|
DONATE ONLINE
Become an FSWC Member Today!
POLL QUESTION
As the October 25 date for the Toronto Mayoral election approaches, members of
the City’s business community are urging conservative John Tory to enter the
race. Despite having declined to run in the past, it seems Mr. Tory may now be
contemplating throwing his hat in the ring.
Should John Tory enter the race for Mayor of Toronto?
Should ‘honour killings’ be included as a special category in Canada’s criminal
code?
|
Donor’s Corner:
SPOTLIGHT ON
Stan
Elkind
Stan Elkind, a member of the bars of New York and Ontario practicing
international corporate law, a partner in the Toronto law firm of McLean & Kerr
LLP and a member of Lawyers4Wiesenthal, has been involved with Friends of Simon
Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) for more than 10 years, following
his support for Simon Wiesenthal himself.
Stan became motivated to help in the fight against antisemitism by his late
father-in-law, a Holocaust survivor who supported Simon Wiesenthal in his
efforts to bring Nazi war criminals to justice. Stan’s involvement with FSWC was
a natural extension of his personal support for Mr. Wiesenthal and his belief in
the importance of fighting racial intolerance.
Stan recalls his pride when FSWC hosted the very first Tribute dinner and says
he is “delighted to still be involved with FSWC and delighted when I see and
hear what the organization is doing here and in the US. We need leaders like Avi
and Rabbi Cooper and Rabbi Hier to continue Simon Wiesenthal’s work.”
Of his hopes for the future Stan says he simply wants to “sit down with our
enemies and talk peace.”
|
News Feature
of the Week
“The
trouble with Chavismo”
By Rabbi Abraham Cooper and Harold
Brackman
FASTFORWARD
Have your Say!
FSWC has received numerous emails from community leaders and politicians
supporting our efforts to ensure future Gay Pride parades are inclusive and
hate-free events, including the following words of encouragement:
Avi, thank you for your kind words [re support for ban on hate speech in Pride
parade].
I
share your sentiment for inclusiveness and tolerance. That should be the
focus of the Pride parade. The hate messages and negative behaviour of
groups like Quaia are completely unacceptable to me - and the vast majority of
my colleagues on Council.
It is imperative that Council maintain that resolve next year in the weeks and
months before the parade. . . Thanks and best wishes.
Cliff Jenkins
Councillor Ward 25 - City of Toronto
*
* * * * * *
Many thanks . . . I want you to know that my vote on this [funding for the Gay
Pride parade] issue was not a simple by-the-way thing. The whole matter managed
to take up an unusual amount of my time over the month or so ahead of the final
vote.
Apart from my views with regard to the float in last year's parade that
triggered this year's initiative, I felt genuinely betrayed by the actions of
this year's organizing committee. Two separate but related incidents.
All in all, reason to pay even closer attention next year.
My respect for the work of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, of course, is
only increased by these experiences.
Regards,
John Parker
Councillor, Toronto Ward 26-Don Valley West
Do you have any questions or comments
about FSWC activities, decisions or positions on issues? Please let us know.
Take the opportunity to ask Avi Benlolo, President and CEO of FSWC, about where
he stands on the issues that matter to you, and how he plans to handle the
matters most important to the Jewish community.
|
|
Médecins Sans Frontières denies bias against Israeli medical team
Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) has found no
evidence to support reports in Haaretz describing bias against a team of Israeli
medical specialists on a humanitarian aid mission in the Congo. The Israeli
newspaper suggested the Jewish delegation was in effect shunned by a team of
volunteers, including a Canadian anesthesiologist, from the international aid
organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) due to strong pro-Palestinian
sentiment by MSF staff.
FSWC found no proof of the reported anti-Israel attitude; Grace Tang, the
Canadian Head of the MSF Mission in the South Kivu region of the Congo (where
the Israeli team was stationed) called the Haaretz reports “erroneous” and said
the MSF team was “dismayed” by the articles, maintaining that “no such
[anti-Israeli] sentiment was expressed by my team, at any time . . . ” Ms. Tang
noted both the Israeli and MSF personnel cooperated extremely well and
appreciated each other’s contribution to help patients.
According to MSF Dr. Eyal Winkler, Deputy Director of the Department of Plastic
and Reconstructive Surgery at Sheba Medical Center, and Head of the Israeli
Mission to the Congo, expressed surprise when learning of the “tension” between
the Israelis and the MSF. “. . . We enjoyed working with our colleagues at MSF
and there was good collaboration between us from the beginning and throughout
our time in Uvira. Any suggestion otherwise [is] not correct," he wrote.
“I am please to learn these allegations are unfounded” said Dr. Andrew Braude,
Co-chair of Doctors4Wiesenthal (D4W). “D4W would be highly concerned about any
attempt by fellow medical professionals practicing a soft form of
discrimination, which goes against the international code of conduct followed by
physicians around the world,” he added.
The work done by the Israeli doctors included performing and teaching
complicated skin grafts on severely burned Congolese patients in makeshift
tents; about one ton of Israeli medical equipment was left behind.
FSWC Commends Prime Minister Harper on implementing new sanctions against Iran
Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center’s 25,000 Canadian member families thank Prime
Minister Stephen Harper for activating the Special Economic Measures Act against
Iran.
In a statement released today, Prime Minister Harper said, “the government of
Canada is implementing new regulations aimed at restricting Iran’s nuclear
program and preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”
CLICK HERE to read full press release
FSWC Tolerance Training continues
Due to overwhelmingly positive feedback, FSWC continues to run educational
programs throughout the summer. Recently at Maple Summer School in York Region
175 students had the privilege of hearing Holocaust Survivor Max Eisen speak at
a Lessons & Legacy of the Holocaust workshop, while approximately 60 high
school-aged Durham Region Youth in Policing students are participating in the
Racism and Antisemitism in a Canadian Context workshop this week.
Wiesenthal Center Calls on Entertainment Community to Blast Oliver Stone for His
Belittlement of the Holocaust and Anti-Semitic Remarks
The Simon Wiesenthal Center today blasted remarks made by director Oliver Stone
in London’s Sunday Times in which he claimed that the Holocaust is
overemphasized in our culture because Jews “control the media” and that “Hitler
did far more damage to the Russians than the Jewish people.”
CLICK HERE to
read the full press release
Wiesenthal Centre Sponsors Campaign to Counteract “Boycott, Divestment,
Sanctions (BDS)” in France
In a letter
to French Interior Minister, Brice Hortefeux, the Simon Wiesenthal
Director for International Relations, Dr.Shimon Samuels, expressed grave concern
at “a wave of intimidation unleashed, since early 2009 in supermarkets and
department-stores across the country, by the so-called ‘Collectif Boycott,
Divestment, Sanctions: BDS’”.
CLICK HERE to
read the full press release
UPCOMING FSWC EVENTS
Hillary Clinton, Rabbi Cooper and the struggle against antisemitism:
WAITING LIST ONLY!
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los
Angeles is coming to Toronto to brief FSWC members on his meeting with US
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Rabbi Cooper is scheduled to speak with Secretary Clinton next week to discuss
the effort to combat global antisemitism and the struggle against BDS (Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions).
He will speak in Toronto on Monday, August 16,
2010 at the FSWC office at 5075 Yonge Street,
Suite 902 in Toronto at 7:00 p.m. Seating at the Briefing is free but limited.
Please contact
Elaine
Martyn,
Program Developer, to reserve your seat as soon as possible.
Ben Mulroney to host Freedom Day to honour Simon Wiesenthal
In tribute to Simon Wiesenthal’s legacy of tolerance, justice and human rights,
Ben Mulroney will Host Freedom Day in Toronto on the afternoon of September
20, 2010. The event will feature speakers including Iranian author
Marina Nemat, former prisoner of the infamous Evin prison in Iran, Holocaust
survivor Max Eisen, dancers from So You Think You Can Dance Canada, and more
than 1,000 students and educators from across the Greater Toronto Area. Save the
date and plan to celebrate with us! Details on location, timing and additional
guests will be added soon. Please contact
Melissa
Mikel
for further information.
Book Launch: “After Tehran” by Marina Nemat
Join FSWC for an evening with Marina Nemat, author of “Prisoner of Tehran” which
documented Ms. Nemat’s unlawful incarceration in Iran’s infamous Evin prison. In
her new book the author recounts her escape from Iran and journey to Canada, as
well as her efforts to confront the past and share her experiences.
Ms. Nemat will speak in Toronto on Tuesday, September 21,
2010 at the FSWC office at 5075 Yonge Street, Suite 902 in Toronto at 7:00 p.m.
Recommend cover
at the Book Launch is $5.00. Please contact
Elaine
Martyn,
Program Developer, to reserve your seat as soon as possible.
Spirit of Hope 2010 video screening
Spirit of Hope 2010 was the most successful benefit in FSWC history. More than
2600 people had the opportunity to hear Nobel prize winning author Elie Wiesel
and Sir Salman Rushdie talk about issues such as freedom, tolerance and the
victory of good over evil in a fascinating discussion moderated by Brian
Mulroney. This wonderful event was captured on video and will premiere on
Monday, September 27, 2010 at the FSWC office at 5075 Yonge, Suite 902
Street in Toronto at 7:00 p.m. Recommend cover
at the Spirit of Hope screening is $5.00. Please contact
Elaine
Martyn,
Program Developer, to reserve your seat as soon as possible.
Defiance: Film Screening
Join FSWC as we screen the movie “Defiance.” Starring Daniel Craig as Tuvia
Bielski, Defiance documents the heroic efforts of the Bielski brothers, who fled
into the Belarussian forests and built a hidden village in an effort to protect
themselves and about 1,000 Polish Jews from the Nazis. Defiance will be
screened on Monday, October 4, 2010 at the FSWC office at 5075 Yonge,
Suite 902 Street in Toronto at 7:00 p.m. Recommend cover
at the Defiance screening is $5.00. Please contact
Elaine
Martyn,
Program Developer, to reserve your seat as soon as possible.
FOLLOW
US ON:
Media
Contact
Stacey Starkman, Communications Coordinator
Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies
416-864-9735 x 32
mailto:sstarkman@fswc.ca
FSWC
IS SUPPORTED BY CONCERNED CANADIANS. PLEASE CALL 16-864-9735
TO
HELP MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE OR VISIT US AT
WWW.FSWC.CA
Unsubscribe from FastForward
|
