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

2003 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents

III. THE REGIONAL PICTURE

1) Distribution of the Jewish population of Canada

Before embarking on a discussion of the regional distribution of this year’s incidents, it is useful to look at where Jews fit in the overall mosaic of Canadian life.

According to the 2001 census enquiry relating to ethnic origin, there were approximately 348,605 Jews in Canada out of a total post census population estimate of 31,110,600. Hence, Jews represent just 1.12% of the total population of Canada, down from 1.2% a decade ago. Comparing responses in 1996 and 2001 to the Ethnicity question in the census indicates that the Jewish population has decreased from 351,705 to 348,605 at the same time as the total population of Canada has increased. This mode of comparison indicates that the Jewish population of Quebec has decreased from 92,390 to 82,450, while the numbers in Ontario have increased from 191,445 to 196,260. However, the ethnicity question is only one indicator. ^xiv

Another gauge is that of religion, which produces similar findings to those highlighted above. According to the 2001 census data based on Religion rather than Ethnicity, there are a reported 329,995 Jews in Canada, representing 1.1% of the nation’s total population. Slight discrepancies between Ethnicity and Religion results can in part be accounted for by the methodologies employed. Respondents to the 2001 Religion questionnaire, for example, were instructed to report a specific denomination or group, even if they were not practicing members of their group, which would have limited their possibilities for response.

Neither the ethnic nor the religious questions are entirely satisfactory in assessing the size of the community. Professor James Torczyner, for example, has discussed the difficulty of obtaining precise figures and has suggested that, at the very least, figures on ethnicity and religion must both be taken into account. ^xv In addition, other indicators point to a relatively stable and even increasing population.

Community estimates of the Jewish population range from approximately 360,000 to around 370,000. The research of Jewish community demographer Charles Shahar, for example, indicates a total of 370,520 Jews, reflecting a growth rate of 4% in the population since 1991. For its part, the Jewish Community Council of Ottawa counts Canada’s Jewish population at 360,000-strong. ^xvii Research ^xviis ongoing on this topic, but meanwhile, for the purpose of comparison with other religious communities, census figures will be used.

Data published in May 2003 relating to Canada’s 2001 Census reveals a marked shift in the nation’s traditional religious composition. While Roman Catholics continue to be the predominantly largest religious group in Canada, with a reported 12.8 million people, or 43% of the population, the number of Protestants fell by 8.2% to about 8.7 million (29.2% of the total population), compared to 9.4 million in 1991. Juxtaposed against these reported declines in Protestantism, is the substantially growing number of individuals identifying themselves as Muslim, Hindu or Sikh.

Accounting for this increase in religious diversity are the changing patterns of immigration over the past several decades, with many newcomers coming from predominantly Muslim countries, in particular Asia and the Middle East. Of the 1.8 million new immigrants who came during the 1990s, Muslims accounted for 15%, Hindus almost 7%, and Buddhists and Sikhs about 5% each. Canada’s Muslim population more than doubled over the past decade, increasing by 128.9% from 253,265 in 1991, to 579,640 in 2001. According to these statistics, Muslims represent 2% of this country’s population, making Islam the fastest growing religion in Canada. ^xviii

For the first time in the country’s history, commentators have noted, Islam has replaced Judaism as the largest non-Christian religion in Canada. ^xix In sharp contrast, Jewish populations across provinces either declined, or remained steady as a percentage of the province’s total population. In addition, those who identified themselves as Jewish represented a relatively aging population, with a median age of 45.1. In contrast, the national median was 37.3 and those identifying themselves as Muslim, for example, had a median age of 28.1. ^xx

According to the Statistics Canada analysis of religion in this country, Ontario’s Jewish population accounts for 1.7% of the province’s total population, or 190,800. While this number is up from 175,650 a decade earlier, it actually represents a 0.1% loss relative to Ontario’s growing population as a whole.

Although British Columbia’s Jewish population increased to 21,230 from 16,640 a decade earlier, the percentage of Jews relative to the province’s total population remained steady at 0.5%.

In Quebec, the number of Jews declined over the past decade by 8% to 89,915, representing 1.3% of the province’s total population. Prior to the census results, Quebec’s Jewish community was popularly reported to be close to 100,000-strong. ^xxi

Manitoba data indicates a Jewish population of 13,035, or 1.2% of the province’s total population, reflecting a 4.6% decline from 13,670 in 1991. ^xxii

Alberta, in stark contrast to the other provinces, reported a substantial increase in its Jewish population to 11,090, up from 9,975 in 1991. Its percentage relative to the province’s population as a whole, however, remained steady at 0.4%.

Saskatchewan’s small Jewish community reported 865 members, down from 1,375 in 1991. Despite this 37.1% decline, its proportion of the total population still remained steady at 0.1%.

The Maritime Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island (PEI) reported a cumulative Jewish population of 2,845, down from 2,915 a decade earlier. The percentage of Jews in each province relative to the populations as a whole is 0.2% in Nova Scotia, 0.1% in New Brunswick and less than a hundredth of a percentage point in PEI.

The demographic imbalance between the Jewish and Muslim populations, the current tensions between these two groups based on the Middle East conflict, and the fact that 36 face-to-face incidents were perpetrated by persons of apparent Arab origin, are all factors that must be discussed, painful and controversial as this subject might be. There is a spillover of anti-Jewish sentiment into the realm of anti-Israel activity. Those who view themselves as stakeholders in the Arab-Israeli conflict may well have contributed to the mutation of anti-Zionism into antisemitism, in certain circles.

We are cognizant of the fact that a study touching on this subject, which was commissioned by the Center for Research on Anti-Semitism at the Technische Universität Berlin, Germany, on behalf of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), was initially suppressed and has only been released unofficially. The report noted that the Middle East conflict has:

“…contributed to an atmosphere in Europe, which gives latent anti-Semitism and hate and incitement a new strength and power of seduction…It can be concluded that the anti-Semitic incidents in the monitoring period were committed above all either by right-wing extremists or radical Islamists or young Muslims mostly of Arab descent… ^xxiii

The Report also noted that “radical Islamist circles were responsible for placing antisemitic propaganda on the Internet and in Arab-language media” and pointed out that:

“Western antisemitism was brought to the Arab countries and now comes back by Arab media stations (via satellite), newspapers and the World Wide Web influencing some immigrants in the European Member States.” ^xiv

Given this analysis of the European scene, it is necessary to ask whether there may be a possible correlation between the rise in antisemitic incidents in Canada and the fact that newcomers from Arab/Muslim lands have been socialized in ways that promote hatred toward Jews. One must also consider the fall-out from the mass propaganda campaign outlined above which reaches a cross-section of the population well beyond the Arab/Muslim community.

In this context, we note with concern an article published on December 19, 2003 in the Vancouver-based Arab community newspaper The Miracle, which listed 84 anti-Jewish statements. This incident is currently the subject of an investigation by the British Columbia Hate Crime Unit.

New data from the 2001 census indicates that the proportion of Canada’s population born outside this country has reached its highest level in seventy years, affecting 5.4 million people, or 18.4% of the total population. ^xv Clearly, Canada faces a considerable challenge in terms of ensuring that values such as respect for other religious and ethnic groups are inculcated into all citizens, even those who may be unfamiliar with our multicultural traditions, or be vulnerable to the anti-Jewish propaganda that is currently being disseminated.

2) Distribution of Incidents

While incidents were reported across the country (see Figure 5), the most significant statistics were once again collected in Quebec and Ontario, areas of residence for the majority of Canadian Jews. In Ontario, there were 400 incidents, 315 of which took place in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) (see Figures 6, 7 and 8). In Quebec there were 108 incidents, of which 102 took place in Greater Montreal (see Figures 9 and 10).

Notes:
*Ontario region — figures for all of Ontario excluding GTA and National Capital area (Ottawa).
**Toronto region — includes former municipalities as well as areas bordering on Toronto: Markham, Thornhill and Richmond Hill in York Region, and Brampton, Newmarket and Mississauga in Peel.

The regional breakdown for incidents under review is as follows:

Regional Ontario

In regional Ontario (not including Greater Toronto or the National Capital Region), there were 34 cases compared to 69 in 2002. This represents a 50% decrease in antisemitic incidents for the region, in sharp contrast to the increases seen in the context of Ontario’s cities. These incidents included serious acts of harassment and acts of vandalism. No acts of violence were reported this year in contrast to the four cases the previous year. (see figure 6).

Greater Toronto Area

There were 315 incidents of antisemitism reported in 2003 (see figure 7), including death threats, bomb threats, physical assaults, serious acts of vandalism and acts of desecration. The GTA figure represents 53.9% of the total number of incidents for 2003. Toronto has consistently been the highest reporting area. These figures represent a 45.2 % increase in the number of reported incidents in 2003 as compared with the 2002 figure, on top of the 87% increase from 2002 to 2001.

National Capital Region

There were 45 antisemitic incidents in Ottawa including graffiti, vandalism, threatening e-mails and calls, arson and one case of physical assault following an altercation in a local mall (see figure 8). This represents an increase of 4.7% compared to the 2002 figures.

Greater Montreal

The League received reports of 102 antisemitic incidents in Greater Montreal, representing an increase of 17.2% from 2002. Although the number of reported violent incidents was down in 2003, almost half of the violent incidents involving assaults were connected with the riot at Concordia University in 2002. Furthermore, the level of vandalism increased in 2003 by more than 68.6%, reflecting a large number of cases where mezuzahs [a Jewish religious artifact commonly affixed to the lintels of both interior and exterior doors] were ripped off the doorposts of private residences in multiple acts of desecration (see figure 9).

Regional Quebec

An additional 6 incidents were reported in regional Quebec in 2003, including a hate rock concert and vandalism of a synagogue (see figure 10).

Manitoba

Winnipeg, which was the source of all the incidents for Manitoba in 2003, reflected a drop of 21.7%. (18 vs. 23 in 2002) However, the number of incidents was still up by more than 100% over the 2001 figures of only six incidents (see figure 11).

Saskatchewan

There were five incidents in Saskatchewan, including harassment and one case of vandalism. (see figure 12)

Alberta

Alberta also showed a significant jump in the number of incidents, increasing by 166.7% over 2002. There were eight cases of vandalism, compared to 2002 when none were reported. (see figure 13)

British Columbia

The number of reported incidents jumped more than fourfold (400%) in British Columbia to 25 cases, compared to five incidents in each of 2002 and 2001. While harassment constituted 84% of the cases, vandalism was also up significantly. The cases of harassment included two cases of bomb threats against Jewish institutions and a virulently antisemitic article in a local Arab paper, a case which is now the subject of a hate crime investigation by the province (see figure 14).

The Maritimes

There were 12 reported antisemitic incidents in the Maritimes in 2003, compared to only three in 2002 and just one in 2001. Three took place in PEI, two in New Brunswick and seven in Nova Scotia, including the vandalism of a small local synagogue. (see figure 15)

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