B'nai Brith Canada ( ; BBC; from he, בני ברית, b'né brit, Children of the
Covenant) is a
Canadian Jewish
Canadian citizens who follow Judaism as their religion and/or are ethnically Jewish are a part of the greater Jewish diaspora and form the third largest Jewish community in the world, exceeded only by those in Israel and in the United Sta ...
service organization and
advocacy group
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
. It is the Canadian chapter of
B'nai B'rith International.
Mission
The organization presents the following mission statement, as stated in the preamble to its constitution:
B'nai Brith has taken upon itself the mission of uniting person of the Jewish faith in the work of promoting their highest interest and those of humanity; of developing and elevating the mental and moral character of the people of our faith; of inculcating the purest principles of philanthropy, honour and patriotism; of supporting science and art; alleviating the wants of the poor and needy; visiting and caring for the sick; coming to the rescue of the victims of persecution; providing for, protecting and assisting the aged, the widow and the orphan on the broadest principles of humanity.
Early history
In 1875, Lodge No. 246, located in
Toronto, was the first lodge founded in
Canada, followed soon after by another in
Montreal. Many community leaders were associated with these lodges. Over time, a team of dedicated volunteers and professional staff emerged.
20th century to present
In September 2014, Ontario lawyer and former
Conservative Party candidate Michael Mostyn was appointed CEO of B'nai Brith Canada, succeeding
Frank Dimant Frank Dimant (born ) was Executive Vice President and CEO of B'nai Brith Canada, and was also CEO of the organization's Institute for International Affairs and the League for Human Rights, from 1978 to 2014. He also was the publisher of B'nai Brith' ...
upon his retirement after 36 years with the organization.
Role in the 2007 by-election
During the 2007 by-election in
Outremount the group accused
Jocelyn Coulon of being
anti-American and
anti-Israel because of his views on the
Hamas-
Israel-
Lebanon conflict. The
Quebec-Israel Committee
The Canada-Israel Committee (CIC) was the official representative of the organized Canadian Jewish community on matters pertaining to Canada–Israel relations.
The Canada-Israel Committee maintained offices in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouve ...
however, stated that B'Nai Brith's statements were exaggerated and that Coulon had every right to be the
Liberal candidate. These issues were thought to be important because the Jewish community in Outremont made up 10% of the riding population.
Criticism of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission
In January 2004, Shahina Siddiqui, executive director of the Islamic Social Services Association, filed a formal complaint against B'nai Brith Canada under the "discriminatory signs and statements" section of the Manitoba Human Rights Code. After speaking with several people who attended a Winnipeg conference on terrorism hosted by B'nai Brith Canada in October 2003, she wrote that the event was biased against Muslims and would encourage the response teams in attendance to engage in racial profiling. The Manitoba Human Rights Commission (MHRC) accepted the complaint and began an investigation that would last five years. In 2009, the MHRC issued a report that dismissed the complaint due to a lack of evidence.
['No basis' for B'nai Brith hate charge](_blank)
by Joseph Brean, National Post, March 12, 2009. MHRC vice-chairwoman Yvonne Peters subsequently wrote that "the full investigation of the complaint that took place was warranted" and that "the decision was based solely on the insufficiency of the evidence with respect to this particular section of the Human Rights Code."
by Joseph Brean, August 29, 2008.
In 2008,
David Matas, B'nai Brith's senior counsel, sharply criticized the MHRC for its conduct during the investigation, stating that: "The
anitobaHuman Rights Commission itself is supposed to be promoting human rights, but in our view in this process it's violating some pretty basic rights: a secret proceeding, a faceless accuser, failure to disclose documents. These are basic procedural rights that are being violated."
Writing in the ''
National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with M ...
'', Joseph Brean made several criticisms of the investigation: The MHRC accepted the complaint despite the fact that the complainant, Shahina Siddiqui, did not actually attend the event. B'nai Brith Canada was never told of the identity of the individuals whose claims Shahina Siddiqui based her complaint on. It has never been revealed what exactly is alleged to have been said at the conference. Tracy Lloyd, an MHRC investigator, spoke with seven anonymous witnesses, including one as late as November 2006. However, only one, a City of Winnipeg employee, shared Siddiqui's criticism that the conference was "one-sided." One of the witnesses, a diversity relations officer, stated that it was "pretty professional," and said police in general are capable of putting almost anything they hear into proper context. The MHRC commissioned a "secret expert report" but refused B'nai Brith's request to know the expert's identity, mandate or material provided. The secret report has not been made public.
Following the release of the MHRC report, Matas accused MHRC vice-chairwoman Yvonne Peters of taking a contradictory position, stating that: "So what they're saying is that a full investigation is warranted even when there's no evidence, as long as the accusation is within the jurisdiction of the board. There's a lot of problems with this. What basically happened is that Siddiqui heard a rumor. She makes a complaint, as a result of which the commission goes on a five-year
fishing expedition. They don't find anything. We're co-operating with them. And then they dismiss the complaint. That's not a proper procedure, in my view."
Matas also criticized the procedures of the MHRC, stating that they will "take an allegation, without evidence, and just run with it to see if it's true." The previous year, Matas in a submission in a Moon Report on Internet hate speech, Matas charged that Canada's human rights commissions have demonstrated "a disastrous combination of investigative zeal and substantive ignorance." Although Matas stated that he does not believe Siddiqui acted in bad faith, he added that: "The people who run these procedures have to have a more objective viewpoint than the people who make the complaint."
Hassan Diab complaint
In July 2009, B'nai Brith Canada issued a press release denouncing
Carleton University for hiring
Hassan Diab, who was alleged by French authorities to have been responsible for the
1980 Paris synagogue bombing
The 1980 Paris synagogue bombing (also called the Rue Copernic attack) occurred on 3 October 1980 when the rue Copernic synagogue in Paris, France was bombed. The attack killed four and wounded 46 people. The bombing took place in the evening near ...
. Diab was living under virtual house arrest at the time (he had been granted bail but under very strict conditions) due to an extradition request from France. Within a few hours of the B'nai Brith Canada complaint, Carleton University announced that it would "immediately replace the current instructor, Hassan Diab" in order to provide students "with a stable, productive academic environment that is conducive to learning." B'nai Brith executive vice-president Frank Dimant later stated that "the university did the right thing." In November 2014, Hassan was extradited from Canada to France where he was imprisoned for 3 years and two months while the investigation continued. Since then, four French anti-terrorism judges have uncovered testimony from several individuals stating that Diab was in Lebanon at the time of the bombing as well as university records which show he wrote and passed exams in Beirut then and couldn't have been in Paris. In January 2018, French authorities dropped all charges against Hassan Diab, citing lack of evidence.
Lesley Hughes lawsuit and settlement
In 2008, the Liberal Party of Canada dropped as a candidate and revoked the membership of
Winnipeg Centre candidate Lesley Hughes after she was accused on
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
by the group, the
Canadian Jewish Congress and Conservative MP
Peter Kent over a 2002 article about the
9/11 attacks. Hughes later filed a lawsuit for defamation against B'nai Brith, the Canadian Jewish Congress and Peter Kent. In 2013 the aforementioned parties issued a public statement stating that Hughes is not an antisemite, stating that Hughes “does not condone the use of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories by racist groups to support antisemitism of any nature". The suit was settled out of court for an undisclosed settlement amount.
Hassan Guillet Controversy
In 2019, B'nai Brith unearthed a series of controversial comments and social media posts made by Hassan Guillet, a parliamentary candidate for the
Liberal Party in that year's
Canadian federal election. When B'nai Brith went public with its findings, the Liberal Party dropped Guillet as a candidate.
Lobbying against Islamophobia Bill
B'nai Brith lobbied against the non-binding parliament bill M103, together with some extreme-right groups. Bill M103 denounces Islamophobia and other type of hates. The bill was introduced after the killing of 6 Muslims at a Quebec mosque by an extreme-right sympathize
Free speech conference
Continuing on with the free speech advocacy, B'nai Brith organized a free-speech conference with free-speech advocacy and alt-right groups. The conference was scheduled to be hosted at a synagogue, but some Jewish groups asked the synagogue to cancel the events after concerns about alt-right and Islamophobic groups taking par
The conference was moved to another venue. One topic of discussions was about Islamophobia Bill M103. A Muslim female journalist was physically assaulted after asking questions by a security guard employed by the conference organizers.
Members
According to an article in ''
The Forward'', B'nai Brith Canada had 4,000 full-dues paying members in 2007.
Membership is restricted to those of the Jewish faith.
Governance and financial issues
In 2007, a group calling itself Concerned Members of B'nai Brith Canada charged that a new constitution had been passed despite a majority of members having voted against it at a general meeting. Henry Gimpel, a former Toronto lodge president, told ''
The Forward'' that "
ere's too much of
'nai Brith Canadabeing run by one person."
Frank Dimant, CEO of BBC, responded to the criticism over the constitution by saying that BBC followed proper governance procedures and that B'nai Brith International's Court of Appeal determined that the constitution was properly enacted. Gimpel and seven other BBC members were expelled in June 2008 for what a disciplinary committee determined to be "conduct unbecoming a member." Gimpel referred to the committee as a
kangaroo court.
[Paul Lungen, "B’nai Brith expels members for ‘conduct unbecoming’"](_blank)
, ''Canadian Jewish News''
On July 8, 2015, the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' reported that Dimant has demanded an annual retirement payout of $175,000, representing 75% of his former salary, which the B'nai Brith believes is too lucrative and will require the struggling charity to direct fundraising dollars to pay for Dimant's pension. Dimant has stated that the payout was approved by the organization's board, however, the ''Star'' cites an unnamed source as stating that the deal was arranged with little oversight while Dimant was still in charge. In the year following Dimant's retirement, B'nai Brith Canada put its "state of the art" care facility for
Alzheimer's
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...
patients under insolvency protection while also trying to sell it. The project, initiated and led by Dimant, is a $16 million facility opened in 2013 but that been unable to attract enough patients, due to high fees for patients of $7,500 a month and the fact that it was not designed to be wheelchair accessible; the facility is losing $50,000 a month and owes $11 million to creditors.
The ''Toronto Star'' article also claimed that other issues left by Dimant's former management of B'nai Brith are a lack of records and record keeping and failure to always issue charitable tax receipts and poor corporate governance with approximately 50 people who had believed they were on various boards of B'nai Brith organizations learning that this is not the case, as Dimant's management had failed to file the correct paperwork with government agencies.
Due to financial difficulties, including a decline in charitable donations in recent years, B'nai Brith also ceased publication of its newspaper, ''
Jewish Tribune'' in 2015, and is selling its headquarters which carries two mortgages totalling nearly $4 million, though the building itself is assessed at slightly over $3 million.
It was reported by ''The Forward'' in 2007 that the organization was struggling financially and mortgaged its head office in order to raise $850,000 to meet expenses.
[ In 2015, the organization indefinitely suspended publication of ''Jewish Tribune'' and announced the sale of its heavily mortgaged headquarters at 15 Hove Street.
]
Initiatives
Publications
B'nai Brith Canada owned and operated the weekly '' Jewish Tribune'' as a subsidiary publication. The newspaper claimed a circulation of over 62,000 copies a week which would make it the largest Jewish publication in Canada. Publication was suspended in early 2015.
Hezbollah terror designation
On November 29, 2002, B'nai Brith Canada sued the Canadian government for "failing to crack down on the fundraising efforts of Hezbollah
Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...
", by not adding Hezbollah's charity wing to the list of banned terrorist organizations; the paramilitary wing of Hezbollah, the Jihad Council, was already listed, but not its political wing. About a week later, the Canadian government made the decision to designate all of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Anti-Hate Hotline
B'nai Brith Canada operates a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week 'Anti-Hate Hotline'. The hotline receives calls from those who feel they have suffered from antisemitism or discrimination and is one of the sources of the organisation's statistics for it
Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents.
Radical Islam Advertisement
On November 9, 2009, B'nai Brith Canada ran a full page ad in the ''National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with M ...
'' comparing radical Islam with Nazism. Frank Dimant Frank Dimant (born ) was Executive Vice President and CEO of B'nai Brith Canada, and was also CEO of the organization's Institute for International Affairs and the League for Human Rights, from 1978 to 2014. He also was the publisher of B'nai Brith' ...
, CEO of B'nai Brith, said "overall, feedback from the ad has been very positive." At the same time, the ad drew the ire of the group Canadian Jewish Holocaust Survivors and the Canadian Association of Jews and Muslims, and has also led to accusations of racism and Islamophobia against the organization.
Investigations of Antisemitism in the Media
In February 2016, the organization revealed that the Windsor, Ontario newspaper 'al-Forqan' called for terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians as "sacred duty of jihad". In July 2016, B'nai Brith Canada, organization with the London Police Services, investigated 'al-Saraha,' a London, Ontario newspaper for Holocaust denial.
Agencies and programs of B'nai Brith Canada
Source:
* 24-hour, 7-day-a-week Anti-Hate Hotline
* Affordable Housing
* Alzheimer's Residence, Toronto
* Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents
* Campus Outreach Program
* Canadian Israel Public Affairs Committee (CIPAC)
* Centre for Community Action
* Communications Department
* Community Volunteer Service Programs
* Government Relations Office
* Institute for International Affairs
* Jewish Canada Information Service
* League for Human Rights
* Legal Desk
* National Task Force on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
* Network of B'nai Brith Lodges
* Operation Thank You: Educational Initiative Honouring Canadian Troops in Afghanistan
* Sports Leagues
* Young Leadership Development Groups
Awards
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
was awarded B'nai B'rith International's Presidential Gold Medal after being nominated by B'nai Brith Canada to honor what it described as his commitment to the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
Canadian film producer Robert Lantos has been a long-time supporter of B'nai Brith Canada and in 2008 was awarded the organization's Award of Merit. Among other notable Canadians to have received the Award of Merit are Lindsay Gordon
Air Vice-Marshal James Lindsay Gordon DFC (11 December 1892 – 3 March 1940) was a leading figure in the pre-World War II Royal Canadian Air Force and a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I.
Career
James Lindsay Gordon was ...
, Blake Goldring
Blake Charles Goldring (born September 13, 1958) is a Canadian business leader, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He is the executive chairman of AGF Management Limited, an independent Canadian-based investment management firm serving retail an ...
, Frank Stronach
Frank Stronach (born 6 September 1932) is an Austrian and Canadian businessman and politician.
He is the founder of Magna International, an international automotive parts company based in Aurora, Ontario, Canada, Granite Real Estate, and The ...
, Tony Comper
F. Anthony Comper (born April 24, 1945), known as Tony Comper, is a Canadian banker. He served as president and chief executive officer of Bank of Montreal, which currently operates under the brand BMO Financial Group, and retired from that posit ...
, Al Waxman, Wallace McCain, Lloyd Axworthy, Gordon F. Henderson
Gordon Fripp Henderson, (April 17, 1912 – August 17, 1993) was a Canadian intellectual property lawyer who joined the law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP in 1937, and later became its chairman. He was known for his advocacy on intellectual ...
, Mayor Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau, (18 February 1916 – 12 August 1999) was Mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986.
Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include the development of the Montreal Metro entirely underground mass transi ...
, George Cohon
George Alan Cohon, (born April 19, 1937) is an American-born Canadian businessman who is the founder and senior chairman of McDonald's Canada and McDonald's Russia.
Early life and education
George Alan Cohon was born to a Ukrainian-Jewish fathe ...
, Leo Kolber
Ernest Leo Kolber, (January 18, 1929 – January 9, 2020) was a Canadian businessman, philanthropist and Senator, serving from 1983 to 2004.
Early life and career
Kolber was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Luba (Kahan) and Moses Kolber, ...
, former Liberal Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin, hockey legend Jean Béliveau, Paul Tellier, former Ontario Premier Bill Davis, Ambassador Allan Gotlieb, Monty Hall, Izzy Asper, Guy Charbonneau, former Manitoba Premier Gary Filmon, former Liberal Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Herb Gray, former Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed, Edward Samuel "Ted" Rogers, former Alberta Premier Ernest Manning, and Calin Rovinescu.
See also
* B'nai B'rith International
* B'nai B'rith Youth Organization
BBYO (formerly ''B'nai B'rith Youth Organization Inc.'') is a Jewish teen movement, organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and headquartered in Washington, D.C. The organization is intended to build the identity of Jewish teens and offer ...
* Canada-Israel Committee
The Canada-Israel Committee (CIC) was the official representative of the organized Canadian Jewish community on matters pertaining to Canada–Israel relations.
The Canada-Israel Committee maintained offices in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouve ...
* Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA; ) is a Zionist and Jewish advocacy organization and an agency of the Jewish Federations of Canada. It was founded in 2004 as the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CCIJA) and headqu ...
* Canadian Jewish Congress
* Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee
* Independent Jewish Voices (Canada)
Archives
There is a B'nai Brith Canada fond at Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...
. The archival reference number is R6348, former archival reference number MG28-V133. The fond covers the date range 1887 to 1999. It includes 45.92 meters of textual records, 1,622 photographs, audio-visual material and other graphic material.
Notes
References
Notes
Sources
* Abella, Irving. ''A Coat of Many Colours: Two Centuries of Jewish Life in Canada''. Toronto: Lester Pub., 1990.
* Tulchinsky, Gerald. ''Taking Root: The Origins of the Canadian Jewish Community''. Toronto, Ont: Lester Pub., 1992.
External links
Bnai Brith Canada
National Task Force on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research
{{Portal bar, Judaism, Canada, Politics}
B'nai B'rith
Jewish Canadian history
Jewish organizations based in Canada
Jewish political organizations
Zionism in Canada