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Dr. Lawrence Hart |
Frank Dimant |
Prof. Stephen Scheinberg |
Dr. Karen Mock |
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Dr. Lawrence Hart |
Frank Dimant |
Prof. Stephen Scheinberg |
Dr. Karen Mock |
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Education is one of the most important antidotes to Holocaust denial and trivialization. It is important to expose people to the reality of the Holocaust, so they can counter the lies and propaganda spread by those who wish to denigrate Jews. In 2000, the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith Canada again sponsored the Holocaust and Hope Student Study Tour to Israel and the Educators’ Study Tour to Germany, Poland and Israel. The "Holocaust and Hope" program provides Holocaust education in the context of anti-racist education in Canada. These multifaith groups return to their homes with a renewed commitment to fighting racism, antisemitism and Holocaust denial. They promote human rights in their schools and communities and educate those around them. It is invaluable to have these resources, particularly in several of the small communities that these individuals come from, such as Elkhorn, New Brunswick; Kelowna, B.C., Whitehorse, Yukon Territories.
However, it is not enough for a select group of individuals to be educated about the Holocaust in each community. The goal is to ensure that the Holocaust is covered in the educational curriculum and relevant lessons learned from it. To understand this issue and to provide a resource for educators from across the country, the League conducted a research project in 2000 entitled: Holocaust Education in Canada: A Review and Analysis of Curriculum, Policies, Programs and Teacher Training. This project is a cross-Canada survey of Holocaust Education, covering curricula in school boards, policies in Ministries and Departments of Education, programs in Holocaust Memorial and Education Centres, and Teacher Training opportunities in colleges, universities and community-based organizations across the country. The soon-to-be published study and compendium of resources will make Holocaust education more accessible to Canadians to ensure a more complete coverage of this important topic.
Our society runs the risk of relegating the Holocaust to being an event in distant history, instead of maximizing without the opportunities and warnings inherent in its commemoration. In the year 2000, four more provinces (Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Manitoba and Alberta) declared Yom ha-Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) to be an official Provincial Memorial Day, bringing the total to 8 provinces including Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and New Brunswick. In order to bolster the availability of Holocaust educational resources and to support Canada's commitment made at the Stockholm International Forum on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research held in January 2000, the League for Human Rights has prepared the Yom ha-Shoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) Teacher’s Guide with funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage. This guide is designed to help educators understand the significance of Holocaust Memorial Day, and to provide resources to assist in designing a program for individual classrooms and schools to commemorate this important day. The pilot draft of the Yom ha-Shoah Teacher’s Guide was launched in Ontario in April 2000, and the final draft will be distributed in the spring of 2001. The Guide addresses the following subjects: The Act proclaiming Holocaust Memorial Day; information on the Jewish calendar and dates for Yom ha-Shoah for the next 10 years; background historical information on the Holocaust; commemorative programs with suggested activities; background readings and learning opportunities; and print, audio-visual and Internet resources.
The struggle against hate is also being enhanced by the Taking Action Against Hate project, which was designed to provide practical strategies and training for communities to respond to and counter hate group activities. The Training Manual and Resource Materials will be available widely in the coming year, along with a Training of Trainers program. The League continues to provide training for school boards, policing services, government agencies and community groups through our Education and Training Centre.
Media bias in Canada was of particular concern in the year 2000. Although there are reports every year of antisemitic stereotypes being reinforced by irresponsible and biased journalism, this year the crisis in the Middle East accentuated the need to expose and counter bias in the media. Although not documented as antisemitic incidents, complaints of anti-Israel bias in several of the major newspapers in Canada flooded B’nai Brith Canada’s offices. B’nai Brith’s Institute for International Affairs responded to this issue with a series of letters to editors, and op-ed pieces. The Institute also established a media monitoring committee, along with a website which acts as an educational resource by linking sites across the Internet that deal with Middle East peace related issues and other media monitoring sites (http://www.bnaibrith.ca/institute/docs/israel/mecon-06.html).
B’nai Brith maintains that asking print publishers and electronic media not to publish racist, sexist, homophobic or antisemitic content is not about censorship but rather is about maintaining editorial standards. All media have to make decisions based on merit as to what is covered and what is not. Denying press coverage to people whose beliefs are generally considered to be morally repugnant is no more an issue of freedom of the press than if a radio station denied air time to horrible music that requires no talent and, as such, is undeserving of being played. Allowing some material to be broadcast while other material is not, is the duty of responsible broadcasting networks to guarantee quality control and standards.
The League is actively involved in trying to inform and alert the media about the victim impact of racist activity and to highlight the problem of giving legitimacy to racist groups who are granted air time. Every year, the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith Canada rewards those members of the media who best use their various media outlets to educate and inform the public about racism and to promote human rights. The Media Human Rights Awards are a way for the League, which is often critical of the media for bias, to reward and congratulate those who report violations of human rights in a responsible and constructive way. In the year 2000, the Media Human Rights Awards were held in Winnipeg in March to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. A special training seminar was held to strengthen coalition building in Winnipeg to counter hate and bias crime. The 26th Annual Media Human Rights Awards recognizing materials published or broadcast in 2000, will be held in Toronto on March 19th, 2001, in conjunction with the launch of the Taking Action Against Hate program.
Often, turning to the courts for justice in cases involving racism or antisemitism can be time-consuming and frustrating. Occasionally, the results are very successful, with powerful implications proving the time and effort well worth it. The marathon Zundel tribunal continued throughout the year 2000. During this time, Zundel lost nearly all of his motions in victory after victory for the other side. It is hoped that in 2001, this case will be completed and clear guidance will be given on the jurisdiction of the Canadian Human Rights Act to prohibit the transmission of hate on the Internet.
Although the wording of the Australian human rights legislation differs from Canada’s, the Toben case, where his Holocaust denial website was ordered to be shut down, was a victory for those fighting hatred worldwide. By virtue of the global nature of web broadcasts, having Toben’s website removed from the Internet goes to improve the global effort to fight hate. The strong judgement from the Australian commission hopefully will influence the decision makers here in Canada.
The Yahoo decision in France, whereby the search engine was instructed to block transmissions of websites selling Nazi paraphernalia, also has international implications. It shows that the sovereign countries do have a right to control what happens inside their borders, even when it originates from without. It also illustrates the necessity for international agreements as to our intolerance as a society for the distribution and promotion of hatred.
The Upson case in Nova Scotia, while not of international importance, brought to the fore in a dramatic way the continued existence of hate groups within our borders. Upson claimed that she was in the province on a recruiting drive for the white supremacy movement and was a card-carrying member of the KKK, Aryan Nations and the Nationalist Party. She was found guilty of uttering threats. Dr. Karen Mock, the National Director of the League for Human Rights, served as an expert witness on hate groups and victim impact at the sentencing hearing. The hate motivation of these crimes acted as an aggravating factor upon sentencing, resulting in a 2 year jail sentence for Upson.
Strides were made this year in Canada in the struggle against hatred and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in Canada. Federal omnibus legislation was passed, changing the definition of ‘common-law’ spouse to include those in same-sex conjugal relationships, giving them the same rights and responsibilities as heterosexual common-law couples. The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council stepped into the struggle against hatred in 2000 by ruling that known radio personality, Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s anti-gay views are “abusively discriminatory” and are in breach of Canada’s broadcasting code. This ruling resulted in an order that any radio station currently broadcasting her show must cease to do so. Her show was purported to foster homophobic sentiment by her repeated statements that ‘gays’ are abnormal, dysfunctional and ‘an error’. The Council stated that she “may well fertilize the ground for other less well-balanced elements [in society] to take such aggressive steps [as] homophobic hostility or, worse, brutality.”
The League for Human Rights continues to play an active part in community coalitions, policing initiatives and inter-group dialogues to help build a society with true respect for human rights.
Following the reaction to the release of last year’s Audit, the City of London escalated its initiatives against racism and hate. The League is assisting London’s Anti-Racism and Anti-Hate Committee to conduct research and to set up an anti-hate hot line. London is developing an exemplary model of a co-operative effort among police, government and community groups.
The League was also active in the Connecting Communities with Counsel (CCWC) pro bono initiative, a community initiative developed in co-operation with the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Equity Department. The CCWC is setting up an infrastructure for matching lawyers who are interested in donating their services, with community groups who are doing human rights work.
In February 2000, to commemorate Black History Month, the League launched the highly acclaimed Black/Jewish Dialogue Program to strengthen relationships in order to work together to counter racism and antisemitism. The program is comprised of three committees: The Study and Dialogue Group, which is the education and consciousness-raising arm of the BJD, and has the central responsibility for initiating reflection and dialogue out of which flows enlightened plans and strategies for action; the Business and Professional Networking Group, which is responsible for developing joint marketing projects, and has the immediate task of bringing the two very different forms of business cultures together for mutual benefit; and the Youth Committee, which is a major outreach initiative dedicated to liaison-advocacy with other youth organizations, as well as anti-racism research and organization of public youth conferences and seminars on such pressing issues as Black/Jewish relations, minority/police relations, and the educational and economic marginalization of minorities.
The League’s Women in Interfaith Dialogue celebrated its 10th successful year. The year 2000 has also seen League activity in the Ontarians with Disabilities Committee, supporting the struggle to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are protected with strong and enforceable legislation.
The federal government, under the auspices of the Department of Canadian Heritage, conducted two roundtables on Hate and Bias Activity, convened by Dr. Hedy Fry, Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women. Extensive recommendations were made by police, academics and community leaders from across the country. The same ministry took the lead role in 2000 in consulting with members of Canadian civil society in preparation for the U.N. World Conference Against Racism and Related Intolerances. The League’s efforts in documenting incidents, educational initiatives and legal/legislative interventions will contribute to the U.N. - W.C.A.R. and to the ongoing domestic agenda in Canada to fight antisemitism, racism and hate.
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