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Rochelle Wilner |
Frank Dimant |
Prof. Stephen Scheinberg |
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Rochelle Wilner |
Frank Dimant |
Prof. Stephen Scheinberg |
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When the media portray the Jewish people using stereotypes and assumptions, they contribute to the climate of antisemitism in Canada. In the past year there have been 20 reported incidents of antisemitic bias in the media. Eight of these incidents reflect one of the more prevalent negative stereotypes about Jews - that Jews are cheap. This stereotype is so common that it seen as "conventional wisdom", what everybody knows, instead of the antisemitic slur that it is. A technical magazine published in Ottawa printed a column in which the author stated that he didn’t pay full price for some components because “you know how hymie I am” (a derogatory term for Jew). Doonesbury, an internationally syndicated cartoon, did a comic strip in which two students complained about how their student residence is falling apart because it was built so cheaply. The residence was named after its Jewish donor to embarrass him and to warn others not to be so cheap.
One stereotype that has historically resulted in the murder and persecution of Jews over the centuries is that the Jews killed Jesus. Even though this has been repudiated and apologized for by the highest echelons of organized Christianity, this belief persists and is readily repeated. A Quebec newspaper wrote articles on Jesus’ life and referred to Jews as the killers of Christ and as responsible for his death. A national radio broadcast around Easter made reference to “The time when the Jews killed Jesus.”
Some media broadcast items showed ignorance towards the Jewish religion. As an example, a deodorant commercial portrayed a couple using the holder of a Yahrzheit candle (a candle burned on the anniversary of a loved one’s death) as an emery board holder in their medicine chest. After a complaint was lodged, the advertiser quickly pulled the commercial off the air and apologized for the inadvertent slight. Other media, however, publish or air items that are hate speech. In Quebec, a radio station played a number of advertisements in which the company claims that “we won’t Jew you” and “we are not cheap Jews”".
Although legitimate criticism of the State of Israel is not necessarily antisemitic, some people use coded language to disguise antisemitism as anti-Zionism. Issues relating to the Middle East continue to serve as a trigger for antisemitic invective or slurs. The promotion of propaganda during "Israel Week" and/or pro-Palestinian student events was again a problem in 1999, with incidents reported at University of Western Ontario in London, Concordia University in Montreal and both Carleton University and University of Ottawa in the National Capital Region. While blatant anti-Jewish material was absent, and these incidents were not counted for the purposes of this audit, they highlight how antisemitic frameworks and theories can be referenced without using the word "Jew". Jewish students are often negatively impacted by these public displays. They have expressed that they feel marginalized and exposed to contempt as a result of the rhetoric being spread.
The comments of Suha Arafat to Hillary Clinton that Israelis daily use poison gas against Palestinians and that this causes increased incidence of cancer among women and children is one instance of the type of material and message which only takes on antisemitic connotations in the broader framework of Jewish-Palestinian or Jewish-Arab relations. Often, anti-Israeli or anti-Zionist invective and hate propaganda is accepted where the word "Jew" does not appear. In fact, this distinction is not a real one for the originators of this kind of propaganda. Retracing the writings of Hezbollah or Hamas reveals that their target is the Jewish people around the world and not just the State of Israel. In fact, Israelis are always portrayed as Jewish, Israel is the "Jewish state" or the "Zionist entity" and almost all Jews support the existence of the state of Israel. Often, writers on this theme make reference to antisemitic sources of long standing, such as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion or Holocaust denial material, to justify their positions.
Anti-Israel terrorist groups have also impacted the Canadian climate in 1999. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), in its report Trends in Terrorism (December 18, 1999), has indicated that many of the world’s extremist groups have a presence in Canada, where they engage in a variety of activities in support of terrorism. Blending into the local immigrant community, these groups operate under the guise of social welfare and charity clubs, or utilize the religious framework of the mosques to spread political propaganda and foster bias and friction based on so-called "homeland issues".
These groups have parallel fundraising activities that illegally siphon off money to finance overseas terrorism. CSIS has reported that Canadian citizens in immigrant communities have been intimidated and manipulated to support such fundraising activities. Operational and logistic support for terrorist activities are also provided through this network.
The issue of foreign extremist groups operating on our doorstep was highlighted in the run-up to the millennium, with the arrest of Montreal-based Ahmed Ressam and his alleged accomplices on charges of smuggling explosives to the United States in connection with a planned terrorist attack. Montreal police also arrested members of an Algerian crime ring they suspect of funneling money to extremists, such as the Armed Islamic Group. Police have linked these arrests, while definite connections have been established between Ressam and Saudi terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.
According to intelligence sources, the Hezbollah is planning to upgrade its operations in North America using Montreal as a base. Its mission is to unite Arabs in a "holy war" against Israel and potentially to target Israeli organizations in Canada. Jewish organizations with links or perceived links to the State of Israel could also be at risk.
Education is a value that is almost universally held in Canada. What happens to a student’s ability to learn, however, when they are subjected to an atmosphere of prejudice, hate, and even violence? Students are deterred from reporting incidents by the fear of reprisals from other students or teachers, the internalizing of hate messages, or by the systemic power imbalances within the school structure. Nonetheless, a disturbing trend has still appeared in elementary and secondary schools in Canada - that of increasing reports of incidents of hatred. In the very buildings in which we hope students are being taught tolerance, inclusivity, and valuing of diversity we are seeing an increase in bold antisemitic statements and assaults. Although the majority of reported incidents consist of graffiti where the perpetrators are anonymous, there seems to be a bravado amongst students who feel an entitlement to be public about their antisemitism and racism. It is clear that most incidents are not reported.
The graffiti is disturbing enough (a plethora of swastikas have appeared both inside and outside schools, “Die Jew” and “Yid Patrol” on playground equipment and on Hebrew Day School signs, and even threats of finishing off the horrifying events of Columbine High School in Colorado) but the incidents of students stating their antisemitic and racist beliefs in public, apparently without fear of censure, is a worrying trend.
In classrooms, comments have covered the spectrum from Holocaust denial to statements such as “Hitler didn’t go far enough, didn’t purify the race enough” to students making presentations in front of the class advocating genocide. In one school, in a suburb of Toronto, a group of students even wrote antisemitic and racist expressions for inclusion in their yearbook quotes. The perpetrators wrote in various languages that the editor didn’t understand. As a result, the slurs were undetected until after publication and distribution of the yearbook. Antisemitic and racist rhetoric is coming from the mouths of babes (a 7 year old assaulted two other 7 year old girls while yelling “I hate Blacks and Jews!”) right up to university students (a student assaulted a Jewish student whom he knew, while making antisemitic slurs).
We know that some children learn prejudice at home. We rely on schools to teach the other side of bigotry - that of inclusivity and tolerance. Sometimes, however, it is the teachers themselves who are guilty of spreading prejudiced attitudes. A report was made that a teacher made comments in class such as “We don’t need Jews around here”, and when a belligerent student retorted with “What about niggers?”, the teacher replied “Them too.” One university professor perpetuated one of the oldest stereotypes of Jews by stating that a common term for bargaining in a capitalist system was “jewing down”. Another professor crossed the line between teaching the work of philosophers who were antisemitic and being a proponent of the antisemitic views being taught, causing tremendous discomfort among students who either didn’t know how or were afraid to refute his ideas.
As described above, another area of real concern to students and staff on campus is the presence of pro-Palestinian groups continuing their work expressing views against Israel, often with significant outside funding. Anti-Israel sentiment is often explicitly and/or implicitly read as antisemitic messages. The implied institutional acceptance that exists with these sanctioned events arguably leads to a greater acceptance of antisemitic and racist activities within the student population.
The issue of allowing exclusively Christian prayer in public schools was a topic that engendered much attention this year. In Saskatoon, where the Lord’s Prayer is still recited in many classrooms, a complaint of discrimination was brought by a diverse group of parents to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. The Commission ruled in July that the practice was indeed discriminatory and ordered Saskatoon’s public school board to stop this practice. Opposition forces suggested that students could opt out of reciting the prayer or leave the room, claiming if they are not forced there is no discrimination. After expert testimony provided by the League’s National Director, the Tribunal agreed that this option forces the children to identify themselves as "other" and "different" from the institutionally accepted Christian "norm". This can affect minority children’s self-esteem and can encourage negative behaviour from other students. The judge heard testimony from children corroborating both these concerns. After the results of this case, there was an increase in antisemitic telephone calls to, and harassment of, members of the local Jewish community and an increase in antisemitic graffiti.
In some municipalities in Ontario this year, pressure mounted to bring Christian prayers back to public schools. Nearly 100 municipalities, including Guelph and Perth, supported bringing a resolution to the provincial legislature. They argued that safety in schools had been going downhill since the province took the exclusive use of the Christian Bible and Christian prayers out of school’s opening exercises. The resolution pushes for an atmosphere that ignores the diversity of Canada and will likely come to naught, since the Ontario Court of Appeal has already upheld the decision that to have one religion dominant in public schools and institutions is discriminatory and violates the equality provisions of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Human Rights Code. The impetus, however, of lay people, organizations and politicians to put forth such a resolution shows a continuing and shocking attitude that Christian morality and values is the only valid and acceptable system of belief. Such opinions have been used historically to justify years of government sanctioned and private oppression against the Jews and other minority religious groups.
In spite of an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling in September, various public institutions in Ontario persist in using Christian prayers at the commencement of their proceedings. A court case, brought by Henry Freitag of Penatanguishene, a town just north of Toronto, led to a decision which clearly states that the use of denominational prayer in this way in a public institution violates Section 2(a) - Freedom of Religion - of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In spite of this, the Carleton Place town council (South West of Ottawa) refuses to desist using the Lord’s Prayer at the beginning of their meetings. The Ontario Legislature may also be gearing up for a court battle to allow them to continue saying the Lord’s Prayer at their daily opening ceremonies. It appears they plan to use the doctrine of parliamentary privilege to make the court ruling inapplicable. The League for Human Rights continues to monitor both of these situations.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
| DEFINITIONS AND DATA COLLECTION
| SUMMARY OF DATA
ANTISEMITISM IN CANADA — REGIONAL CLIMATE AND TRENDS
| HATE IN CANADA: AN OVERVIEW
ANTISEMITIC BIAS AND SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION
| CONVERSION CRAZE — MILLENNIUM MADNESS?
THE STRUGGLE AGAINST ANTISEMITISM AND HATE
| APPENDIX A: The Jewish Community in Canada — A Brief Overview
Table 1: NATURE OF ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS BY YEAR
| Table 2: GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF INCIDENTS
Figure 1: Nature of Antisemitic Incidents by Year
| Figure 2: Three Year Average of Incidents
| Figure 3: Antisemitic Incidents by Region