CJCF welcomes ruling by Court of Appeal of Ontario on Sears case

The Canadian Jewish Community Forum (CJCF) has welcomed the ruling of the Court of Appeal of Ontario, rejecting the attempt by the editor of  an antisemitic Toronto publication  to appeal his conviction for promoting hate.

In a written decision released on  July 16, 2021, the Court rejected the attempts to appeal the convictions of James Sears on two counts of willfully promoting hatred against identifiable groups - Jews and women - contrary to S.319(2) of the Criminal Code for statements written and published in Your Ward News. The statements appeared in Your Ward News, distributed in Toronto and online between January, 2015 and June, 2018.

"This decision reaffirms once more, as has been determined by the Supreme Court of Canada and multiple other courts, that our justice  system is  capable of understanding the difference between hate speech, as it is now clearly defined and interpreted ,and merely offensive or distasteful statements," said Les Scheininger, spokesperson for the CJCF. "As was found in this most recent decision, the governing legal principles were set by the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of antisemitic Alberta school teacher James Keegstra in 1990 and guide the Courts in applying the test for promotion of hatred. As in the Your Ward News case, in which the Court was able to determine the distinction between hate speech and satire, the Courts have been capable of applying the law set out in the Keegstra case and deciding which statements are stronger than  'dislike' and  'disdain' or only ''discredit, humiliate, hurt or offend."  It is nonetheless sad to see decades after the courts dealt firmly with  the likes of Keegstra, Ernst Zundel and others that individuals like this still taint our society with their hatred.

"In Canada, we have the tools to combat hate, whether it is spread by public statements, written word or on the internet. It is the responsibility of government and law enforcement authorities to strongly enforce the law."

About the  Canadian Jewish Community Forum

The Canadian Jewish Community Forum was formally launched on May 27, 2021 by a  group of former Canadian Jewish Congress senior leaders from coast to coast. For 92 years, until its dissolution in 2011, CJC was  recognized as  the Parliament of Canadian Jewry and served as the community’s democratic and grassroots voice, advocate and intervenor with governments, courts and other communities, domestically and internationally.  The CJCF will  provide a forum to educate, discuss and debate issues of interest and concern, both regional and national, that impact Canada, the Canadian Jewish community and the welfare of the people of Israel.

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Contact:

Mike Cohen

Communications Advisor, communicationsmjc@gmail.com

CJCF Commends Important Initiative of Inter-Parliamentary Task Force to Combat Online Antisemitism

The Canadian Jewish Community Forum wishes to commend members of the national legislatures of Australia, Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States who came together across party lines to launch the Inter-Parliamentary Task Force to Combat Online Antisemitism. 

“We wish to commend these leaders for taking the important international initiative to address the urgent dangers which are getting worse on a daily basis resulting in worldwide physical assaults, deaths and civil insurrection,” said CJCF Spokesperson Les Scheininger.

Mr. Scheininger said that the CJCF wishes to thank these leaders for their hard work and diligence to date and welcomes the intentions to continue the efforts.

“We appreciate the preliminary recommendation that legislators should consider ways to make the online space safer for all for all,” Mr.  Scheininger said. “Thirty countries have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism. World political leaders and civil society condemn racism. Numerous internet providers have banned various other examples of objectionable posts. Yet, in spite of repeated calls for self-regulation and self-policing, announcements of proposed changes and new proposed legislation, racist posts still persist and are becoming more prevalent.”

The CJCF hopes that the next stages of the Task Force work includes the study of the use of existing international legislation, including the Canadian Criminal Code and its enforcement, present international conventions and protocols criminalizing racist and xenophobic acts and the need for legislators to take responsibility for ensuring that there are criminal prosecutions rather than placing the burden on groups and individuals to take action.

About the  Canadian Jewish Community Forum

The Canadian Jewish Community Forum was formally launched on May 27, 2021 by a  group of former Canadian Jewish Congress senior leaders from coast to coast. For 92 years, until its dissolution in 2011, CJC was  recognized as  the Parliament of Canadian Jewry and served as the community’s democratic and grassroots voice, advocate and intervenor with governments, courts and other communities, domestically and internationally.  The CJCF will  provide a forum to educate, discuss and debate issues of interest and concern, both regional and national, that impact Canada, the Canadian Jewish community and the welfare of the people of Israel

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Contact:

Mike Cohen

Communications Advisor, communicationsmjc@gmail.com 

CJCF Manitoba Region expresses deep concern over possible exclusion of mohels to perform circumcisions in a home or synagogue

The Canadian Jewish Community Forum, Manitoba Region, has voiced its concerns with the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons, which appears to prevent mohels who are physicians from performing circumcisions in a home or synagogue. In Winnipeg all the mohels are physicians.

CJCF Manitoba Spokesperson Israel  Ludwig  said that the   College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba's Draft Standard of Practice for Performing Office-Based Procedures (including cosmetic/aesthetic and minor surgical procedures, platelet-rich plasma therapy, and laser service), is now in the public domain for consultation and feedback.

Israel Ludwig

Included in this Standard of Practice are male circumcisions. In section 2.1 of the draft, it is noted "members must not perform, or cause, permit, or enable another person to perform any procedure in a location other than a medical clinic." The performance of male circumcision by members (physicians) has been included in the draft, however as Mr.  Ludwig points out the performance of male circumcision as part of a brit milah, or part of a religious ceremony, was not explicitly referenced. 

"If brought into force, this draft as it is currently worded., would therefore make the performance of a Jewish brit milah by a physician outside of a medical clinic a violation of the College's Standard of Practice," Mr. Ludwig stated in a letter to  The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Manitoba. "The brit milah has deep and fundamental roots in Jewish tradition and our heritage. Abraham was commanded by God to circumcise his son Isaac on the eighth day following birth. Since then, Jewish people have faithfully and continuously followed this commandment for thousands of years. A covenant between Jews and God, the brit milah is an indelible physical symbol of our everlasting bond with God. In addition, it is the rite of passage whereby our newborn sons are welcomed into the Jewish community, surrounded by the love of their family and friends. This ceremony is often performed in a synagogue or a family home."

Mr. Ludwig said  there is overwhelming evidence in peer-reviewed medical journals of the safety of circumcision and the skill of a trained and certified mohel  -the person who performs the Jewish rite of circumcision). "I urge you to consider the implications of this standard, which would infringe on our right to religious freedom, and amend the proposed Standard of Practice to explicitly exclude Jewish ritual male circumcisions," his leteter states.

About the  Canadian Jewish Community Forum

The Canadian Jewish Community Forum was formally launched on May 27, 2021 by a  group of former Canadian Jewish Congress senior leaders from coast to coast. For 92 years, until its dissolution in 2011, CJC was  recognized as  the Parliament of Canadian Jewry and served as the community’s democratic and grassroots voice, advocate and intervenor with governments, courts and other communities, domestically and internationally.  The CJCF will  provide a forum to educate, discuss and debate issues of interest and concern, both regional and national, that impact Canada, the Canadian Jewish community and the welfare of the people of Israel.

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Contact:

Mike Cohen
Communications Advisor, 514-826-0383