Anti-Semitic Incidents in Canada in 2011

These incidents are from the latest survey by the B'Nai Brith.

JANUARY

Toronto, ON - A Jew is sent a letter threatening
to “cut you up”.

Montreal, QC - Rocks are thrown through windows
of four synagogues and one Jewish day
school.

Markham, ON - A swastika is painted outside a
seniors’ residence where many Holocaust survivors
reside.

Kingston, ON - An elementary school student
harasses another child, telling him he is a Nazi
and calling him a “Jew boy”.

Vancouver, BC - Students find antisemitic
graffiti near their school.

Toronto, ON - A group of teens swarm a man
walking home from synagogue, throw pennies
at him and call him a “dirty Jew”.

Edmonton, AB - The Mayor of Edmonton is
labeled a “f*****g Jew”.

Sudbury, ON - Antisemitic graffiti is scrawled
on campus.

FEBRUARY

Vaughan, ON - A swastika is carved outside a
synagogue.

Mississauga, ON - Jews are threatened with
another Holocaust during a rally.

Calgary, AB - Posters promoting a march by a
white supremacist group that advocates
antisemitism are distributed in an area where
many Jews live.

Ottawa, ON - Antisemitic slurs are voiced publicly
on campus during a protest over union
access to pension rights.

Montreal, QC - A mezuzah on the apartment
door of a Jewish family is defaced.

MARCH

Oshawa, ON - A Jewish child in a public school
is taunted and harassed.

Halifax, NS - Online complainants allege that
the Rothschilds [a well-known Jewish philanthropic
family] were responsible for the 9/11
atrocities.

Victoria, BC - Antisemitic slurs are spray
painted on stadium walls.

Toronto, ON - A home owner turns to a Jewish
neighbour during a petty dispute with the
threat: “F*****g Jew, I’m going to get a gun
and kill you and your kids”.


Montreal, QC - Contributors to a blog complain
about the alleged behaviour of orthodox
Jews.

Richmond, BC - Antisemitic slurs are spray
painted on stadium walls.

Georgina, ON - Red swastikas are painted onto
a Jewish behaviour of orthodox Jews.

Saskatoon, SK - A Patriot Movement blog refers
to taxes as a plot by the Rothschild family
to control the cosmos”.

APRIL

Montreal, QC - In a parking lot of a condominium
building with many Jewish residents, cars
are vandalized with swastikas and antisemitic
slurs.

Ottawa, ON - A Jewish student seeking a position
in student government is subjected to
antisemitic harassment.

St. Agathe, QC - A group of teens throw pennies
at a family on their way to synagogue, calling
them “cheap bastards”.

Winnipeg, MB - A public campaign to derail
inclusion of a Holocaust gallery in the new Canadian
Human Rights Museum depicts Jews
as pigs.

St. Thomas, ON - A Jewish participant in a
hockey league is harassed with antisemitic
slurs.

MAY

Montreal, QC - Kosher products are defaced
with antisemitic symbols at a local grocery
store.

Cape Spears, NF - A public monument is defaced
with “f**k Jews” and swastikas.

Montreal, QC - A beer bottle is thrown through
the windows of a synagogue.

Winnipeg, MB - A homecare worker taunts the
elderly Jewish woman she looks after telling
her, “You Jews killed Jesus”.

JUNE

Ottawa, ON - A government employee faces
ongoing antisemitic harassment, including
death threats, leading to her resignation.

Richmond Hill, ON - An animal clinic owned
by a Jews is defaced with antisemitic slur
“Kike”.

Montreal, QC - A group of teens attack and
beat a visibly Jewish man waling in the street
with his child.

Ottawa, ON - A government employee uses a
office server during working hours to make
antisemitic accusations, alleging Jews carried
out to the 9/11 attacks.

Montreal, QC - A beer bottle is thrown through
the windows of a synagogue.

Toronto, ON - A Jewish community group and
a synagogue get harassing calls calling them
“Christ killers”.

Calgary, AB - A Jewish high school student is
taunted with antisemitic slurs and death
threats.

Mississauga, ON - The graffiti “Kill the Jews” is
found at Mississauga’s City Hall.

Ottawa, ON - A Jewish cemetery is desecrated,
with tombstones overturned and defaced.

JULY

Montreal, QC - A car parked outside a Jewish
home is defaced with slur “Jew ride”.

Windsor, ON - A synagogue is defaced with
swastikas and other antisemitic messaging.

Montreal, QC - A beer bottle is thrown through
the windows of a synagogue.

Ottawa, ON - A Youtube link to a video alleging
Jews were responsible for 9/11 is sent to various
MP offices.

Toronto, ON - An online comment to a news
story about the flotilla accuses Jews of organ
trafficking.

AUGUST

Toronto, ON - Antisemitic remarks are broadcast
at an anti-Israel rally outside the provincial
legislature.

Lethbridge, ON - Chassidic rabbis are harassed
as they attempt to celebrate a bar mitzvah in a
public area.

Napanee, ON - Vandals deface a public park
with the graffiti “Gas the Jews” and swastikas.

Montreal, QC - Objects are thrown from a car
at a group of visibly Jewish pedestrians.

Dundas, ON - A Jewish residence is defaced
with “Hitler” and swastikas.

Toronto, ON - A mezuzah is ripped off and
stomped on, shortly after a Jewish family move
into a new condominium.

SEPTEMBER

Vaughan, ON - A predominantly Jewish law
firm receives antisemitic harassing calls, saying
the lawyers should “burn in an oven like
Auschwitz”.

Montreal, QC - Antisemitic graffiti is spray
painted in a laneway leading to a Jewishowned
farm.

Edmonton, AB - A jewish day school is defaced
with the ugly slur “F**k the Jews”.

Winnipeg, MB - An individual assumes a non-
Jew wearing a Star of David-style necklace is
Jewish, and verbally harasses her.

Montreal, QC - A boy wearing a kippah is
swarmed by a group of teens and assaulted.

Edmonton, AB - A jewish day school is defaced
with the ugly slur “F**k the Jews”.

Winnipeg, MB - An individual assumes a non-
Jew wearing a Star of David-style necklace is
Jewish, and verbally harasses her.

OCTOBER

Ottawa, ON - A Palestinian envoy to Canada
tweets a link to a video calling for “Death to the
Jews”.

Fredericton, NB - A synagogue is defaced with
swastikas.

Hampstead, QC - Television coverage of a debate
over noise bylaws prompts a Montreal
media personality’s Facebook friend to suggest
the Olympic stadium should be turned into a
concentration camp where Chassidim can be
imprisoned.

St. John’s, NF - Vandals paint “F**k the Jews”
at the synagogue entrance.

NOVEMBER

Winnipeg, MB - A Jewish high school student
is verbally harassed with antisemitic slurs and
her hair is set on fire.

Windsor, ON - A synagogue is defaced with
antisemitic graffiti and blue and red swastikas.

Montreal, QC - A video posted of a Montrealbased
man calling for Muslims to search out
synagogues to deliver messages of hate.

Victoria, BC - Following ongoing harassment, a
Jewish student’s campus residence is defaced
with swastikas.

DECEMBER

Calgary, AB - The Jewish community centre is
vandalized with antisemitic graffiti.

Winnipeg, MB - Comments at a murder trial
turn into an antisemitic tirade against a Jewish
lawyer.

Victoria, BC - Tombstones are overturned and
defaced with swastikas at the country’s oldest
Jewish cemetery.

Halifax, NS - A teenage webmaster in Halifax
posts antisemitic conspiracy allegations.

Victoria, BC - Tombstones are overturned and
defaced with swastikas at the country’s oldest
Jewish cemetery.

Chinese espionage....

Chinese espionage might have crippled Nortel...

An ominous pattern of economic espionage has cost American companies at least $13 billion in recent years as corporate spies sell everything from chemical secrets to military technology - with China being the most persistent perpetrator, according to federal authorities.

"It's never been a more significant issue than it is right now,'' said Frank Figliuzzi, in charge of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division.

Retired engineer David Wen-Chyu Liou, a naturalized U.S. citizen from China who worked for Dow Chemical Co. and lived for a time in Houston until he was convicted and sentenced to federal prison this year, was paid $600,000 for selling Dow's chemical secrets to two Chi-nese companies.

"I'm not a Chinese spy," Liou, who is to start his sentence in June, told the Houston Chronicle. "I am just an ordinary retiree, but they turned me into some kind of international spy."

While employed by Dow for 27 years, Liou worked on the intricacies of things like Styrofoam, Napalm and Ziploc baggies. After retiring, he developed a business as a consultant helping his native China revolutionize its method of manufacturing chlorinated polyethylene, CPE, a polymer used for automotive hoses, electric cable jackets and vinyl siding.

But there was a problem: The world's best-selling brand of CPE, Tyrin, belonged to Dow.
A Dow lawsuit against Liou and his business associates led to an FBI investigation, a federal indictment, a guilty verdict and a five-year prison sentence imposed in January.

Our web page is now up for our upcoming film and panel discussion on China.  This will take place on May 28th in Ottawa.  Mark your calendars now.

Our Facebook page is here.

Diplomatic crisis in China....

Another detention....

Outspoken Chinese government critic Hu Jia has been detained in the latest move by security forces against people linked to activist Chen Guangcheng, who is reportedly under US “protection.”

Just hours after Hu had told AFP on Saturday he believed his blind friend Chen was safe in the U.S. embassy in Beijing, his wife said on Twitter overnight that her husband had been taken away by the authorities.

Self-taught lawyer Chen fled house arrest on April 22 with the help of supporters from under the noses of dozens of guards, and subsequently recorded a video alleging abuses against him and his family.

And, here's a link to our Facebook page for our upcoming major event on China - When China Met Africa (Film) and China in Canada (Panel Discussion) on May 28th in Ottawa.

They'll even detain your friends...

If you dissent, your family and friend will be targeted....

A Chinese writer who fled the country last year has alleged officials have detained a friend for seven months in the mistaken belief that he funded the escape.

Liao Yiwu, now living in Germany, has issued an appeal urging writers and human rights campaigners to call for Li Bifeng's release.

News of Li's detention comes amid growing concern for He Peirong, who said she had helped blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng escape house arrest last week, and Guo Yushan, another sympathiser. Both are thought to have been detained – highlighting the risks faced by those who support activists and dissidents.
Liao slipped across the border into Vietnam last July after authorities had denied him permission to leave China 17 times.

He said state security officers in south-western Sichuan province had detained Li two months later and that a court was likely to consider his case on 8 May, although prosecutors had twice rejected attempts to charge him with economic crimes.

"The 'pretext' provided this time was too far-fetched even for the Communist party," he wrote.
"I recently learned from several channels that the police arrested Li Bifeng because of me. The police suspect [he] financed my escape – this is a groundless lie."

Li, who is also a poet and author, was jailed for five years for his involvement in the 1989 pro-democracy movement. In 1998, he was jailed for fraud over the sale of a safebox from his workplace, shortly after investigating a strike by textile workers and writing an open letter to authorities about his findings.

Don't forget our upcoming film and panel discussion on China in Canada.  NO holds barred - this will be one hard-hitting forum in Ottawa on May 28th.  Set your calendars now!

Crackdown in China....

Now, they go after the relatives...

Concern is growing for relatives and supporters of Chen Guangcheng, the blind legal activist who fled from 19 months of house arrest in a Chinese village in Shandong province and is said to be sheltering inside the American embassy in Beijing. Police have detained four family members and two of those who aided his escape, a rights group said.

The US has declined to comment on Chen's whereabouts, but friends have said that he is at the embassy, although he had told them he did not wish to seek asylum. His case threatens to overshadow the arrival of US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and treasury secretary Timothy Geithner for bilateral talks in Beijing this week.
Chen, a self-taught legal activist, fell foul of authorities for exposing a mass campaign of forced sterilisations and abortions in his area. He was jailed for four years on what supporters said were trumped-up charges and put under house arrest following his release in September 2010. He and his wife have not even been able to meet neighbours or use the telephone or internet. At one stage their young daughter was prevented from going to school.

In a video appeal to Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, released as news of his escape broke on Friday, Chen said that he feared "insane retribution" against his family, who remain in Dongshigu village, Linyi prefecture, in the eastern province of Shandong.

The situation of his wife, mother and six-year-old daughter – who have also been living under house arrest – is unknown. But the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network said they believed four relatives were already in custody. Chen's older brother, Chen Guangfu, and nephew, Chen Kegui, were detained after guards broke into their home when they learned of the activist's escape. Chen Kegui said he used a knife to defend himself and his mother. Chen's cousin, Chen Guangcun, and his cousin's son, Chen Hua, were also taken into custody, CHRD added.

Our event on China is on May 28th in Ottawa.  Don't miss it.  We'll have a film on China in Africa, followed by a panel discussion on China in Canada.

Corruption in China....

We have to ensure this corruption doesn't come to Canada....

The Chinese call it hei shehui or “black society” — a vast flourishing underworld of crime, corruption and greed that has become the most pervasive and dangerous side effect of China’s economic miracle.
It is supposed to be secret, but it is everywhere.

Officials have expensive foreign cars, endless banquets, foreign trips and generous rounds of drinks. Bureaucrats use their family connections and public influence to build private fortunes; public funds are diverted into stock and real estate speculation; farms and old apartments are illegally expropriated and resold to developers.

Factories bribe officials to get supplies; truck drivers are constantly stopped for “safety inspections” that can be avoided with a “special fine;” police officers demand money for residency permits; railway ticket sellers need extra cash to find a seat on a train and farmers give bureaucrats packets filled with money during the Chinese New Year to make sure they get enough seeds to plant their next crop.

And, don't forget our upcoming film (When China Met Africa) and panel discussion (China in Canada) in Ottawa on May 28th.

When China Met Africa/China in Canada

When China Met Africa (Film)
China in Canada (Panel Discussion)

May 28, 7:00 PM
Library & Archives Canada
395 Wellington, Ottawa
Admission:  $15 ($10 for students)

"A dark, quiet, damning documentary looking at China's determined expansion into Africa (here Zambia) through the lives of a Chinese farmer, a road builder, and the Zambian trade minister. When in 1999 China announced its "go global" policy it had Africa very much in mind, and specifically the raw materials that go into the construction of our electrical equipment. A creeping, alarming account of exploitation as well as a study into the psychology of colonialism." (Financial Times)

After the film, we will have a panel discussion on the implications of Chinese state-owned investments in Canada with award-winning journalist Terry Glavin, Human Rights campaigner David Kilgour, Terrorism and Security Specialist David Harris, University of Ottawa Professor Scott Simon, and Jason Loftus, deputy publisher for The Epoch Times Canada.

Please join us for an evening of film, discussion, and food & drink!

Europe's Last Dictator - Tonight in Ottawa

Don't miss "Europe's Last Dictator tonight in Ottawa - a film about the brutality of the Lukaschenko regime in Belarus.

Europe's Last Dictator
Library & Archives Canada, 7 PM, April 25th
395 Wellington
Ottawa
Admission $15 ($10 for students).  Tickets available at the door.

Here is a review in the Ottawa Citizen...


Irina is the sister of imprisoned Belarusian presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov. Through her eyes this doc charts the violent crackdown that followed the 2010 rigged elections and its dreadful aftermath. Powerful, award-winning photography captures Orwellian images of brute force used against unarmed men and women. We see the state-sponsored torture, murder and kidnap that defines Belarus today. A rare glimpse into Europe's most repressive state.

"We formed a group to lead negotiations with the government, but the troops were called", Iryna Khalip, journalist and wife of presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov, says over the phone. "My husband was badly beaten, we're on the way to the hospital." Suddenly her voice becomes raised with panic. "Looks like we're being arrested. We're on the ground...They're hitting my face!" She screams and then the phone cuts out. This episode is part of Lukashenko's promise to "wring the necks" of all those who joined the opposition during the elections.

Iryna Khalip and Andrei Sannikov were imprisoned after this arrest. Irina Bogdanova, Andrei's sister, has lived in England for 18 years. The other side of Europe, she has turned her house into a refugee camp for all those who have escaped Lukashenko's violent crackdown that night. A crackdown that it appears Lukashenko may have premeditated. Staggering images of the protest show riot police beating their shields in unison, and bloodied, disorientated protestors. "There was no resistance, people were not armed. It's just despicable what happened." Police charged the crowds with their batons striking the defenseless protestors repeatedly. "Human beings don't behave like that, animals don't behave like that", Irina says, her voice tremulous with emotion.

Hundreds of others like Sannikov, including the other presidential candidate Alexander Neklayev, were also brutally beaten and imprisoned that night. With virtually the entire opposition behind bars, it fell to family members to campaign for their release. So Irina and Eva, the daugther of Alexander Neklayev, have now taken to the road to meet world leaders in an attempt to secure the release of their loved ones. While they lobby world politicians to put pressure on Belarus their relatives are brutally tortured. "If I think about how he is doing I just fall apart." In fact, as Lukashenko's popularity wains his violence against the opposition has increased.

From Irina's defiant perpective this doc gets right inside the prison that Lukashenko has turned Belarus into, exposing the true extent of the crisis. "People are so isolated in terms of information in Belarus, especially now that 10 million people live in jail". As the opposition continues to languish in custody, how long will the people of Belarus have to wait before they are set free?

Europe's Last Dictator

Europe's Last Dictator
Film & Reception

April 25th, 2012, 7 PM
Library & Archives Canada
395 Wellington
Ottawa
Admission: $15, (Students $10)

Tickets available at the door or at the following retailers: Compact Music (190 Bank, 785 Bank), Collected Works (1242 Wellington) and Ottawa Festivals (47 William).


Irina is the sister of imprisoned Belarusian presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov. Through her eyes this doc charts the violent crackdown that followed the 2010 rigged elections and its dreadful aftermath. Powerful, award-winning photography captures Orwellian images of brute force used against unarmed men and women. We see the state-sponsored torture, murder and kidnap that defines Belarus today. A rare glimpse into Europe's most repressive state.

"We formed a group to lead negotiations with the government, but the troops were called", Iryna Khalip, journalist and wife of presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov, says over the phone. "My husband was badly beaten, we're on the way to the hospital." Suddenly her voice becomes raised with panic. "Looks like we're being arrested. We're on the ground...They're hitting my face!" She screams and then the phone cuts out. This episode is part of Lukashenko's promise to "wring the necks" of all those who joined the opposition during the elections.

Iryna Khalip and Andrei Sannikov were imprisoned after this arrest. Irina Bogdanova, Andrei's sister, has lived in England for 18 years. The other side of Europe, she has turned her house into a refugee camp for all those who have escaped Lukashenko's violent crackdown that night. A crackdown that it appears Lukashenko may have premeditated. Staggering images of the protest show riot police beating their shields in unison, and bloodied, disorientated protestors. "There was no resistance, people were not armed. It's just despicable what happened." Police charged the crowds with their batons striking the defenseless protestors repeatedly. "Human beings don't behave like that, animals don't behave like that", Irina says, her voice tremulous with emotion.

Hundreds of others like Sannikov, including the other presidential candidate Alexander Neklayev, were also brutally beaten and imprisoned that night. With virtually the entire opposition behind bars, it fell to family members to campaign for their release. So Irina and Eva, the daugther of Alexander Neklayev, have now taken to the road to meet world leaders in an attempt to secure the release of their loved ones. While they lobby world politicians to put pressure on Belarus their relatives are brutally tortured. "If I think about how he is doing I just fall apart." In fact, as Lukashenko's popularity wains his violence against the opposition has increased.

From Irina's defiant perpective this doc gets right inside the prison that Lukashenko has turned Belarus into, exposing the true extent of the crisis. "People are so isolated in terms of information in Belarus, especially now that 10 million people live in jail". As the opposition continues to languish in custody, how long will the people of Bel

Speech by Shimon Peres on Yom HaShoah....

On my way here, the glowing lights of Jerusalem were suddenly replaced by the sparks of fire which once consumed my people. This is us. This is our people, a people of illumination, an orphan people. This is us. Holocaust survivors, builders of resurgence, my brothers and sisters, tonight our tearing eyes turn to those who are not here with us, and our wide opened eyes gaze upon the yet to come.

During the holidays I travelled all over the country. Blue skies, blooming fields, lovely children, hard-working people. I wondered about the communities they originated from which are no longer. For a moment, I replaced Tel Aviv with Vilna, Haifa with Bialystok, Degania, Nahalal, Beer-Sheva with Plonsk, Riga, Odessa. Not a single Jew remains there. The furnaces of the Nazi dictator and his emissaries brought calamity to the world and a holocaust onto my people.

Holocaust deniers negate the deeds of their predecessors so as to cover their own crimes. The falsehood of negation will not extinguish the fire of the inferno. The piles of tortured bodies, the wounded thrown into the ditches of death, the furnaces burning the living. These are our witnesses for ever. The last breath of the infants in their mothers' arms will continue to horrify all human beings, until the end of time.

I was born in Vishniev. Half of the townspeople came to Israel. The other half perished. After the war, I learned that on Sunday, August 30th, a dark dawn had come upon my hometown. The Nazis who had seized it ordered the Jews to pack their belongings and present themselves at their doorsteps.

The SS officers passed by striking them and told them to proceed towards the synagogue. One of them cried out "Jews, save yourselves!" The Germans shot down those who tried to escape. The rest reached the synagogue which was made of wood. The doors were locked. All were burned alive. That was the last day of Rabbi Zvi Meltzer, my grandfather, my mentor. He was consumed by fire with his tallit on his head.

That was the last Jewish day in Vishniev. Not even a single Jew remained alive.
I visited Vishniev after the war. Not a Jewish mark remains. Not a house, not a synagogue, not a school, not a cemetery, only a heap of stones. As I stood there, the last Kol Nidrei prayer emitted by my grandfather's sweet voice rang in my ears. My lips murmured the Kadish.

Tonight many Holocaust survivors are present, along with the children of those villages who built the new Israel.
The Nazis created industries of death, assembly lines of murder, choking gas plants. No such thing has ever happened in history. So organized, so systematic, so inhumane.

It happened in Europe, the epitome of enlightenment. It originated in Germany which claimed to be the spearhead in culture. But it was all vain.

The Jews in Germany improved its culture, elevated its scientific level, enriched its economy , like all of Europe's' Jewry.

Why did Hitler identify them as his greatest enemy? The answer is clear- the moral strength of the Jews was more dangerous to him than the military menace of his neighbors. The Nazis feared that the Jewish conviction that all men are born in the image of God would damage the fascist lie according to which there is a superior race. They feared the prophetic vision may dent the Nazi sword.

I am proud to be an arch enemy to the Nazi evil. I am proud of our fathers' legacy being absolutely opposed to racism. I am proud of our belief that there is no one man superior to another man.
There is no superior race, only deep roots.

I am certain that this is how our children and grandchildren will be brought up; as the Kadish is on their lips, "Love your neighbor as yourself" is in their hearts.

My friends, a million and a half Israeli citizens are not Jewish. We are obligated to make sure that none of them are ever discriminated because of their nationality or religion. This is the essence of the existence of the State of Israel. Israel is a defense shield, a safe haven and a great spirit. Had the State of Israel existed during those days, I am convinced that things would have been different. We have paid a high price but we have not lost faith.
We have gathered unusual capacities which emerged from the depths of the Holocaust and from the peaks of our legacy. We have a commitment towards the betterment of the world and respect for humanity.

The strengths of our nation are concealed in its history and contained in the souls of its sons. We used to be a question mark, now we are a strong country. Today humanity has no choice, we must learn from the lessons of the Holocaust and stand strong against existential threats before it is too late.

Iran is at the heart of this threat. She is the center of terror, she represents a threat to world peace.

There is no reason to undermine Israel's capacities to face this threat, whether visible or hidden. We have engendered a young generation with wide shoulders to carry the load. They are more than capable of leading Israel to its historic destiny following the Ten Commandments, Yavneh and its Sages, and Isaiah's prophecy.

We will say Kadish in memory of our brothers, sisters, parents and children who were killed in martyrdom. And we will ensure our children remain Jewish, body and soul, as they carry the load of Israel's security and the peace of the Jewish Nation is on their shoulders. We came today to say Kadish in memory of our beloved ones who were killed in the Holocaust. We came to say and to swear "Never again". We came to say that we are a peaceful people who can defend itself. We can and we will. We have built and we shall build.

We will always remember our 6 million brothers who perished in the Holocaust. In one week we will raise the flags of Israel's Independence which rose for the first time 64 years ago. Today, it is clear that the reality we have built is the vision we once dreamed. We will proudly wave the flags of the future of Israel, as an independent, moral, creative and contributing state. Let us wave the flags of peace, security and brotherhood.

Netanyahu's Speech for Yom HaShoah....

Yesterday morning, I visited an old-age home for Holocaust survivors. There, I met Idit Yapo, an amazing woman of 104, clear and lucid. Idit fled Germany shortly after Hitler gained power, in 1934.

I met 89-year-old Esther Nadiv, one of Mendele’s twins. She was reading a book, Golda Meir’s biography, and she told me, with a glint in her eye, she said: “I am so proud, so very proud to be a part of the State of Israel which is in constant development.”

I met Hanoch Mandelbaum, an 89-year-old survivor of Bergen-Belsen. Shortly after he came to Israel, as a young carpenter, he helped construct the desk upon which Ben Gurion signed the Declaration of Independence. That is MiSho’a liTkuma – from holocaust to resurrection.

And I met Elisheva Lehman, an 88 year-old Holocaust survivor from Holland, who was a music teacher.

I asked Elisheva if she would play something for us and she did. She enthusiastically played “Am Yisrael Chai” and we all sung together. It was quite emotional.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Am Yisrael Chai [The nation of Israel lives]

Our enemies tried to bury the Jewish future, but it was reborn in the land of our forefathers. Here, we built a foundation for a new beginning of freedom, hope, and creation. Year after year, decade after decade, we built the foundations of our country, and we will continue to yearly strengthen the pillars of our national life.

On this day, when our entire nation gathers together to remember the horrors of the Holocaust and the six million Jews who were murdered, we must fulfill our most sacred obligation.

This obligation is not merely an obligation to remember the past. It is an obligation to learn its lessons, and, most importantly, to apply them to the present in order to secure the future of our people. We must remember the past and secure the future by applying the lessons of the past.

This is especially true for this generation – a generation that once again is faced with calls to annihilate the Jewish State.

One day, I hope that the State of Israel will enjoy peace with all the countries and all the peoples in our region. One day, I hope that we will read about these calls to destroy the Jews only in history books and not in daily newspapers.

But that day has not yet come.

Today, the regime in Iran openly calls and determinedly works for our destruction. And it is feverishly working to develop atomic weapons to achieve that goal.

I know that there are those who do not like when I speak such uncomfortable truths. They prefer that we not speak of a nuclear Iran as an existential threat. They say that such language, even if true, only sows fear and panic.

I ask, have these people lost all faith in the people of Israel?

Do they think that this nation, which has overcome every danger, lacks the strength to confront this new threat?

Did the State of Israel not triumph over existential threats when it was far less powerful than it is today? Did its leaders have any qualms about saying the truth?

David Ben Gurion told the people of Israel the truth about the existential dangers they faced in 1948 when five Arab armies tried to snuff Israel out in its cradle.

Levi Eshkol told the people of Israel the truth in 1967 when a noose was being placed around Israel’s neck and we stood alone to face our fate.

And when they heard these truths, did the people of Israel panic or did they unite to thwart the dangers? Were we paralyzed with fear or did we do what was necessary to protect ourselves.

I believe in the people of Israel – and this belief is based on our experiences. I believe that the people of Israel can handle the truth. And I believe that they we have the capability to defeat those who seek to harm us.

Those who dismiss Iran’s threats as exaggerated or as mere idle posturing have learned nothing from the Holocaust. But we should not be surprised.

There have always been those among us who prefer to mock those who tell uncomfortable truths than squarely face the truth themselves.

That is how Zev Jabotinsky was received when he warned the Jews of Poland of the looming Holocaust.

This is what he said in 1938, in Warsaw:

“It is already THREE years that I am calling upon you, Polish Jewry, who are the crown of World Jewry. I continue to warn you incessantly that a catastrophe is coming closer. I became grey and old in these years, my heart bleeds, that you, dear brother and sisters, do not see the volcano which will soon begin to spit its all-consuming lava… I see that you are not seeing this because you are immersed and sunk in your daily worries… Listen to me in this twelfth hour: In the name of G-d! Let anyone of you save himself, as long as there is still time, and time there is very little.”

But the leading Jewish intellectuals of the day ridiculed Jabotinsky, and rather than heed his warning, they attacked him.

This is what Sholem Asch, one of our nation’s greatest writers, said about him:
“What Jabotinsky is now doing in Poland is going too far. His statement is detrimental to Zionism and to the vital interests of our people… It is disgraceful that these are leaders of a nation.”

I know there are also those who believe that the unique evil of the Holocaust should never be invoked in discussing other threats facing the Jewish people.

To do so, they argue, is to belittle the Holocaust and to offend its victims.

I totally disagree. On the contrary. To cower from speaking the uncomfortable truth – that today like then, there are those who want to destroy millions of Jewish people – that is to belittle the Holocaust, that is to offend its victims and that is to ignore the lessons.

Not only does the Prime Minister of Israel have the right, when speaking of these existential dangers, to invoke the memory of a third of our nation which was annihilated. It is his duty.

There is a memorable scene in Claude Lanzmann’s documentary Shoah that explains this obligation more than anything.

In the harsh existence in the Warsaw Ghetto, Leon Feiner of the Bund and Menachem Kirschenbaum of the General Zionists met with Jan Karski from the Polish World War II Resistance Movement.

Jan Karski was a decent, sensitive man, and they begged him to appeal to the conscience of the world against the Nazi crimes. They described what was happening, they showed him, but to no avail.

They said: “Help us. We have no country of our own, we have no government, and we even have no voice among the nations”

They were right.

Seventy years ago the Jewish people did not have the national capacity to summon the nations, nor the military might to defend itself.

But today things are different.

Today we have an army.

We have the ability, the duty and the determination to defend ourselves.

As Prime Minister of Israel, I will never shy from speaking the truth before the world, no matter how uncomfortable it may seem to some.

I speak the truth at the United Nations; I speak the truth in Washington DC, the capital of our great friend, the United States, and in other important capitals; And I speak the truth here in Jerusalem, on the grounds of Yad VaShem which are saturated with remembrance.

I will continue to speak the truth to the world, but first and foremost I must speak it to my own people. I know that my people is strong enough to hear the truth.

The truth is that a nuclear-armed Iran is an existential threat of the State of Israel.

The truth is that a nuclear-armed Iran is an political threat to other countries throughout the region and a grave threat to the world peace.

The truth is that Iran must be stopped from obtaining nuclear weapons.

It is the duty of the whole world, but above and beyond, it is OUR duty.

The memory of the Holocaust goes beyond holding memorial services; it is not merely a historical recollection.

The memory of the Holocaust obligates us to apply the lessons of the past to ensure the basis of our future.

We will never bury our heads in the sand.

Am Yisrael Chai, veNetzach Yisrael Lo Yeshaker
[The Nation of Israel Lives, and the Eternal one of Israel does not Lie]

My take on the CBC....

I did a 90 second blurb on the CBC for the Toronto Star.

Here is is...