B’nai Brith sent an open letter to Irwin Cotler, Canada’s Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism. The letter calls for a four-point plan that:
- Encourages legislation to be tabled in Parliament in the coming weeks to combat a disturbing increase in online hate;
- Invites the Special Envoy to promote implementing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) Holocaust Definition across provincial, territorial, and municipal governments and civil society;
- Urges robust Holocaust Remembrance across Canada to combat Jew-hate in educational systems, with a particular focus on university campuses;
- Insists that the Canadian international development assistance and domestic funding of NGOs must not enable or facilitate antisemitism and incitement.
“We are truly encouraged by the promises made at Malmo,” Rotrand said. “Our hope is that the Special Envoy will implement the recommendations in our letter. In doing so, Canadian Jews can rest assured that our concerns regarding unacceptable increases in antisemitism are being addressed.”
“The Special Envoy must have teeth in his position and powers,” Mostyn said. “Although there are limits to his position, our hope is with this letter, he can advance the interests of Canadian Jewry more effectively. In doing so, we can secure a more tranquil future for Jewish Canadians and all other groups who encounter hate.”
