By Clarion Project—
Newly released police data shows that Jews were once again the most targeted group for hate crimes in both Toronto and York Region in 2019.
These numbers are consistent with what was recently reported in B’nai Brith Canada’s 2019 Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, which found an alarming 62.8 percent increase in the number of incidents in Ontario compared to the previous year.
To counter this, B’nai Brith has adopted an eight-point plan to tackle antisemitism which lies at the heart of Jew hatred and hate crimes.
The plan includes education, strategic lawsuits against public participation” or “anti-SLAPP” legislation in all provinces and enhanced training for hate crime officers.
While the plan mentions a zero-tolerance approach to government funding of antisemitism, it does not hit hard enough on actual hate-filled events that take place on the ground.
I spoke with Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada who says that the eight-point plan is “to tackle racism in Canada as a whole.” He also said that “antisemitism is a malleable form of hatred,” so it’s hard to pin down.
Some members of the Jewish community in Canada agree with this and want more elaboration on what hate crimes constitute.
Barbara Kay, a renowned Canadian journalist tells me, “When I see the words ‘hate crimes,’ I always want to see some elaboration. How many are property crimes? Of them, how many are simple vandalism like paint or a broken window, and how many are more threatening, like destruction of symbols such as Torah scrolls or ripped prayer shawls, etc.?”
However, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean and director global action of the Simon Wiesenthal Center takes a more direct approach. “Canada should denounce the serial Holocaust denial and Jew-hatred of the Iranian regime. Al-Quds Day, made up by the thugs in Tehran, is not a religious holiday but a convenient excuse to demonize the Jewish state and her Zionist supporters,” Cooper said. “That’s not free speech, that’s targeting an entire people! No more permits in Canada for al-Quds Day rallies that openly call for slaughter of Jews.”
That hate against the Jewish community is real is something that Rabbi Jordan Cohen of Temple Anshe Sholom in Hamilton, Ontario has experienced. He says, “Hamilton is ground zero for hate crime in Canada.” Continue Reading….
