November 22, 2024
Mr. Anthony Wilson-Smith,
President and CEO,
Historica Canada
&
Board of Directors
10 Adelaide Street East, Suite 400 Toronto, ON, CANADA M5C 1J3
Dear Mr. Wilson-Smith and Historica Canada Board of Directors;
The Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation and Allied Voices for Israel, are two reputable Canadian charitable organizations that are raising awareness of antisemitism in Canada, educating children, youth, and adults about this ancient hatred and combating it with advocacy and education. The global rise in antisemitism is seen in many fields and very sadly, also in arts and culture. This must be confronted.
Historica Canada has a highly positive reputation for presenting Canadian history, culture, and unique contributions by average to extraordinary Canadians. It is therefore, shocking that a partner of Historica promotes ahistorical information, best described as disinformation.
The recent release of maps by your partner Native-Land Digital is an example of antisemitism, cloaked in information distortion and eradication. The Jews are the indigenous people of the land known today as Israel, having arisen in Judea and been scattered across the globe through centuries of invasions, persecutions and pogroms. Yet, there has been a Jewish presence in the land for thousands of years, so the production of a map labelling the area “Palestine” is both a lie and an attempt to eradicate the Jewish people’s presence in the land.
We call on Historica Canada to immediately cut ties with Native-Land Digital and issue an apology to the Jewish community and all Canadians. We urge that you cease sharing any information provided by Native-Land Digital until such time as they issue corrections and an apology, and eliminate any reference to any current peoples, other than the Jews, as indigenous to Israel.
We are pleased to provide you with information about a relevant app that is an interactive platform about land and territories that is not antisemitic. www.whose.land is a web-based app that uses GIS technology to assist users in identifying Indigenous Nations, territories and communities across Canada. This is an app produced by Karen Restoule, an Indigenous Canadian lawyer. It is imperative that students at all levels in Canada be provided accurate information and not be exposed to bias, ahistorical narratives and misinformation that denies them proper educational references and may harm any community.
Thank you for your consideration.
Regards,
Andria Spindel, Executive Director, CAEF
Signed on behalf of CAEF and AVI
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