
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

ANTI-HATE HOTLINE 1-800-892-2624 (1-800-892-BNAI)

1996 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents: Table of Contents