Archive for April 12th, 2009
Canada And Attacks on Jews.
I am indebted to Terry Glavin for bringing to my attention the report: 2008 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents in Canada.
It makes scary reading, as Terry says:
“Canada has half the the population of Britain, but in 2008, three times the incidence of antisemitism in Britain.
In 2008: In Canada, 1,135 antisemitic incidents, an increase of 8.9% over the 2007 figures. Part of a rising trend over several years.”
I haven’t fully read the report, but this part stuck out at me:
“Patterns of Occurrence
Of the 1,135 reported cases, nearly one half (547) took place in the last four months of the year. The year-end spike can clearly be linked to the upsurge in concern about the economy and widespread coverage of the Madoff scandal. A recent Anti- Defamation League (ADL) survey supports this theory regarding the negative societal fall-out of the global recession, showing that 31% of Europeans cling to age-old antisemitic canards about alleged Jewish wealth and power in their belief that Jews have caused the economic downturn.19
As well, the beginning of the war in Gaza had an effect. Of the 151 incidents that occurred in December, the month with the highest total of the year, 70 related to the emerging Mid-East crisis. Of these, 36 occurred in the last few days of the year as tensions heightened. This is typically a very quiet period due to the holiday season.
Although there were regional differences, a further concentration of incidents (101) was noted in July in Canada overall. Increases during the summer were particularly noticeable in Quebec during July and August, when 63 out of the 245 cases reported in the province occurred. That is 25.7% of the total for the entire year in just two months. In rural Quebec, 33 out of the 44 incidents reported during 2008 (75%) occurred during those two summer months. This can be explained in part by ongoing prejudice against members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, who customarily vacation in the countryside each year. This is, in fact, a continuation of a trend noted in the 2007 Audit.”
Read more, at the bottom of the page.
