Hatred has many forms

Editorial

The horrific, pro-Nazi remarks last week by Saskatchewan First Nations former leader David Ahenakew remind us that anti-Semitism is not as dead as we might hope. Almost as horrific are the efforts of other Native leaders to downplay the remarks and blame the media for reporting them, seeming more selfishly concerned about the effect the comments might have on their own public relations than on this country's Jewish citizens or multicultural cohesion. (Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) vice-chief Lawrence Joseph, who heard Ahenakew's speech in person, simply said "...he's entitled to an opinion, negative or otherwise." When asked whether he thought Ahenakew's comments would be damaging to the federation, he responded, "It depends on how it's packaged [by the media]. If the headline is superseding a very important event about consent [forms], it's up to you to do that.")

The national Jewish organizations have reacted with appropriate outrage, joining the chorus of horror being expressed by other decent Canadians. The comments were so blatantly hateful that no one could hope to defend them. Yet, there is a hesitation on the part of some to call the words what they are: hatred. Ahenakew stated that he hates Jews to the point that he doesn't even want to discuss them.

In the immediate aftermath, Perry Bellegarde, FSIN chair, called on Ahenakew to clarify his statements. Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault called for Ahenakew to explain his "blatantly racist" words. What's to explain? Ahenakew was as blunt as he could possibly be.

Members of the Order of Canada, to which Ahenakew belongs, have called for his expulsion. All Canadians should express a similar sentiment. Ahenakew's name must permanently represent a stream of ideas that Canadians hold up as an example of despicable citizenship. He should be isolated from positions of power in any respectable organization.

He has apologized for his comments. We should not accept the apology. After all, what is he apologizing for? Getting caught? Saying out loud what he holds in his heart? Such statements cannot be reversed with an apology. They were not accidental, nor equivocal statements that might have been misrepresented. Ahenakew is a lost cause and should be persona non grata.

But the whole affair has raised the larger issue of anti-Semitism in Canada. Just last week, Fazil Mihlar, an editorial writer for the Vancouver Sun, spoke at Har-El Synagogue and warned the audience that anti-Semitism is often just below the surface. (In Archives, see the cover story for Dec. 20.)

Mihlar, who travels frequently, said he has a little experiment he undertakes when in cabs. He gives the driver a brief anti-Semitic aside and then listens while the cabbie launches into a full-scale anti-Semitic tirade. It is weird science, to be sure, but Mihlar uses his odd behavior to illustrate his point: Anti-Semitism exists, it is more prevalent than we would like to believe and can be uncovered with the slightest provocation.

As the Saskatchewan case monopolizes the media, there will be a number of people who express varying opinions on the subject. The explicit hatred expressed by Ahenakew is not likely to be repeated by intelligent people but there will be those who uncover what they see as a nugget of truth in his hateful words. ("I don't agree with his Holocaust views," someone will inevitably say, "but there are an awful lot of Jews in the media," for example.)

Though Ahenakew's comments are viscerally revolting, more nuanced anti-Semitism is, in some ways, more dangerous. At least we know now that the former Native leader hates Jews and we can view his actions through that prism. Individuals with more couth will make powerful decisions without us ever understanding the root hatred spawning their actions.

In his presentation last week – before Ahenakew's speech – Mihlar squarely blamed anti-Semitism for much of the world's criticism of Israel. If Ahenakew criticized Israel, we would know why. When some other critics attack Israel, we can only speculate on their motivation.

People can criticize Israel. People can criticize the Asper family's ownership of national media outlets. People can criticize the Israel Defence Forces for casually recruiting on the Concordia University campus. That doesn't make the critics anti-Semites. But we should not delude ourselves that, among those critics, no one is motivated by anti-Semitism. Ahenekew's comments were pure anti-Semitism but the views he holds also exist in the hearts of many Canadian who are savvy enough to couch them in more intelligent, nuanced language.

Canadians have a lot of work left to make this the diverse, accepting, multicultural country we'd like it to be. From this horrible episode, let us hope that Canadians will make New Year's resolutions that guide us toward building a better society.

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