We wish you good health and well-being in this difficult time! We encourage all our readers and supporters to follow government health directives, while respecting the new rules for social distancing and hygiene.
In the meantime, CAEF continues to monitor antisemitism and antiZionism.
CAEF Confronts Canadian Universities over Anti-Israel Apartheid Weeks and BDS.
CAEF has taken a stand! We are committed to stopping the annual farce of Anti-Israel Apartheid Week, an event held at many campuses across this country. Antisemitism is still the most virulent virus confronting the Jewish community. CAEF is prepared to identify and confront the virus initiators, and carriers, as well as their celebrants, and the ignorant useless idiots and pawns who support this hatred.
On March 13, 2020, CAEF delivered letters from our legal counsel to McMaster University, York University, The University of Toronto, Ryerson University and The University of Ottawa, advising that it is not acceptable to hold events filled with outright lies that endanger and alienate Jewish students and the Jewish public. The letters have demanded an end to the hateful activities held under the banner of Israel Apartheid Week, the shrill call for boycotting, divesting and sanctioning Israel. CAEF pointed out how the universities’ contravene their responsibility to protect all students -- obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code -- and the lack of congruence with university policies and obligations when discriminating against Jewish students.
For years the various universities have defended their inaction with arguments about freedom of speech, and deflected responsibility by stating that student clubs are independent of the administration. This, of course, is misleading. While student government and clubs may operate independently, they must follow all university policies and government laws and regulations, and are ultimately using public and university resources, so they must be accountable. Preaching hatred and lies is counter to the purpose of a university, counter to moral codes of integrity, and certainly counter to the rights of Jews to be treated fairly and protected by Human Rights laws.
CAEF advised of potential legal action should the university or responsible bodies not halt the continuation of these despicable displays of hatred. While each institution may not have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, our federal government has and Ontario is taking steps to do likewise. It is a sure sign of bigotry and hatred that only one country is singled out for this malignancy, this contemptible ancient virus founded on lies. No amount of defense claiming freedom of speech can support pure hatred. No amount of university decision-makers claiming the independence of student bodies from the administration can make this defensible.
Could you imagine an event that is homophobic, anti-Christian, or anti-Muslim being tolerated, for even an instant? If peace is the focus, where are the calls for the Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian Liberation Organization and other combatants to lay down their arms and negotiate? If human rights are threatened, where are the calls for the Arabs to cease killing gay people, arming children and using human shields, or applying the death penalty to Arabs for selling land to a Jew or for recognizing Israel? The international community conferred Jewish rights to all of Israel in 1922 and these are irrevocable. Read the letters and several recent responses. Stay tuned to read more about how we are tackling this 15-year-old annual hate fest. JOIN US on the frontlines.
San Remo Centenary celebration postponed.
Also, we regret having to postpone the community celebration of the 100th anniversary of the San Remo Declaration, but like organizations and corporations across Canada, we are strictly following government guidelines to refrain from hosting large gatherings. Watch for a Fall date. We thank the dozens of community supporters which lent their good names to our event, all listed here.
Commemorate the San Remo Declaration by learning more at www.caef.ca/sanremo
Send your support to:
CAEF P.O. Box 42044 John Woodbine PO Markham,ON L3R 0P9
Every donation, small or large, makes a significant difference.
We appreciate the efforts of all who see the need to stop this shanda (disgrace). We will collaborate with others who see the importance of ending this institutionalized antisemitic campaign on Canadian campuses. Will you join us in combating campus antisemitism?