Vancouver Considers Adopting Controversial Anti-Semitic Definition

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A new council in Vancouver has been embroiled in international controversy this week by considering a motion to adopt the definition of anti-Semitism that is currently rattling the United Nations.

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The International Holocaust Memorial Alliance’s working definition describes anti-Semitism as “hatred of Jews”, an expression of hatred toward their beliefs or property. Adopted in Ottawa in 2003.

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Some of Vancouver’s Jewish and Indigenous communities, as well as legal advocacy groups, have denounced the proposal locally. It is said that there is

Sid Schnead, founder of Independent Jewish Voice Canada, said it was a “good faith resolution”, but adopting it in Vancouver could have detrimental consequences.

He gave the example of the London Borough Council’s refusal to host a 2019 event in support of Palestinian children.

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“Passing this policy could threaten Vancouverites from advocating for the liberation of Palestine.”

Vancouver City Councilor Sarah Kirby Jung, who drafted the motion, disagrees.

She said the non-binding period will help protect Vancouver’s Jewish community from the discrimination it faces in Canada.

“It’s a widely respected definition that’s implemented by states across the country,” Kirby-Yung said.

Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba, along with 16 other countries, have recently adopted this definition.

The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg praised Manitoba’s decision, saying it shows the state recognizes the growing hatred of Jews and the need to combat it.

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“Defining anti-Semitism is the first step in recognizing its symptoms, and it is the key to fighting it,” said Simon Koffler Vogel, director of Canada’s Center for Israeli and Jewish Affairs. said in a news release.

However, BC First Nations leaders have advised the City of Vancouver not to adopt this definition, saying its inclusion would undermine the city’s current political stance on discrimination.

“It conflates criticism of the state of Israel with anti-Semitism, thereby restricting freedom of expression and the right to public protest..including against Israel’s violent repression of Palestinian indigenous peoples,” said the B.C. Indian chief. Coalition Stewart Phillip is the new mayor and council.

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“If the Vancouver City Council adopts this definition, human rights defenders who confront such injustice could be falsely accused of anti-Semitism.”

Meghan McDermott, policy director for the Civil Liberties Association of B.C., said the Alliance definition and accompanying diagram, if implemented, would “severely chill” the political expression of Vancouver residents.

“We support the right of people to praise or condemn the actions of foreign or domestic governments without being vulnerable to censorship or other action from local governments,” McDermott said.

This month, 128 academics urged the United Nations not to adopt a definition of an alliance amid growing calls that it was “hijacked” to protect the Israeli government from international criticism.

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“Ample evidence indicates that these examples have been weaponized to discredit and silence legitimate criticism of Israeli policies as anti-Semitic,” their joint letter said. To read.

The BC has yet to adopt a definition, but Prime Minister John Horgan said in a June letter to the Center for Israel-Jewish Affairs in Vancouver that the Alliance’s definition “determines what is anti-Semitic and what is not.” It helps us make decisions,” he said.

“To effectively combat one of the world’s oldest forms of hatred, it must first be clearly identified.”

In Canada, Vancouver became one of the first cities to work on the definition.

Previous councils, including Kirby-Yung, voted for the definition to be considered by the city’s Ethno-Cultural Equality Advisory Committee in July 2019.

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Since then, “the city has also seen hundreds of emails sent to the city council in support of this,” said Kirby-Yung, who plans to submit the motion on Tuesday.

sgrochowski@postmedia.com

twitter.com/sarahgrochowski

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