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June 12, 2009
People's input sought
Coalition for combating anti-Semitism begins.
KAREN GINSBERG
At the June 2 launch in Ottawa of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism (CPCCA), Irwin Cotler, co-chair of the coalition, quoted from a recent statement given by Nobel peace laureate Elie Wiesel: "[May I] share with you the feeling of urgency, if not emergency, that we believe anti-Semitism represents and calls for. I must confess to you, I have not felt the way I feel now since 1945. I feel there are reasons for us to be concerned, even afraid ... now [is] the time to mobilize the efforts of all of humanity."
Cotler noted that, it was this sense of alarm – echoed by leading scholars of anti-Semitism around the world – that inspired 125 parliamentarians from more than 40 countries to gather in the United Kingdom in February 2009 for the historic founding of the Conference of the International Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism. As Cotler noted, "Silence is not an option. The time has come not only to sound the alarm, but to act. For, as history has taught us only too well, while it may begin with Jews, it does not end with Jews." The February conference produced the London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism, which calls on all governments to face the problem of anti-Semitism, especially its manifestations in the media and academia. Under the leadership of Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Cotler, an international steering committee member, an all-party delegation of 11 Canadian members of Parliament attended the conference in London.
Subsequent to the founding conference, the 21-member all-party CPCCA was formed. The coalition will be led by co-chairs MP Scott Reid and MP Mario Silva. Reid noted at the press conference announcing the coalition's launch that, "Canada is founded on a set of shared values and anti-Semitism is an affront to those values. It is the oldest and most persistent form of hate and the template upon which so many other forms of hatred are based. Today's announcement is intended to signal that, in this country, legislators of all parties are deeply concerned about what seems to be a rising international tide of renewed anti-Semitism, on a scale not seen in my lifetime."
Coalition members acknowledged that anti-Semitism is not a new problem, but noted that anti-Semitism seems on the rise both locally and globally and that the problem is now being manifested in ways never before experienced. New fears have arisen especially for those who support the state of Israel, they said, and, on Canadian campuses, Jewish students are being intimidated to the point that they are not able to express themselves or are fearful to wear Jewish identifiers, such as a skullcap or Star of David.
Silva and Reid extended an open call for written submissions. Any individual or group can put forward a submission of up to 2,000 words by July 31, 2009, in either English or French, and each will be reviewed by various members of the inquiry panel. Based on these submissions, the coalition will invite witnesses to testify at a series of public hearings to be held in the autumn in selected locations across Canada to be determined, to gather oral testimony on the extent of anti-Semitism in Canada and on potential solutions. At the conclusion of the hearings, the CPCCA will produce a report to the government of Canada to which it anticipates the government will respond by spring 2010.
The CPCCA is unaffiliated with the federal government or any nongovernmental organization or advocacy group. Rather, it is uniquely associated with the international steering committee that organized the conference in London in February.
"This inquiry is an important undertaking," Silva said. "Canadian lawmakers from all political parties are coming together in the excellent model provided by the United Kingdom, to define, examine, cast light upon and finally dispel this persistent form of discrimination. Over the course of the coming inquiry, we look forward to hearing from a wide range of groups, to the end of a comprehensive understanding of anti-Semitism here in Canada and abroad."
In an interview following the press conference, Joyce Murray, Liberal MP for Vancouver Quadra and a coalition member, said that it was her job to work to ensure the panel comes to Vancouver. She said that Vancouver, with its diverse population, "has a lot to offer to make the kind of Canada we want to have." She noted that the consultations will raise awareness of human rights and human dignity abuses against other groups.
Submissions to the CPCCA should be sent to the Secretariat of the Inquiry at the Canadian Parliamentary Inquiry into Anti-Semitism, Room 440C, Centre Block, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6, or by e-mail to [email protected]. The coalition website is www.cpcca.ca.
Karen Ginsberg is the former director-general of multiculturalism for Canada and an Ottawa journalist and management consultant.
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