Commentary
A Noble Gesture
Abdallah Chatila is a most unusual, and noble, man. A Swiss Lebanese Christian businessman based in Geneva, and one of Switzerland’s wealthiest people, Chatila extended a hand of friendship to Jews recently when he donated an assortment of Nazi memorabilia, some of which belonged to Adolf Hitler, to a Jewish organization. “I wanted to make sure […]
Angela Merkel In Auschwitz-Birkenau
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany has not flinched from the historically vital task of confronting the ghosts of her country’s ugly Nazi past. In accordance with this steadfast spirit, Merkel visited Auschwitz-Birkenau on December 6. At this former German concentration camp in southern Poland, she spoke eloquently about the Holocaust and its legacy, Germany’s enduring […]
McGill Student Council Fans Anti-Israel Flames
McGill University in Montreal has been at the center of an ugly storm for the past few weeks. In recent years, the image of this world renowned institution has been blemished by the unwarranted actions of a small minority of anti-Israel students who cannot tolerate ideas other than their own. Lamentably, this toxic phenomenon is […]
An Apology Is Not Enough
The University of Toronto’s Graduate Student Union has issued a belated apology to the Hillel Jewish student organization over a distasteful incident that never should have seen the light of day. Earlier this month, Hillel asked the union to endorse its “Kosher Forward” campaign to ensure that kosher food is available on campus. Hillel correctly […]
An Unsettling Incident In Germany
Germany has taken the high road to democracy since the 12-year Nazi interregnum, yet some Germans have not learned the lessons of the past. Stephan Brandner, a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany Party, is one such person, a bigot who rejects tolerance, mutual understanding, pluralism and diversity. Until very recently, this fellow was […]
Don Cherry’s Divisive Comments
Don Cherry’s abrupt dismissal as host of Coach’s Corner, a popular six-minute segment on Hockey Night in Canada, was drastic but unavoidable. Sportsnet, the cable television channel which broadcasts this Canada-wide program, fired Cherry — the wildly opinionated 85-year-old former hockey player and coach known for his loud clothes and inappropriate comments — on November 11 […]
American Neo-Nazi Terror — A Serious Threat
FBI agents recently arrested a neo-Nazi terrorist accused of threatening to blow up Temple Emanuel, a synagogue in Pueblo, Colorado, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States. Richard Holzer, the 27-year-old suspect, is a skinhead and former member of the Ku Klux Klan. In messages posted on Facebook, he likened […]
Tolerance Trumps Bigotry In Toronto
Soufi’s, a Syrian restaurant in Toronto, shut down on October 8 after receiving a barrage of hate mail and threatening phone calls. On October 11, the popular restaurant reopened and its nine employees were back at work, serving up Syrian food like Maneesh, a savory flatbread slathered with various toppings; Knaffeh a shredded phylo pastry […]
The Threat Of White Supremacist Terrorism
The first anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack on American Jews in U.S. history is approaching. On October 27, a heavily-armed, middle-aged antisemite named Robert Bowers walked into the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and, in a frenzy of untrammelled hatred, fatally shot 11 of its congregants. Exactly six months later, John Earnest, 19, […]
Ayatollah Khamenei’s Holocaust Denial
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the viciously anti-Israel supreme leader of Iran, has once again aligned himself with Holocaust denial, which is widely recognized as a form of antisemitism. Yesterday, he sang the praises of Roger Garaudy, the late French anti-Zionist zealot and Holocaust denier. On the 21st anniversary of Garaudy’s conviction of Holocaust denial, a crime […]
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