Jewish Independent: Honoring a long-ago promise

May 20, 2005

Honoring a long-ago promise
Local groups and government take action to tackle Sudanese crisis.

DANA BOOKMAN

Two generations ago, when the Holocaust ended, Jews around the world made the promise, "Never again." It was supposed to be a guarantee that such an indescribable, inhumane tragedy would be prevented in the future. But it has happened again. And it is still happening today in western Sudan – in what the United Nations has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.It began more than two years ago, following an insurgency by two rebel groups. The government dispatched an Arab militia group – the Janjaweed – in retaliation, with members recruited from local tribes attacking African civilians. Now, "People are being raped, attacked, killed and driven from [their] homes into neighboring countries," said Mira Robin, part of a group of young Jews trying to raise awareness about the issue.

"Innocent civilians were living everyday lives and all of a sudden they've been uprooted, stricken by violence," said Robin, adding that this tragedy is reminiscent of the Holocaust. So far, 300,000 people in Darfur are thought to have been killed and more than two million others have been displaced. According to the UN, millions of people in Sudan could still face food shortages in the next 18 months.

Robin and a committee of concerned citizens, along with Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), Pacific Region, and the Liu Institute for Global Issues, are hoping to raise the profile of the crisis in Darfur with Never Again: A Call for Action in Sudan.

Key speakers at the May 24 event will include Robbie Waisman, a survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp and co-founder of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.

"The Holocaust was supposed to teach the world compassion and understanding and that it should never happen again," said Waisman. "When I see things around the world, like what's happening in Darfur, I and other survivors get outraged, because the world hasn't learned its lesson yet."

Robert Sebufirira, another speaker at the event, hopes to encourage people to do something to help the survivors of the crisis – which the UN has stopped short of calling a genocide.

"After the Holocaust, people said the promise of 'Never again' was not brought into action, because of the Rwandan genocide," said Sebufirira. "As Africans, and as people, this is the time to be aware. We have to contribute to stop [the] killing in Sudan and this is the right opportunity to call on individuals to do something."

Sebufirira – once editor of Rwanda's only independent newspaper, Umuseso – survived the 1994 genocide in his home country. He says he feels obligated to help with anything related to awareness of genocide. "After what happened to me in Rwanda," he said, "I wouldn't want to see it happen to anyone else."

There have been some positive steps to help the victims in Sudan. Last week, Canada became the first western country to begin to promise to protect civilians there. The government committed $260 million to aid efforts in Darfur. That pledge also includes an initial 100 Canadian forces military experts. They will support the more than 2,000 African Union soldiers already in Sudan to protect refugees from the fighting. About 40 Canadian troops will also join a United Nations observer force in the southern part of the East African nation.

CJC Pacific Region chair Mark Weintraub said the Vancouver Jewish community has been instrumental in pushing for Canada's involvement in Sudan. He said the community "is playing on a stage much larger than we usually do. Without exaggeration, I can say that we have been a catalyst [for government action]."

Nouri Abdalla is a member of Vancouver's Darfurian community and has family members in refugee camps in Darfur. Abdalla said he's delighted about the government's contribution."

Canada is sending a strong message to [the] world by sending the first western troops into Darfur," he said. "It's a positive step in [the] right direction and I hope [the] rest of [the] world will follow."

Waisman also said Canada's pledge is a good start. "We're putting pressure on the government and it's working," he said. "But we have to keep up the pressure. We are our brothers' keepers."

Robin is hoping that this event will send a message to other international political leaders to take the action needed to spare the people of Darfur further suffering and misery.

"We want this event to empower individuals to put further pressure on the government and international community," she said.

Sen. Mobina Jaffer, who is being sent to Sudan as a special envoy by Prime Minister Paul Martin, will be the keynote speaker at the event, which will also feature a photo exhibit and a question and answer period.

Although there is reason to be cautiously optimistic about a resolution to the horror in Darfur, Waisman warned, "There is still evil in the world and we have to use lessons from the Holocaust to teach compassion. As long as I am healthy and can do this, and bring this to the attention of governments and people, I have no choice: I have to do it."

Never Again: A Call for Action in Sudan is a free event. It's being held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24, in the Wosk Auditorium at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.

Dana Bookman is a Vancouver writer.

http://www.jewishindependent.ca/archives/May05/archives05May20-01.html

Jewish Independent: The next chapter of activism

March 25, 2005
By: Pat Johnson

The next chapter of activism
Canadian Jewish Congress re-examines what defines a "Jewish issue."

What is a "Jewish issue"? That is a question that has been facing Canada's Jewish communal agencies for decades, but with changes to the national infrastructure of Jewish communal life, the answer is about to get a lot broader.

Bernie Farber, the new chief executive officer of Canadian Jewish Congress, was in Vancouver recently, laying some of the groundwork for a major redirection of his organization's agenda.

The changes are partly a result of the massive adjustment made in recent years to the structure of Jewish life in Canada. The national organizations that make up much of the Jewish community's institutional presence are now united under the umbrella of the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA).

Though best know for fighting anti-Semitism, Canadian Jewish Congress has long been involved in a vast array of parallel and seemingly unrelated issues. In Ontario, where Farber was until January the executive director of the regional CJC office, the organization has already become one of the leading advocates for children living in poverty. That's an example Farber wants to emulate at the national level.

To do this, Farber aims to build better alliances with the various Jewish federations in Canada. Already, groups like the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver are deeply involved in issues of poverty and affordable housing. While federations do much of the "on the ground" work on issues like these, CJC, as the country's primary and oldest lobbying group, will now more actively take up the charge in pressing governments and other decision-makers to respond to issues of social justice that go beyond what would traditionally have been dubbed "Jewish issues."

"Congress is best situated to do the professional advocacy for the community because we've been doing it for almost 100 years," Farber told the Bulletin March 15. "What we haven't focused on are the kinds of issues that are vital to federations. In Ontario, we have. We have for the last number of years worked on issues like child welfare, elder care, social housing. What I want to do is transport that concept into other areas across the country so that Congress develops the kind of expertise that's needed."

Though CJC has long been involved in a range of issues, this is a rallying cry for a host of new initiatives, Farber said.

"I would say it's a new chapter of activism," said Farber.

Back to the question of what is a Jewish issue, Farber replied, any issue that you consider a Jewish issue is a Jewish issue.

"For example, when people say to me, how is child poverty a Jewish issue? Well, it's a Jewish issue because there are Jewish children who are poor. And even if there weren't, all these issues are human issues," he said. CJC's priorities are not just self-interest, but the larger Jewish imperative of tikkun olam, the repair of the world, he said.

"If there is a mission for Congress, that's what it is: to help repair the world," he said.

With a streamlined national umbrella, increased funding and the unification of national lobbying efforts, Farber believes CJC can do more than ever.

"We have a brand name, people expect good work of us and usually we don't let them down," he said. His goals include having a full-time lobbyist on Parliament Hill and, eventually, similar individuals in provincial capitals.

Farber cited the work of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region, as a model for future national endeavors.

"People look to the Jewish community to be a leader on those issues," said Farber. "For example, here in the Pacific region, Mark Weintraub [the regional chair] and a number of our leadership here in the Pacific region are really leading on the matter of Darfur. Not, by the way, just in Canada. They are being recognized literally around the world as a strong advocate [for] dealing with his terrible genocide that's going on three-quarters of the way around the world. That's not a Jewish issue per se, but it is a Jewish issue because, of all people, we understand what it is to be victimized like this and to be killed in such numbers. It is an example of the kinds of thing that I want to see."

Though CJC can be expected to speak out more forcefully on things that do not seem like traditional "Jewish issues," the old standbys are not going to disappear, Farber said. Anti-Semitism, to the surprise and dismay of the Jewish community, has proved enduring and adaptive.

"We understand that anti-Semitism is different today than it was 10, even 15 years ago," he said. "It is one of the most redoubtable of viruses that finds a host and can mutate in any kind of a way."

A surprising and disappointing development, he said, is the emergence of anti-Semitism in the anti-Zionist movement of the left.

"Much of what we're seeing today in relation to this anti-Zionism bleeding into anti-Semitism is happening as much on the extreme left as it is on the extreme right and sometimes even on the centre-left," said Farber.

"In the past, we knew who our enemies were," he said, citing white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis. "We fought them arm-in-arm with the trade union movement, with people on the left. They were our soldiers on the road to dealing with these issues. Something happened along the road. We lost sight of each other. We went down separate paths."

One of the priorities of CJC is to rebuild bridges and co-operation with the left in Canada.

"We have to find a way to be back there, even if we passionately disagree with each other," he said. "Friends can passionately disagree with each other, but we have to be there to put Israel's best face forward, to help people understand that there are two sides to every issue."

Working with police, hate crimes units, Internet service providers (ISPs) and the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, CJC has helped identify and shut down many web-based hate sites, often simply by appealing to the goodwill of the ISP.

CJC officials are also working on an anti-Semitism awareness program for school curricula, beginning in Ontario but intended to spread across Canada.

All of these efforts might give the impression that CJC is taking a more vigilant political orientation. Not so, said Farber.

"I don't see this as political," he said. "I really see this as human rights matters."

http://www.cjc.ca/template.php?action=itn&Story=1237

Western Jewish Bulletin: No charges for MIRACLE

January 28, 2005

No charges for Miracle
CJC is disappointed, but has faith in judicial process.
PAT JOHNSON

The publisher of a local Muslim newspaper that ran a viciously anti-Semitic article will not face charges. The Miracle, a Delta-based publication, had reprinted a litany of anti-Jewish accusations, blaming "the jews" (sic) for the attacks on the World Trade Centre, two world wars, the Depression, the assassination of John F. Kennedy and another 83 similar assertions.

The Crown announced last week, following a year of investigation, that the case would not be recommended for criminal charges for the wilful promotion of hatred.

Nusrat Hussain, the publisher of the Miracle, said he is relieved and he condemned the article that he ran Dec. 26, 2003. The article was a reprint of an anti-Semitic tract making the rounds via the Internet. It was written by Edgar J. Steele, a disbarred lawyer from Idaho."I had apologized and I was very clear about it, for the article was offensive," Hussain told the Bulletin last week. "I had never said that I was in favor of the article or I agreed. On the contrary, I was very clear. I condemned the article. But I was doing a different line. I was defending the freedom of speech."

Canadian laws regarding the promotion of hatred rest on the intent of the speaker or publisher of allegedly hateful comments. Hussain compares the standard of intent to the difference between murder and accidental death.

"There's a difference if you murder a person [or] if somebody is killed under your car by accident," he said. "Although in the end it is the death of a person, you have to prove the intentions.

"The intention was never to promote hate in this case," he said.

Though he is pleased with the outcome, Hussain said the experience has been wrenching. He was hospitalized with a heart ailment for five days last February, shortly after the investigation began.

"I have suffered in my business also," he said. "I lost advertisers. I lost reputation. Politically, there were senators, a member of Parliament, a member of the legislature, who were writing for my newspaper. All of them withdrew."

The publisher sees a silver lining in the incident, though, citing what he says is a growth in dialogue between the Jewish and Muslim communities as a result of the issue and its surrounding publicity.

"There were positive things," said Hussain. "The Jewish and Muslim communities – the interaction which has started now – it was unheard of [before]. The people in my community would not like to listen about the Jewish community, the same way, I'm sure it was, on the other side. But this is a very positive thing that is happening. People are talking to each other. They are sitting together and talking about each other's views and listening to each other and that is, I believe, required."

Canadian Jewish Congress, which brought the article to the attention of police, said the decision not to proceed to criminal charges does not diminish the harm done by the article.

"It has to be understood that, even though the Crown did not proceed with charges, the fact that something as anti-Semitic and as destructive as what was contained in that piece was published in our community created extreme distress for us," said Mark Weintraub, chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. "The Jewish community and the larger community should not have to be subjected to such vile propaganda. It has to be understood that simply expressing regret really doesn't go to the heart of the damage that is done when we have to continually deal with these terrible attacks on Jews."

Weintraub said that his organization sees no silver lining in hateful remarks, though he hopes the incident opened some eyes."We were heartened by many comments and expressions of empathy and sympathy and support from Muslim leaders," said Weintraub. "We have had excellent relations in the past with many segments of the Muslim community, so we did not need these kinds of expressions of anti-Semitism to bring our communities closer. What has occurred has perhaps made certain segments of the Muslim community aware that there are individuals in their community who hold views that are intolerant and really have no place in our community."

Because it was the complainant in the case, Canadian Jewish Congress was verbally briefed on the decision by Crown not to proceed with charges. CJC has requested a copy of the Crown's written report, but Weintraub said he does not know if they are entitled to it.

"The Crown has to make a determination as to whether there is a likelihood of conviction and that it's in the public interest," explained Weintraub, who is a Vancouver lawyer. "Not every action that appears to be a crime always results in prosecution. The Crown does have discretion."

A decision not to go to charges can be based simply on likelihood of conviction and does not necessarily imply that the article was not hateful.

"The verbal summary was to the effect that the statements that were published were anti-Semitic," said Weintraub. "They could be construed as hate-filled. However, the means of the publication of these statements, which were a republication of an American anti-Semite in this particular newspaper, meant that it was not necessarily likely that the incitement-to-hate provisions of the Criminal Code would have been breached, because there are certain technical and procedural requirements to prove intent to incite and because of the mode of republication. The Crown was not satisfied that they would be able to meet the test."

Weintraub said he is satisfied that the investigation was thorough and his organization did the right thing in bringing it to the attention of the police.

"To our minds, we were satisfied that we had acted appropriately by turning this over to the Crown, because it was deemed to be highly anti-Semitic," he said. "But, at that point, we have to let the justice system take its course. We have advocated over the years for a highly specialized hate crime team. We have been successful in that regard and we think that there are very competent people in that hate crime team who understand the technicalities of the law and, if they considered that a charge should not be proceeded with, while we are disappointed, we have confidence in the process and in the judicial system. As far as we're concerned, we saw a crime, we acted appropriately, we co-operated with the authorities and we continue to have confidence in our judicial system."

CJC is awaiting a decision on whether charges will come in another prominent British Columbia case under investigation by the Hate Crime Team. Last year, Sheik Younus Kathrada, a Vancouver imam, made international headlines when tapes of the Muslim religious leader's comments, in which he referred to Jews as "the brothers of monkeys and swine" and called on Muslims to kill Jews, were made public. The case is under investigation by RCMP.

CJC has used the two incidents to repeat requests that the province fully fund the Hate Crime Team, a specialized group of police, Crown counsel and support staff that saw its funding sharply cut under provincial cost-saving measures. Premier Gordon Campbell has promised to restore funding for the body, which has been reduced to one RCMP officer, but the money has not been forthcoming. Observers expect funding may be provided in the budget before this May's provincial election.

Pat Johnson is a B.C. journalist and commentator.

Western Jewish Bulletin: Progress seen with labor

December 24, 2004

Progress seen with labor

Local Jewish groups seem to get their points heard.

PAT JOHNSON

It may not be a return to the old days when Zionism and trade unionism were inseparable allies, but some local Jewish community leaders are cautiously optimistic that a recent incident may signal the beginning of a rapprochement.

The British Columbia Federation of Labor passed a resolution condemning Israel's security barrier last month, but not before the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Canada-Israel Committee were able to correct a basic inaccuracy in the resolution. Although the resolution ended up passing, Zionist activists say they feel their concerns were heard. Originally, the resolution stated that the International Court of Justice had ruled that Israel's security barrier contravened international law. In fact, The Hague court's decision was a non-binding advisory opinion, a point made in a letter from two local organizations to the head of the union from which the resolution came.

The motion originated with the social justice advisory committee of the B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF) and progressed to the B.C. Federation of Labor, which is the umbrella labor organization for the province, at its general convention in Vancouver, Nov. 29 to Dec. 3.

The BCTF decided to reconsider the issue after a joint letter to the BCTF from Mark Weintraub, chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region, and Bob Willmot, chair of the B.C. branch of the Canada-Israel Committee. The letter outlined the concerns the two organizations had over the nature of the resolution, which condemned Israel's fence without condemning the terrorism that is the root cause of the barrier.

"This resolution lacks context, accuracy and the requisite balance," wrote Weintraub and Willmot. "Members [of the union] who know little about the conflict should be properly presented with full information and a balanced resolution if they are being asked to vote on something so controversial and so potentially alienating for some longtime and stalwart members of the labor movement who feel the concept of a security barrier is sound, although they may disagree with its routing."

As a result, the BCTF returned the issue to its executive, which some activists assumed meant the issue would be shelved for the time being. But a different group managed to get a similar resolution to the plenary after all.

"We understand that, the next day, individuals who are associated with the elementary teachers' association put forth a similar motion but, by reason of internal constitutional process, that motion was able to proceed to the B.C. Federation of Labor convention floor," Weintraub said.

The resolution, in the end, "resolved that the B.C. Federation of Labor through the Canadian Labor Congress demand that the Canadian government exert all possible pressure on the Israeli government to dismantle the wall built by Israel on occupied Palestinian territory."

It may not seem like a ringing victory for a balanced presentation of Middle East issues, but spokespeople for both the Canada-Israel Committee and Congress say that it is a sign labor is willing to engage with them on their concerns.

"This shift emphasizes the significance of engaging in a dialogue with the labor movement and calling to task the various inaccuracies in a constructive manner. The change in the text of the resolution is a result of this effort," said Nava Mizrahi, director of the Canada-Israel Committee for the Pacific region. "Again, it's a small but important first step."

Regrettably, she said, the final resolution did not address the very reason why Israel is building the anti-terror fence in the first place and it therefore lacks the requisite balance. Mizrahi suggests that such imbalance and lack of context does not contribute to achieving Arab-Israeli peace, but in fact may undermine the labor movement's claims to fairness and social justice.

"One-sided and inaccurate resolutions can easily be interpreted as a perversion of the social justice concerns [labor] purports to support," she said.

It may have been the process, as much as the final product, which gave encouragement to the CIC and Congress representatives, Mizrahi acknowledged, an attitude echoed by Weintraub.

"We were very much aware that there were individuals who were concerned by the one-sided nature of the resolution," Weintraub said. "There were other individuals who were highly motivated, [who] appeared to be very intent to have this motion be put forward.... We're still disappointed that there wasn't a proper emphasis on the reason why the security barrier had been implemented, namely to stop terrorism. That motivating reason was absent from the resolution and therefore if anyone is reading that resolution, it doesn't really make sense. It is just a one-sided condemnation. We are disappointed, but we do take cognizance of the fact that there was debate by reason of our communication and that there was some modification for the purposes of trying to be a little more balanced."

Jewish trade unionists, who have sometimes found themselves at odds with their allies as the Canadian labor movement has adopted wide-ranging and often vitriolic anti-Israel positions over the past several years, remain reticent as controversy continues to swirl. One prominent labor leader said the place for him to make his contribution is inside the movement, not in media.

Meanwhile, other efforts have been made between the Jewish community and Canada's left. Canadian Jewish Congress recently met with New Democratic Party members of Parliament Libby Davies (Vancouver East) and Bill Siksay (Burnaby-Douglas) to discuss a range of issues, including the imminent crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan.

"We met with [the MPs] on a number of issues including Darfur, resurgent anti-Semitism and the NDP's relationship with the Jewish community," said Weintraub. "CJC has met with Libby Davies on a number of occasions over the years and there have often been open exchanges on issues of agreement and issues of disagreement. We always value her accessibility and her commitment to listen carefully to views which she may not agree with."

Pat Johnson is a B.C. journalist and commentator.

http://www.jewishindependent.ca/archives/Dec04/archives04Dec24-02.html

Western Jewish Bulletin: Province takes the lead

September 17, 2004

Province takes the lead

Five minutes could save lives, says head of CJC.
PAT JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

The British Columbia Jewish community is taking a lead role in drawing world attention to the humanitarian disaster unfolding in the Sudanese region of Darfur.

Racially motivated attacks by Arab militias against the African, agricultural community of Darfur have led international relief agencies to warn that as many as 1.2 million lives are at risk if the world community does not mobilize to prevent a slaughter on a scale that rivals the catastrophe a decade ago in Rwanda, where 800,000 lives were lost in a race-based conflict.

Senator Mobina Jaffer, a representative of British Columbia in Parliament's upper house, is Canada's special envoy to the Sudanese peace process. She met with members of Canadian Jewish Congress last week and both parties say they are working to raise awareness and humanitarian relief for Darfur.

"We are doing all we can on a humanitarian basis," Jaffer told the Bulletin in an interview after her meeting with CJC. "We are, of course, providing help with food through the World Food Program, also through UNICEF and also with maternal health for mothers and young girls. We're having impact with the kind of programs we are choosing."

In addition to immediate humanitarian aid, Jaffer said Canada is using diplomatic channels to raise the global condemnation of the Sudanese-government-backed militias who are terrorizing the people of Darfur.

"At the United Nations, we are working very hard," Jaffer said. "Ambassador [Allan] Rock is working very hard to get our message across, which is that we want to give one consistent message as an international community: that the militias have to be disarmed."

Canada's new foreign minister, Pierre Pettigrew, recently returned from Europe, where Jaffer said he raised the issue of Sudan with every government representative with whom he met. Prime Minister Paul Martin is in close contact, Jaffer said, with President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria to see how Canada can help empower the African Union to take a constructive role in finding a peaceful resolution.

Jaffer was the first international envoy to tour the Sudanese crisis region, and her two visits there in the past two years left an indelible impression.

"The situation was desperate," Jaffer said of her first visit 15 months ago. "Now things have improved. Humanitarian help is going through, food is going through. But when I was there, people were living under twigs. There was very little food. Security was a huge challenge."

The United Nations, under the auspices of the World Food Program, has been able to get aid into the region despite the dangers and challenges presented by the violent atmosphere. Nevertheless, Jaffer echoed warnings by aid agencies that complacency on the part of the world community could be disastrous. The situation facing a million refugees in the region remains potentially cataclysmic.

"When people think of camps, they think of tents in a row and food being given in a pretty organized way," Jaffer said. "Here, people were living literally under twigs, with no protection from the elements. What was for me very, very touching was that the people were not broken; they were very, very strong. They were going to see this through. It led me to work even harder. The people are very, very strong."Jaffer was scheduled to return to Sudan this week for her third trip. Her last visit was in May.

"I have seen a lot of pain, because I'm a refugee myself," Jaffer said. "But the pain I saw in Sudan is just horrendous and we all need to work together to find a way [to alleviate it]."

Jaffer's meeting Sept. 7 with representatives of the Jewish community reflected the active approach CJC is taking in publicizing the Sudanese crisis.

"It made me feel very comforted," said the senator. "This is the Jewish community that, when I came [to Canada] were very kind to me." Jaffer cites Vancouver lawyer and Jewish community activist Jack Kowarsky as the only Canadian among the countless she approached three decades ago who would take a chance on hiring her as a new immigrant. She added she has worked on a variety of issues over the years with Erwin Nest, the executive director of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region.

"Their absolute anxiety and also zeal to work on this issue, to make Canadians aware of this issue – but more than that, to be supportive of people in Darfur – was very touching to me."

Canada and the international community must mobilize to ensure that humanitarian aid continues to reach the desperate people of Darfur, Jaffer said. But she added that disarming the militias is the necessary step to security and stability.

"Disarming will be the first step," she said. "It will create security, but it won't create peace."

Efforts by the African Union to bring together representatives of Darfur tribes and Sudanese Muslim leaders must be encouraged to create long-term peace, said Jaffer.

Mark Weintraub, chair of CJC, Pacific Region, and a member of the delegation that met with Jaffer, commended the senator's work and pledged co-operation.

"We indicated to her that we understood the tremendous responsibility and burden that was being placed on her shoulders as Canada's special envoy and we could empathize with the anguish that she must be experiencing in coming up against so many roadblocks," he said. "The United Nations simply is not mandating sufficient funds for peace-keeping troops. Too much time is being given the regime and there is not sufficient resolve within the United Nations to ensure that [a greater humanitarian catastrophe] will not occur."

Weintraub said Jewish leaders have a unique role to play in situations like Darfur."The Jewish community intuitively understands why this is an absolutely critical issue for all Canadians to speak out on," he said. "We wanted her to know that the Jewish community is available to take any suggestions or guidance. We ourselves have determined that there are certain steps we could do."

CJC has communicated with every B.C. MP, with special emphasis on cabinet ministers, to make the crisis in Sudan a priority issue. Weintraub is also urging individuals to act.

"Our plea to all Canadians is to stop for five minutes and pick up the phone or write a letter to a member of Parliament and the prime minister to indicate support for the special envoy's work, to call upon all levels of government to do everything that Canada can possibly do to make sure that there is appropriate civilian protection and that there are sufficient funds to deal with the humanitarian crisis and the peacekeeping efforts," Weintraub said. "There are ways that Canada can act even if the United Nations is frustrating us and even if there are all kinds of impediments."

There is a need for more peacekeepers in the region and additional funds are needed for humanitarian relief, he said.

"While Canada is a middle power and there are limitations to what we can do given the [Sudanese] regime, given all the geopolitical considerations, nonetheless, if Canadians were moved to respond to this tragedy in a more significant way, there is a likelihood that some lives may be saved," said Weintraub. "It takes five minutes."

Pat Johnson is a B.C. journalist and commentator.

http://www.jewishindependent.ca/archives/Sept04/archives04Sept17-01.html

Western Jewish Bulletin: Jews mobilize for Darfur

September 3, 2004

Jews mobilize for Darfur
Imminent genocide needs urgent action, says Congress.

PAT JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

Tens of thousands of people have died, more than a million have been displaced and as many as 1.2 million face death unless the world community unites to intervene in what appears to be a looming genocide in the African country of Sudan.

In recent weeks, cries of alarm have risen across the diplomatic community worldwide as the conflict in the western Sudanese region of Darfur has spiralled into what observers call a genocide or potential genocide. The current crisis is imbued with urgency due not only to the scale of the human suffering, but by the memory of civilization's failure to intervene when a frighteningly similar constellation of events occurred a decade ago in Rwanda.

In April 1994, about 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered and two million refugees were forced from their homes and country while the world community watched.

For Canadian Jewish Congress, the echoes go back further, to the memory of the Jewish genocide in Europe during the Second World War. Reflecting what it says is a mandate of confronting genocide and intolerance, CJC is intervening in the Sudan issue and is urging all Canadians to immediately act to prevent a looming human catastrophe.

Canadian Jewish Congress has expressed to Prime Minister Paul Martin its concern and willingness to aid. The Quebec region of the national Jewish communal agency helped mobilize a public rally to raise awareness last Friday afternoon in downtown Montreal and Mark Weintraub, chair of CJC, Pacific Region, is spearheading an effort to bring the issue to the fore of public consciousness in British Columbia and across the country. The group is working closely with the tiny Sudanese-Canadian community to co-ordinate efforts.The issue should be a top priority for Canadian Jews, as well as others, said Weintraub.

"We're taking up this issue for a number of reasons," said Weintraub, a Vancouver lawyer who is in his first year as regional head of Congress. Jewish history, recent and ancient, endows this community with a responsibility and a unique perspective on human catastrophes like the one occurring in Sudan and the one that was allowed to unfold in Rwanda a decade ago, Weintraub said.

"I think that goes right back to who we are as an organization and who we are as a people," said Weintraub. "We have a religious heritage of Abraham arguing with God not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah so as to save the lives of a few innocents. We have the commandment to the Israelites to remember kindness to the stranger. We have the prophetic call to pursue justice. Congress is a Jewish organization and we are informed by our history. It's who we are to be hopefully preoccupied – and I would hope even more preoccupied than we currently are as a community – with the challenge of how to make the world better.

"It would be completely insular and inconsistent with the most profound teachings of our traditions to take the view that now that we have successfully shunted the most virulent forms of anti-Semitism to the fringes we can pack up our tents and go home. Anti-Semitism is not defeated and the extraordinary gains we made in Canada within one generation were not made just through our own efforts, they were made with the assistance of others. We partnered with other minority groups in fighting for full civil and human rights. We were champions of all the civil rights and human rights legislation that developed over the last 50 years and champions of international declarations of human rights, which had as their backdrop the Holocaust and the Second World War."

The mobilization taking place in diplomatic and activist circles over the issue of Sudan is haunted by echoes of Rwandan failures.

"The message that comes through there is that the world could have done something and it didn't," Weintraub explained. "What's happening now is the recognition that the possible horror could be happening again in the continent of Africa on an absolutely massive scale. What we're being told is that upwards of 1.2 million people are at risk of death through the conflict there. This is something we don't want to look back on 10 years from now and say there was another Rwanda and the world remained silent."

Weintraub conveyed a letter to Canada's special envoy to the Sudanese peace process, British Columbia Sen. Mobina Jaffer, commending her work on the issue and offering support. Jaffer has toured the ravaged region of Sudan and spoken forcefully on the unfolding disaster.

Peace talks continued Sunday between Darfur rebels and the Sudanese regime. The conflict is the massive and catastrophic escalation of a long-simmering dispute between Arab nomads in the region and the largely agricultural population of African ethnicity. An estimated 50,000 have died in the past 18 months of conflict. The Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, are supported by the Khartoum regime and are apparently initiating a genocidal attack in the guise of crushing a rebellion by the primarily black African farmers.

Human Rights Watch, an international body, has stated that the Sudanese government is directly involved in the attacks on three African ethnic groups in Darfur.

"Government forces oversaw and directly participated in massacres, summary executions of civilians – including women and children – burnings of towns and villages, and the forcible depopulation of wide swathes of land long inhabited by the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa," HRW reported.

A U.S. State Department study, in conjunction with independent observers late last month in the neighboring country of Chad, to which refugees have fled, indicated 60 per cent of the Sudanese refugees had witnessed the murder of a family member and 20 per cent had witnessed a rape, according to the New York Times.

"There are enough reports from different organizations, which are not partisan, which collectively communicate that the people there are facing a crisis of proportions," Weintraub said. "We already know that tens of thousands have died and that over one-and-a-half million people have been driven from their homes by this conflict.

"It is of a magnitude that requires the conscience of Canadians to be moved," he said.

"We think there is always more that can be done and politicians are political leadership that responds to concerns of Canadians," said Weintraub. "Our community would be surprised as to how responsive our political leadership can be when they realize there is an issue that is of concern to the populace."

The leading role Congress appears to be taking on the Sudanese crisis stems in part from the special experience of Jewish history, said Weintraub.

"We ourselves know the tragedy and darkness of exile and genocide," he said. "I'm not saying the Jewish community has the only responsibility to speak out when ethnic and religious intolerance is rampant in the world, but there is no question that because of our experience we have greater empathy and certainly we don't want to [have] happen to others what happened to our own people 60 years ago. Tragically, we have that unique perspective. More importantly, we are not an island. We are connected and the Canadian Jewish community has mandated Canadian Jewish Congress since its inception to be concerned about religious intolerance and racism wherever it may be. This is not an issue that we are picking out of the air. It's an issue that goes to the heart of ethnic and racial intolerance, which we know something about."

Pat Johnson is a Vancouver journalist and commentator.

http://www.jewishindependent.ca/archives/Sept04/archives04Sept03-01.html

Western Jewish Bulletin: Election calls Jews to action

June 4, 2004

Election calls Jews to action
National, local bodies urge activism in your choice political campaign.

PAT JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

In what is shaping up as one of the most unpredictable election campaigns in recent memory, federal candidates are seeking the support of Jewish voters – and Jewish Canadians are taking a hard look at the choices facing them.

A candidates' forum sponsored by three multicultural agencies, including Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), is slated for next Wednesday at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. Candidates from the three national parties in each of the five Vancouver ridings have been invited to the forum, which is sponsored by CJC, with the Chinese-Canadian organization SUCCESS and the Vancouver Multicultural Society. The forum, which is similar to events in previous elections, will address issues of social justice, immigration, human rights and Canada's international role, in addition to questions raised from the floor.

In an open letter to CJC members and supporters, Mark Weintraub, the new chair of CJC, Pacific Region, urged Canadian Jews to get involved in politics.

"A campaign is a most significant time to establish relationships with and provide information of concern to potential members of Parliament," he wrote. "One of the best ways in doing this is to become active as a volunteer in a campaign. Even if your candidate is unsuccessful, the educative value of your participation for the longer term cannot be overemphasized."

Weintraub told the Bulletin he is encouraged that there have been a few signs of increased political activity among Jewish British Columbians, something CJC has long been encouraging.

In terms of issues specific to the Jewish community, Weintraub said the community shares the same concerns as the bulk of the Canadian electorate, from health-care policy, domestic security issues and the environment, to fair and equitable taxation. Even issues like anti-Semitism should not be considered "Jewish issues," he said. Citing as an example violence against women, Weintraub said. "we're all affected by the pathology." Though anti-Semitism affects Jewish Canadians most directly, he said, it is a Canadian problem and needs to be addressed as such.

At the national level, the new umbrella agency CIJA-PAC – the political action committee of the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy – is set to release "issue sheets" that will help Jewish and Zionist voters to query their local candidates. In a letter to CIJA members, the group's chair, Mark Waldman, equated participation in political activity with tikkun olam, the Jewish interdiction to help repair the world.

"Other groups are involving themselves in various political parties," Waldman wrote. "We too need to offer support to candidates and volunteer for their campaigns. Without our presence, visibility and participation, we will lose the ability to be heard in Ottawa on important policy issues at a time when a strong voice is needed most. The most effective means of conveying the Jewish community's messages and mutual understanding to our political leadership is by actively participating in the political process.... We need a strong base of support among all of the political parties."

Waldman told the Bulletin he would like to see Jewish Canadians avoid placing all their political eggs in one basket. Each member of the community should become active in the campaigns of the political party they feel best reflects their views – participation is key, rather than the support of one particular party.

"It's critical for our community to get involved in political activity," said Waldman. "The federal government plays an important role in all aspects of our life."

Waldman and others were recently in Washington, D.C., meeting with American political leaders and other Zionists. The speeches he heard from Democratic and Republican politicians, Waldman said, indicated that American leaders recognize the shared values between their country and the only democratic regime in the Middle East.

"Supporting Israel is an American value, it's not a Democratic or Republican value," he said. "We need to do that here."

Though the Jewish community has concerns with a wide swath of political issues, Canadian foreign policy toward Israel has leapt to the top of the community's agenda since the last election. Increasing acts of verbal and physical hatred over the past four years in Canada have created a sense of urgency and isolation. Canada's votes against Israel at the United Nations have often riled Jewish community leaders, though the addition of groups like Hamas to the list of banned terrorist organizations has been seen as a positive development.

Few Jewish candidates have put themselves forward for election in recent years. Two members of Vancouver's Jewish community contested Conservative party nominations in Vancouver-Quadra and Vancouver-South, but neither was successful. Canadians vote June 28.

The Vancouver candidates' forum being co-sponsored by CJC takes place Wednesday, June 9, 7 p.m., at the Norman Rothstein Theatre in the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.

Pat Johnson is a native Vancouverite, a journalist and commentator.

http://www.jewishindependent.ca/archives/June04/archives04Jun04-01.html

Western Jewish Bulletin: It starts on campuses

May 14, 2004

It starts on campuses
Local CJC stresses need to counter anti-Semitism.

KYLE BERGER, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

With the recent acts of anti-Semitism around the country, change is needed on Canada's university campuses. This was the topic of a presentation by Prof. Ed Morgan, guest speaker at Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), Pacific Region's triennial general meeting May 5.

In an interview with the Bulletin prior to the meeting, Morgan, a member of the faculty of law at the University of Toronto, explained that there is a constant political battle being fought on campuses that is not easy to win.

"We have a polarization of values on campus," he said. "We value free speech and academic freedom and we have this idea that the campus is the place where you are supposed to freely debate everything.

"At the other end of the spectrum, we also put a very high value on inclusiveness, making sure that no one feels alienated on campus," he continued. "Which means that we have a lot of protective rules for students. So when it comes to Jewish issues and Israel-oriented issues, university administrations are having a hard time figuring out which end of that spectrum they're supposed to be on."

Morgan noted a couple of incidents at York University in which anti-Israel speakers were allowed to announce their hatred to 200 cheering supporters, while pro-Israel presenters were refused a place to speak. He did not suggest that the administration of York University was anti-Israel or anti-Jewish. Instead, he pointed to the likelihood that the school's administration simply wanted to maintain a low profile rather than stir the pot with radical students.

"It's not that I'm suspicious of them, but they need to be pushed because they want to keep their heads low," he said. "It's hard for administrations to take on student groups, because they always end up looking heavy handed and clumsy when they try to discipline student politics."

The answer, Morgan suggested, is to push advocacy to a new level, including stronger efforts from university faculty. He is currently involved with a group of teachers who are trying to form such a group.

"Often times, if community advocacy groups that aren't used to how campuses work [speak to a school administration], administrators listen politely but they dismiss everything they say," he explained. "We're hoping to have a faculty body that understands the concerns about academic freedom that can give a pitch when there are problems on a campus."

Another solution, Morgan said, is to educate and involve more students."We have to make sure we have the resources to bring in interesting pro-Israel speakers and make sure there are Jewish events for people who want to participate in them."

The triennial meeting marked several changes at CJC, Pacific Region. Mark Weintraub was installed as chair, taking over from Nisson Goldman. The slate of officers included Jon Festinger, vice-chair, Richard Kurland, vice-chair, Dr. Mark Wexler, vice-chair, David Schwartz, secretary, Tony DuMoulin, treasurer, Gerry Cuttler, general counsel, and Herb Silber, national vice-president.

Joining the evening's proceedings were Chief Leonard George of the Tsleil-waututh nation, who spoke on behalf of the aboriginal community, and Attorney General Geoff Plant, who shared greetings from the B.C. government. The Morris Saltzman Award for outstanding contributions to community relations in British Columbia was presented to Sgt. Mark Graf of the Vancouver police department.

Weintraub, in his speech, which he provided to the Bulletin, also touched on the anti-Semitic acts that have been raging in Canada.

"Most of us here tonight are aware that Jewish communities around the world are facing an increased virulence of anti-Semitism not seen since the Holocaust," he said. The new anti-Semitism in fact differs little from the old, in that each careens into defamatory conspiracy theories of overwhelming Jewish power, argued Weintraub.

"One of my priorities will be to have us continue to vigorously advocate to all levels of government to ensure that our communities are as safe and secure as possible," he said. "To paraphrase one of our time-honored teachings, 'We are not obligated to finish all the work, but we are obligated to do our part.' "

For more information about CJC, Pacific Region, call 604-257-5101.

http://www.jewishindependent.ca/Archives/May04/archives04May14-03.html

Western Jewish Bulletin: Thanks for the kind words

January 10, 2003

Thanks for the kind words

Letters

This letter was originally sent to Chief Dora Wilson of the Hagwilget Village Council and is reprinted with permission.

Dear Chief Wilson:

I received a copy of your letter written to Chief Coon Come regarding Mr. Ahenakew. Currently, I am a national vice- president of Canadian Jewish Congress, being the representative from the Pacific Region (British Columbia/Yukon/Northwest Territories and Nunavut) to our national board.

I was involved in the deliberations of our regional board to craft an open letter to Premier Gordon Campbell condemning the recently held referendum and I had the pleasure of meeting with Chief Stewart Phillip at the union's open house, at which time we had an excellent exchange and reaffirmed our collective commitment to ensuring that the Ahenakew incident would in fact be used to strengthen relations between our communities. As such, I am somewhat aware of relations between our communities' leadership. Your letter is most appreciated and is representative of the overwhelming views of aboriginal leaders. Please be assured that our community knows this well.

Your letter truly speaks to the shock that Mr. Ahenakew's statements caused. Your understanding of the hurt and concern to our community was powerfully expressed. Indeed, the reaction we have received from many aboriginal leaders and individuals has been overwhelming and our national office will be making a public statement to this effect soon.

One of the unfortunate consequences of Mr. Ahenakew's statements is that they had the potential to give those in the larger community a purported justification for saying that racism exists everywhere and not just in the white community. The achievement of aboriginal goals is in fact an important goal to us as a community and therefore we were troubled not only by the expression of anti-Semitism but also by the potential setback to the aboriginal community.

Without minimizing in any way the Ahenakew affair, we will not let our focus be shifted from the main centres of anti-Semitism and attacks on Jews today. As I write this letter, our community is in mourning by reason of another attack on the Jewish nation, which just occurred last weekend, resulting in 22 deaths and more than 100 injured. Your letter of understanding, referring to the fact that Jews are in "constant alert for acts of terror," is comfort at a time when there are some who would attempt to justify these murderous acts as legitimate expressions of political aspirations.

While there is still much work to be done in both of our respective communities to advance greater understanding, it can be said with certainty that the bonds that we have created through working together in the past are strong enough to endure this incident and indeed have been strengthened through your expressions of denunciation and shock and reaffirmations of hope.

Many in the aboriginal community suffer each day from policies rooted in institutional racism and colonialism. The deaths arising from poverty and poor health care, which occur every day in Canada, ought to be ever-present in our consciousness. We are also aware that this current travesty of policy is only part of the contemporary reality – the indigenous peoples' survival in the face of over 500 years of attempted physical and cultural genocide is testament to the strength of your history, your traditions and the universal human spirit. In this way both of our people's have much in common.

Mark Weintraub
National Vice-President
Canadian Jewish Congress


http://www.jewishindependent.ca/Archives/Jan03/archives03Jan10-09.html