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June 14 - 18, 2010
SHABBAT
SHALOM
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SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER ISSUES
“For 500 years, Jews have found a safe haven in Turkey, but the unprecedented
campaign of escalating rhetoric demonizing the people of Israel emanating from
official circles and elements of the media has created an unprecedented toxic
environment which has spread fear among Turkish Jews and raises profound
concerns for their safety and the safety of any Jew visiting the country," said
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Center.
Plus ça change. . .
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Heard in the House
HOUSE OF COMMONS:
June 15, 2010
* * *
Mr. Marc Garneau (Westmount—Ville-Marie, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, the comments made by the deputy leader of the NDP concerning the
state of Israel are not only irresponsible and counterproductive, but they are
unworthy of Canada's foreign policy.
While acting as a moderator in the region, Canada has
always defended Israel's right to exist.
The comments of the NDP's deputy
leader, on the other hand, qualify as gratuitous rhetoric that reveals
intolerable ignorance of Israel's history. When she questioned Israel's right to
exist, her remarks went beyond the realm of what is acceptable.
If the leader of the NDP does not demand the deputy
leader's resignation, then he is indeed condoning her remarks.
Canadian politicians can give neither authority nor
publicity to this kind of anti-Israel rhetoric, and the leader of the NDP knows
it.
Canadian politicians cannot repeat this kind of
rhetoric, nor give it any platform. The NDP leader knows this and should ask his
deputy leader to step down.
* * *
Mr. Mario Silva (Davenport, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, for 21 days, beginning on June 17, 1940, Portugal's consul general
in the French city of Bordeaux issued visas to over 30,000 refugees fleeing the
Nazis, in defiance of his own government's orders and at great personal
sacrifice. His courage and commitment to conscience saved those who would have
otherwise perished and gave life to their descendants who today live in all
corners of the world.
When asked about his decision, he would answer, “I
would rather stand with God against man than stand with man against God”. In
Israel, Aristides de Sousa Mendes is known by the revered title, “Righteous
Gentile”.
The same courage and commitment was shown by the
Brazilian diplomat Luiz Martins de Sousa Dantas.
I encourage all parliamentarians to recognize this
devotion to conscience by supporting my motion to designate June 17 each year a
day of conscience, consistent with the international efforts of Joao Crisostomo.
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CLICK HERE
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FSWC deplores the continuing antisemitic graffiti in Winnipeg
Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust
Studies deplores the spate on antisemitic hatred in Winnipeg, as new sightings
of swastikas have continued since late May. “Sadly, the findings of recent Hate
Crimes reports across the country showing that Jews continue to be the single
most targeted religious group in Canada are all too true, “ says Avi Benlolo,
President and CEO of FSWC.
CLICK HERE to read the full article in the Winnipeg Jewish Review
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Media Contact
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DID YOU KNOW .
. . ?
You can follow Avi Benlolo’s
daily tweets on Twitter?
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Toronto – June 18-2010 – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center found
questionable and exceptional bias against Israel in articles and opinion pieces
found published from May 31 – June 17, 2010 in the Toronto Star about the
“Flotilla” incident.
The survey concluded that 74% of the articles and opinion pieces blamed
Israel for the incident while 23% were moderate in tone. Only one
pro-Israel letter was found to have been published. The questionable pieces used
incendiary language like, “Israel’s deadly act”; “Killings”; “Israel’s deadly
raid, deadly attacks”; “Israel’s war in Gaza” and “Israel’s war against Hamas”.
Another observation of the study is the harsh tone of articles against Israel
at the beginning of the incident followed by a gradual moderation (with one
exception) as more information seemed to become available.
The survey found that rarely do the Star articles explain that Hamas is
officially at war with the State of Israel; that Hamas’ targeted aim is Israel’s
destruction; and that Hamas is a designated “terrorist organization” by most
western nations, including Canada. Articles identified in this survey
largely by-pass concern for Israel’s security including, Hamas rocket attacks
and suicide bombing.
ALERT: HATE CRIMES TOWARD JEWS
UP 42%
Statistics
Canada reports that hate crimes toward Jews are up forty-two percent. Most
disconcerting is that although Jews represent only about one per cent of
Canada’s population, they were victims of more than 66 per cent of
religion-motivated hate crimes in 2008. “Events in the Middle East are
usually cited as the root cause, but this is an excuse which should not be
tolerated. No group should suffer discrimination and racism in Canada,”
said Avi Benlolo, FSWC President and CEO. “I call on more government
intervention and for funding of Diversity programs, like those offered at FSWC”.
Toronto, June 15, 2010 – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust
Studies (FSWC) condemns the outrageous comments made by Libby Davies, Deputy
Leader of the NDP, implying that Israel has no right to exist as a sovereign
nation.
“The statement that “the occupation started in 1948” seems to indicate that Ms.
Davies considers Israel’s right to exist is questionable. This is a frightening
position for the Deputy Leader of one of Canada’s major political parties to
believe,” said Avi Benlolo, President and CEO of FSWC. “I applaud Jack Layton
for refuting Ms. Davies’ attempts to rewrite NDP policy and appreciate his speed
in responding to an issue of great significance to the Canadian Jewish
community,” he added.
CLICK HERE to read the full text of the release
I am writing to thank you for your clear repudiation of Ms. Davies’ outrageous
comments concerning the legitimacy of the State of Israel made in an interview
posted on YouTube.
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The following is an excerpt from a letter sent by Avi
Benlolo to NDP leader Jack Layton on June 15, 2010
“. . . It
seems apparent to me and to the majority of the Jewish community in Canada that
the issue of peace in the Middle East which your Deputy Leader purports to
address would be better served by advocating tolerance and mutual understanding,
rather than questioning the very existence of the Jewish homeland. As you can
well imagine, such rhetoric only serves to feed the fear of renewed antisemitism . . . As the
representative of more than 25,000 Canadians affiliated with Friends of Simon
Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, I would ask you to go one step further
in dealing with this issue by formally and publicly renouncing Ms. Davies’
comments, and by making it clear on the NDP website that Ms. Davies’ words are
in no way a reflection of NDP policy. Such a move would send an unambiguous
message that the NDP has not aligned itself with organizations like Hamas and
countries like Iran who have called for Israel’s destruction.”
Letter to the
Editor, Toronto Star
Re- McQuaig: Partner in flotilla ‘farce’ (June
15, 2010)
Has Linda McQuaig been too busy damning the state of Israel to notice the many
news reports detailing the truth about the Orwellian-named Gaza “Freedom
Flotilla’? For if Ms. McQuaig was indeed aware of the Turkish terrorist group
IHH’s connection to the Mavi Marmara, how could she possibly have written an
article equating Israel’s attempts to defend itself against terror to the 1985
killing of a handicapped civilian by the group that gave birth to these very
same terrorists? How is it possible that she so carelessly neglected to include
in her article the links between those who funded the ship and their close
friend Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Israel has a right to defend
herself against those who have made it clear they seek to destroy her. It seems
Ms. McQuaig has opted to join Helen Thomas in the ‘biased reporting’ club. NDP
Deputy Leader Libby Davies must be cheering from the sidelines.
Despite the declaration by Pride Toronto that the
phrase “Israeli Apartheid” has been banned from the Gay Pride parade – a move
supported by Mayor David Miller and all six mayoral candidates, Queers Against
Israeli Apartheid (Quaia) is intent on re-opening the debate.
In response to a planned disruption of the Pride
flag-raising ceremony at Toronto City Hall – a ploy designed to gain maximum
media coverage for Quaia’s obsessive hatred of Israel, and its attempt to turn
the focus of the debate to censorship instead of hate – the gay Jewish community
of Toronto is requesting your support. Please consider attending the ceremony to
support both Pride and the City, and to keep hate messaging out of the parade.
Quaia has more than 900 Facebook fans, so it’s important we show up and show our
Jewish Pride!
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The following is an excerpt from a letter sent by Avi
Benlolo to Toronto Mayor David Miller on June 15, 2010
“Thank you for ruling in favour of Pride Toronto and
the decision it made to ban the phrase ‘Israeli Apartheid’ from the Gay Pride
Parade. As the President and CEO of Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for
Holocaust Studies, I represent more than 10,000 Torontonians, all of whom are
greatly concerned by the antisemitic witch hunt represented by those who falsely
accuse Israelis – and by extension the Jewish community of Toronto – of
maintaining an apartheid regime. Contrary to helping the cause of peace in the
Middle East, these words serve only to foment hatred and fear and, in the
process, destroy the celebratory nature of the Gay Pride parade.”
Simon Wiesenthal Center
UN: A Safe House for Serial Human Rights Abusers
By Rabbi Abraham Cooper, The Huffington Post
"With death toll rising to 117 and thousands of refugees fleeing
to neighboring Uzbekistan, the worsening situation in Kyrgyzstan also alarmed UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said the United Nations was urgently
assessing humanitarian aid needs resulting from the clashes." -
Voice of America June 14th 2010
CLICK HERE to read the full text of the Huffington Post article
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Wiesenthal Centre to EU Foreign Minister Ashton: “Contain Netherlands
Antisemitic Epidemic or It Will Metastasize Throughout the Continent”
Paris, June 15, 2010 - In a
letter to European Union Foreign Minister, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, the
Simon Wiesenthal Centre’s Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon
Samuels, explained that “due to the current political vacuum in the Netherlands
following General Election, we are requesting your intervention to investigate
the rampant epidemic in antisemitic incidents in that country.”
Simon
Wiesenthal honoured with Austrian stamp
Racheli Kreisberg, great-granddaughter of
Simon
Wiesenthal, stands before a poster of a special postage stamp issued by
Austria's federal post office in honor of Simon Wiesenthal, whose 100th
birthday was recently celebrated in December 2009.
As we continue to
work toward a just and tolerant society, the FSWC relies on you to alert us to
issues of hatred and intolerance in your own community. Please email Stacey
Starkman at
sstarkman@fswc.ca should you become aware of an incident of bigotry or antisemitism
that merits our attention.
FSWC IS
SUPPORTED BY CONCERNED CANADIANS. PLEASE CALL 416-864-9735 TO HELP MAKE
THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE OR VISIT US AT
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