Byline: B’nai Brith Canada

Prison sentence for hate

An Ontario court has handed down a 12-month prison sentence to a man who incited hate against Jews in public during a vigil last year at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

“We commend the Court for making clear that there is a difference between free speech and hate speech, and for demonstrating that those who target our community, or any Canadian community, will be held accountable under our country’s laws,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s director of research and advocacy.

Razaali Bahadur, 45, was convicted this past June of inciting hatred at the April 7, 2024, event. His outbursts included blood libel, such as that Jews enjoy killing children and are, as a collective, responsible for killing Jesus.

During Bahadur’s sentencing, B’nai Brith Canada delivered an impact statement reflecting the fear and anguish many Jewish Canadians have felt as antisemitism has increased in this country.

As part of its advocacy at the federal level, B’nai Brith Canada penned a formal submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, which is preparing an official report to inform the federal government’s fall budget.

In addition, B’nai Brith Canada is calling on the federal government to use the Budget Implementation Act to eliminate a loophole that temporarily allowed Samidoun, which was listed as a terrorist entity in this country in 2024, to continue operating as a nonprofit corporation.

“It is astonishing that, in Canada, an organization does not automatically lose its corporate status when it is declared a terrorist entity,” said Robertson. 

In its fall budget submission, B’nai Brith recommended that the government:

• Make new investments to strengthen Canada’s resilience against violent extremism;

• Ensure that recipients of federal grants are in compliance with Canada’s anti-racism strategy: Changing Systems, Transforming Lives, 2024-2028;

• Develop a five-year plan to enhance Canadian youths’ understanding of contemporary antisemitism, as outlined in the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, which Canada adopted in 2019; and

• Make mandatory the existing antisemitism training approved for federal public servants.

– Courtesy B’nai Brith Canada

Recognition withdrawn

B.C. Premier John Horgan has withdrawn a certificate of recognition sent to a controversial Vancouver imam, following a month-long advocacy campaign by B’nai Brith Canada. In an email sent to B’nai Brith supporters, the premier’s office confirmed it had rescinded the certificate bestowed upon Tarek Ramadan, while adding, “We strongly condemn any racist, antisemitic, homophobic or discriminatory language.” The email further asserted that the premier’s office was unaware of Ramadan’s “concerning statements” before issuing the certificate and reiterated that Ramadan had also “received certificates from previous governments in past years.”

B’nai Brith first publicly called on the premier to rescind the certificate on May 16, noting that Ramadan was exploiting the governmental plaudits to vindicate his chants against “malevolent Jews” and insistence that “all of Palestine should only be in the custody of the Muslims.”

B’nai Brith exposed further antisemitism and homophobia on Ramadan’s part and called on its followers to contact the premier’s office. Ramadan had publicly posted, then later deleted, a video on Facebook that accuses the Jewish Rothschild family of controling the world’s banks and media, while justifying the Holocaust on the basis that “the Jews sold Germany down the river.”

Another post by Ramadan, still visible on Facebook, describes Israeli soldiers as “fags,” a homophobic slur.

“We are relieved that the premier’s office has finally done the right thing,” said Michael Mostyn, chief executive officer of B’nai Brith Canada. “No one who has been exposed as a hatemonger should receive recognition from a high government official in any province.

“We look forward to working with all parties in B.C. and across the country to prevent similar situations from arising in the future.”

The Muslim Association of Canada, which runs the mosque where Ramadan preached, described his conduct as “inappropriate” in a November 2017 statement.