Anti-Semitism on Rise in Canada
By Jim Hauser
Talon News
March 17, 2004

A report released last week by the League for Human Rights of B'nai Brith Canada indicates that anti-Semitism in Canada is on the rise and that reported anti-Semitic incidents have doubled during the period of 2001 to 2003.

The annual "Audit of Antisemitic Incidents" also indicates several disturbing trends including an increase in the number of "hate rock concerts" featuring musicians espousing Nazi principals, an increase in incidents perpetrated by Canadians of Mid-East decent against Jewish citizens, and the apparent alliance between Nazi and Mid-Eastern groups in instigating orchestrated actions against Jews.

"[Over] the past few years, the bar has been raised on what victims themselves, as well as society in general, are prepared to tolerate," said Rochelle Wilner, National President of B'nai Brith Canada. "A process of desensitization, both within and outside the Jewish community, has meant that what was once seen as offensive and unacceptable is now being viewed as less serious and even routine. Visibly orthodox Jews in particular have come to view such harassment as inevitable."

In total, 584 incidents were reported to B'nai Brith Canada's League for Human Rights in 2003, which represents an overall increase of 27.2% over the previous year. The 459 reported incidents in 2002 represented a 60% increase over the previous year (2001). The total number of incidents per year has been steadily increasing over the last decade. From 2001 to 2003, the number of reported incidents has doubled.

The report noted that 30 of the incidents involved face-to-face encounters with persons of apparent Arab origin. This was partially attributed to current tensions between Jews and Muslims in Canada based on the Middle East conflict, as well as the spillover of anti-Semitism into anti-Israel activity.

"The fact that two Arab community papers out West could publish articles openly attacking Jews in general, or targeting Jewish personalities who are prominent in politics or community leadership, must be addressed," said Frank Dimant, Executive Vice President of B'nai Brith Canada. "The concern is that this type of propaganda will reach vulnerable sectors of society, or newcomers to this country who may not be attuned to our traditions of multiculturalism."

According to the audit, right wing groups remain active in Canada, though at nothing like their strength in former years. Racist flyer distribution was reported to the Anti-Hate Hotline across the country, including Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. In addition, there were ongoing reports of Internet sites and chat forums operated by such groups.

The report went on to say that the filing of complaints last year relating to a number of these sites with the Canadian Human Rights Commission by the League and other organizations has apparently proved to be no deterrence. One site, the BC White Pride, a British Columbia White Nationalist Organization, for example, continues to operate, prominently displaying articles attacking Jews.

The audit detailed that in 2003, there were four reports of music "hatefests," three in Toronto and the other in Laval. The Toronto Hate Crime Police Unit reports that "organized hate groups maintained a presence throughout the year with at least three hate rock concerts and other activities." In the same report, the Toronto police force also notes that "web-based hate is very popular" and that "a number of active [web] sites are presently hosted in the Southern Ontario region, including the Greater Toronto Area."

The U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of B'nai Brith has reported that anti-Semitic and racist rock music is a major recruiting tool and source of funding for hate groups. It is estimated that extremist companies sell millions of dollars of hate rock CDs over the Internet.

Canadians can easily purchase these CDs in the same way, according to B'nai Brith Canada. The Organization also says that many hate group members have been drawn to White Supremacist ideologies by listening to hate rock on the Internet, on CDs, and at concerts featuring groups such as Angry Aryans, Blue Eyed Devils, and H8Machine, as well as the Canadian group Numbskulls.

The Canadian organization also noted that web message boards run by neo-Nazi or White Supremacist groups, such as stormfront.org and its Canadian link, appear to be widely used, providing a key source of communication and recruitment. Groups such as Heritage Front are reported to have been forming new chapters, while other groups such as the Association for White North Americans seem to be making their presence known on the Internet and on the streets.

"Despite the persistent activity of the extreme right, the perceptible change in antisemitic patterns first noted in last year's Audit continues in 2003, with anti-Jewish rhetoric increasingly emanating from the far left," said the reports authors. "This trend points to a progressively radicalized anti-globalist movement joining forces with Marxist, anti-American, and anarchist elements to vilify the Jews as the root of all the world's problems."

The Audit went on to say that evidence of this new breed of anti-Semitism is reflected in the findings of the European Union-commissioned report "Manifestations of Antisemitism in the EU," which blamed the upsurge in anti-Jewish acts on European Muslims and the European far left.

"So disturbing were the EU's findings that its Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia allegedly shelved the report when it found that Muslims and pro-Palestinian groups were implicated in many of the incidents," says the of B'nai Brith Canada report.

An excerpt from the EU report as detailed in the annual audit reads as follows:

"Physical attacks on Jews and the desecration and destruction of synagogues were acts often committed by young Muslim perpetrators. ... Many of these attacks occurred either during or after pro-Palestinian demonstrations, which were also used by radical Islamists for hurling verbal abuse..."

The annual audit noted a "particularly interesting convergence of the far left and extreme right wing elements" and cites several examples.

At the many anti-globalization rallies that took place in cities and towns across Canada, often in view were Palestinian flags flown alongside Marxist flags, as well as Israeli flags superimposed with swastikas. At these same rallies protesters carried coffins, which displayed photographs of U.S. President George W. Bush, and/or Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and/or that of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Skinheads, keffiyeh-wearing individuals, and feminists came together to rally the crowds with anti-Iraq War and anti-Zionist rhetoric.

Remarking on this development in its 2002 Audit, the League noted the tendency among right-wing groups to view such gatherings as promising recruiting grounds for their causes.

"This ominous trend was clearly evidenced when the Anti-Globalization Action Network (AGAN), allegedly a front for the neo-Nazi National Alliance, joined forces to protest the G8 meeting in June 2002 in Kananaskis, Canada. Headquartered in Hillsboro, West Virginia, the National Alliance is believed to be one of the largest and most dangerous neo-Nazi organizations in North America," states the report.

The annual audit also notes an increase in anti-Semitism in academia, both from students and faculty.

"Jewish students have become increasingly isolated and have been repeatedly subjected to intimidation, and even violence, by fellow students for espousing pro-Israel viewpoints," says the report. "Many have expressed their demoralization. Visibly orthodox students have reported feeling compelled to cover their yarmulkas with baseball caps, so as not to draw attention to their religious headgear."

B'nai Brith Canada also highlighted a number of specific instances to back up their claims:

-- University of Western Ontario premises were vandalized with graffiti showing a swastika superimposed on a Jewish Star of David. Alongside the drawing were the words: "I hate all Jews".

-- In October 2003 vandals repeatedly tore down York University's campus sukkah.

-- In March 2003, the Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) student group at York University included on its display table a yellow Star of David inscribed with slogans referring to ethnic cleansing. The desecration of the Jewish Star, a Jewish religious symbol, in and of itself an act of anti-Semitism, was made even more ugly by the deliberate attempt to paint the Star "yellow", a reference to the forced ghettoization of Jews during the Holocaust.

-- Anti-Jewish remarks were posted on the website of Victoria University's social work department. This material was subsequently removed following intervention by the administration.

-- The McGill Solidarity Against War and Racism group posted an article on its website by David Duke, which contained antisemitic remarks.

-- Michael Neumann, Professor of Philosophy at Trent University, published an article in the January 4, 2003 edition of Counterpunch magazine in which he wrote: "We should almost never take anti-Semitism seriously..." He also went on to say that all Jews around the world who do not explicitly condemn Israel are "complicit in its crimes".

-- A professor teaching a course on critical thinking at the University of Toronto, initiated a discussion on the much-circulated conspiracy theory that the 9/11 attacks were a "Jewish-perpetrated plot". Many students agreed with this statement, and it appeared that the teacher had endorsed this viewpoint.

-- A Palestinian Al-Awda conference calling for the destruction of Israel took place in late November on University of Toronto premises. The conference manifesto proclaimed that "a two state solution is not a viable or acceptable option for the Palestinian people". It also advocated a platform which supported "the right of the Palestinian people to resist Israeli apartheid and colonialism by any means of their choosing", i.e., including terrorism. Advocating the destruction of the Jewish State and endorsing terrorism against its inhabitants is considered antisemitic, since it is a thinly-veiled attempt to deny the Jewish people the same right to self-determination and protections that are afforded every other people.

"The principal causes for concern are four-fold," says the report. "First, it appears that ingrained prejudices based on traditional antisemitic stereotypes are re-surfacing. Second, antisemitic messaging is being imported into Canada from abroad, sometimes in the guise of anti-Israel propaganda, but more often in less subtle ways over the Internet or through foreign language ethnic publications."

"Third, there are indications of a cross-pollination between fringe elements in the far Right and in the far Left, which borrow freely from each other's imagery and rhetoric, as well as from the motifs of the rejectionist front of the Arab world," the report added. "Finally, the greatest threat to the security of Jewish community institutions is no longer from the neo-Nazi groups as in the past, but rather from elements linked to international terrorist groups."