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March 19, 2004
Forum dubbed a wake-up
Congress and B'nai Brith act against global anti-Semitism.
PAT JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Three Canadians are part of an Israeli-based international group
convened to address fears of growing global anti-Semitism. Representatives
of B'nai Brith Canada and Canadian Jewish Congress were in Israel
recently to meet with experts from Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere
to strategize over how to deal with the perceived revival of virulent
anti-Semitism.
The meeting, the second in a series that is expected to take place
every six months or so, was convened by the office of Israel's prime
minister, under the guidance of Natan Sharansky, the minister responsible
for Diaspora affairs. It took place privately to the exclusion of
media, and included experts such as Bernard Lewis, a top academic
and author whose specialty is Islamic history, as well as academics
and activists from North America, Europe and Israel. The January
conference was one of several recent meetings addressing anti-Semitism,
including a European Union- sponsored meeting in February and an
upcoming conference by the Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe.
The three Canadians who attended were Frank Dimant, executive vice-president
of B'nai Brith Canada, Ruth Klein, B'nai Brith's national director
of advocacy, and Manuel Prutschi, interim executive director of
Canadian Jewish Congress.
Dimant said the meeting was held as fears grow over increasing anti-Semitic
acts and comments, particularly in Europe.
"We are all in agreement that it's growing dramatically, it's
growing rapidly," he said.
Discourse and acts that Dimant depicts as anti-Semitic have increased
significantly since the beginning of the most recent intifada in
2000, and criticisms of Israel too often cross over into anti-Semitism,
he said.
"We try to very carefully deal with the issue of anti-Israel
[comments] versus anti-Semitism," said Dimant. "Quite
frankly, it goes over the line a lot."
The recent conference by European Union officials is a late recognition,
according to Dimant, that the situation on the continent has grown
beyond fair political comment about the Middle East.
"They're suddenly realizing they may have opened that Pandora's
box again," Dimant said of European leaders.
Back in Canada, Dimant said his group continues efforts to build
coalitions, which has been difficult in recent years as critics
on both the left and the right have increased the virulence of criticism
of Israel.
"We have lost some of our traditional support," he said,
noting that the usual suspects like neo-Nazis, which have always
purveyed Jew-hatred, have been joined in attacking Israel by anti-globalization
activists and small-l liberals. Among the most alarming places where
anti-Semitism has become visible in Canada is on campuses where,
according to Dimant, academics have been stifled out of fear.
"The Jews in academia are very silent, therefore the students
are left to fend for themselves," he said.
Dimant sees bright spots on a bleak horizon, however. In addition
to the stalwart support of evangelical Christians, he said ties
are being mended with trade unions and, significantly, connections
are being strengthened between the Jewish and First Nations communities.
Still, the fact that a blue-ribbon panel of experts in anti-Semitism
was called should be a warning, not a cause for complacency, he
said.
"The fact that a global forum exists should be a red light
to the Jewish world, a wake-up call," said Dimant.
CJC's Prutschi maintains that the gravity of the situation in Europe
has not seeped into the Canadian political environment.
"There is no real comparison," said Prutschi. "The
situation in Europe is very serious and there are very immediate
dangers."
He noted, though, that the frequency and severity of anti-Semitic
discourse and actions in Canada have increased since 2000. The nature
of the discussion in Canada is a topic CJC will address in a series
of upcoming conferences, he added.
Anti-Zionism crosses the line into anti-Semitism, he said, when
"criticism" loses all sense of proportion and adopts violent
imagery.
"When one speaks of Israel and of Jews and their support for
Israel in very negative terms, when you pin the Nazi label on Israeli
leaders, when you have the swastika and the Star of David equated,
when you have [people like] David Ahenakew talking about the Holocaust
in a very complimentary fashion, when you have 'death to the Jews'
being articulated at a number of demonstrations, you begin to see
the seriousness of the concern," said Prutschi.
Like Dimant, Prutschi sees areas for optimism. The Mel Gibson film
The Passion of the Christ has helped facilitate a discussion
about anti-Semitism in Canada, he said.
"As a result of the controversy, the dialogue between Christians
and Jews in this country became more intense," Prutschi said,
adding that a consensus is accepted between the two religious groups:
that anti-Semitism exists, it is evil and it should be fought vigorously.
"The Christian community faced a challenge and they rose to
it," he said. "It heartened me."
Europe, Prutschi added, has farther to go, but recent developments
by European leaders indicate they are finally taking matters seriously.
One lesson that Canada has to learn from Europe, said Prutschi,
is the manner in which we integrate immigrants from countries with
strongly anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic education systems or societies.
Part of the problem in Europe has come from economic conditions
that have exacerbated underlying disaffection by young people, particularly
in immigrant communities, Prutschi said.
"There has not been the effort put into integration –
not assimilation – integration," he said. Some Arab young
people, facing discrimination and economic deprivation themselves,
have struggled over their identities as Arab citizens of European
states, he said. "Those factors have certainly played a role
in translating into anti-Semitism."
Pat Johnson is a native Vancouverite, a journalist and
commentator.
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