Page 10 - The Canadian Jewish News, Thursday, May 19, 1983
M-T
ra
system
By
JANICE ARNOLD
MONTREAL —
Greater vigUance in the education systems throiighont Canada is needed to ensure that what occmred in Eck-ville, Alberta, is not happening elsewhibre, said Jim Fleming, federal minister of state for multiculturalism at the Plenary session on community relations.
He cited Canadian Jewish Congress' Holocaust Documentation Project, funded by the multiculturalism directorate, as an important educational tool in preventing a repeat of the "Keegstra affair." (See CJN, May 5.)
Liaunched at the Plenary Assembly, the project coiisists of audio-
visual intierviews with 72 Ho 1 ocaust survivors from across Canada that have been edited to a . series of 20-minute segments on various themes for use in schools and by other interested groups. The general title is Silent No Longer.
Fleming admitted that he had been questioned on why the government should fund such a project. Fleming said he had been charged with "bringing up old wounds" and told he should concentrate on the future, not the past.
"The lesson is that tomorrow niust be built on yesterday's experience ... its glory and its tragedy too. The passing on of this knowledge has significant implications for future generations. It will help ensure their
active commitment to fight prejudice.
"If anybody asks me now why this Holocaust project was funded, sadly but simply the proof is a teacher in Eckville, Alberta, and who knows where else!"
He called the Keegstra affair a "bizarre situation" but "it is equally alarming to realize the support that surfaced for such incredible poison from other people in positions of authority.
"There has been precious little in the way of an outcry of anger against such distortion of fact. The response, far from being immediate and unequivocal, has been feeble."
Keegstra's claims and their impact on the
young is "absolutely unacceptable; it is racist," said Fleming. He added that his department's top priority now is the development of the National Program-to Combat Racism, launched 1981."
The other speaker. Rabbi Jordan Pearlson, national chairman of CJC's Joint Community Relations Committee, said "the denial of the Holocaust is not only an assault on Jews but on the millions of others who died in the Nazi insanity and the Canadians who fell in fighting
it." : ■ ■ :■;
. But he cautioned against giving the Eckville incident more attention than it deserves. Many non-Jews, he said, have come out against Keegstra alongside the Jewish community, including the Social Credit Party of Canada.
However, Pearlson said Alberta Premier
Jim Fleming
Peter Lougheed's "inability to make a sirnple, clear declarative sentence of concern left all stunned. This was wrong." .
At an earlier press conference, Canadian Jewish Congress executive vice-president Alan Rose said he was surprised there had not been a statement out of hand condemning this "hatemongering."
Pearlson said the incident does not indicate a wave of anti-semitism in Canada. "With all the savagereportage of the Lebanon war^ all the money spent to attack Zionism, the poor economic conditions here — with all thiis we have to go to Eckville, Alberta to find a single case of real anti-semitism."
Pearlson said the present hate legislation in Canada is "totally inadequate," and must be ■ strengthened for the protection of not only Jews but all minorities.
Both Pearlson and Fleming spoke of the need for Jews to work with other minorities, especially those most recently arrived in Canada and less organized.
For the first time, representatives of several ethnic associations were invited to take part in the Plenary Assembly.
Although multicul-turalism's budget will
more than double to $23.6 million in 1984-85, Fleming said his officials
_^ will be putting emphasis on making contacts with those groups less capable of seeking assistance themselves, even though they may be most in need.
"The Canadian Jewish community is a Canadian community and we've got to work to continue to preserve that. I'm committed to that. But there are other less well organized, less sophisticated groups within Canada who have urgent and pressing claims," Fleming said.
He urged CJCto assist the multiculturalism department in its work with these weaker groups so they may benefit from the Jewish community's experience. * 'Basically what we are' talking about is the strong helping the weak," said
, Fleming.
MONTREAL —
While there is growing sympathy in Ottawa for the Palestinians and hostility toward thei Israeli government for its perceived intransigence, the Canadian government's commitment to the Jewish state remains "unqualified," says Harold Buchwald, chairman of the Canada-Israel Committee.
Links between Canada and Israel at the "people to people'* level through ecomonic and cultural exchanges have actually been expanded in the past year.
Buch wald told a Congress Plenary session on "Canada and the Middle East" that Israel's image was on a downward turn immediately after the Lebanon war, but the demonstration by 400,000 Israelis against fffe action and the commission of enquiry's frank report have reassured Canadian political leaders that democracy is alive and well in Israel, the only democratic place in that region."
Canadian foreign policy has been under" review since last June by a Senate committee.
Public opinion polls also indicate that the "overwhelming majority" of Canadians still supportjlsrael, he said. (The CIC itself has com-missionedJGoldfarb consultants of Toronto to conduct a poll in Canada of feelings toward Israel and Jews.) /
**We have many, many good friends in this country who will respond when called upon, in the government, in all parties And even in the media,'* said Buchwald. As proof of that goodwill; Buchwald pointed to/Uie CIC's recent annual parliamentary din-
CJC PLENARY
ner in Ottawa which drew the largest attendance ever.
The Canadian Jewish community must cease its attitude "if you are not with lis, yon are against us," he said. "We have learned firom experience of this year that the issues are not black and white... when
Harold Buchwald
good friends agree on the basic issues, they can have dtfiferences on the particulars."
Sympathy for the
"plight of the Palestinians" can be found in all parties, he said. The fail ure to reach a sol ution to this problem is seen as the main obstacle to peace. "Distinction is not always made between the Palestinians and the PLC, and Palestinians living on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and those refugees living elsewhere."
He said the New Democratic Party is presently reviewing its foreign policies, and the report is due to be issued in July.
"Leading spokesmen of the party have expressed concern for the Palestinians and the un-
acceptability from a moral posture of Israel's dealings with South Africa and talks on arms deal with Honduras," Buchwald said.
He also noted that the Alberta Federation of Labor recently followed the example of its Ontario counterpart in recognition of the PLC. However the umbrella Canadian Labor Congress has objected to this position.
Toronto MP Jim Peterson told the session that Israel has "proven it has no designs on Lebanese territory, that its actions are defensive, not expansionist."
Israel ambassador Yeshayahu Anug said that economic relations and scientific co-operation between Canada and Israel could be far greater than now, expanded though it is. Trade could have four times the volume it currently has, he said. The
problem lies in a lack of sufficient interest in both countries.
Anug said he attaches more importance to this side of Canada-Israel relations than the Canadian government's attitude to the Middle East conflict.
The Canadian Jewish community should be devoting more time and imagination to strengthening these kinds of ties with Israel. This sort of activity might even^Jbe more beneficial to Israel than fund raising, he in^^ 'dicated. - (
Despite whatever * ^discomfort" Jews in Canada may feel about Israeli policies, Anug said, Israel must do what it thinks is in its own best interests. Intervention in this area from the Diaspora is not expected, he said.
INFORMATION, PLEASE
Delegates flock to one of the many information tables at last week's CJC Plenary. [Howard Kay photo]
Jews of Edmonton unite
[Cont'd, from page 1]
likely due to the fact that Lougheed was out of the province.
In fact, Lougheed acted swiftly when Conservative MLA Stephen Stiles said the Holocaust had been overblown by Hollywood.
"The premier phoned
- from Vancouver and told Stiles to apologize. He actually "dictated Jhe
'Apology to him and told him if he didn't make it ^he would be out."
Attorney-General Neil
- Crawford, acting as head of the government in Lougheed's absence had, in the Legislature, disassociated the government from Stiles' remarks, Katz said.
A byproduct of this
episode has been the -opening ofadirectjchan^ nel of communication between the Jewish community and the provincial government. A meeting with the premier and a delegation of Jewish community representatives, which Katz headed, set a precedent.
"This was the first time the Alberta Jewish community made a
Until now Alberta Jews'have tended to rely on personal associatibhs with government officials and, in at least Katz' casev "innurnerable games of racquetbaill."
On May 30, Katz, University of Alberta President Myer Horowitz [another Montrealer], Aaron Oshiy^ who is setting up an Alberta section of -the B'nai major representation to League for Human the government. Until Rights and education then, Jews had been specialist Joe Kerman totally outside public will meet with Education affaks." Minister Dave King.
Katz noted that there—Iliey will propose an anti-have only been two Jew- racist program for the ish members of the legis- schools and discuss
lature in Alberta's his^ tory. One in the 1950s was from the Social Credu rarty.
means of greater supervision of curriculum.
It appears certain that Keegstra will lose his
teaching Hcense, said Katz.
The AJberta - Jewish community felt firmly that it had to deal with this situation itself with no public intervention by Canadian Jewish Congress.
"The East is just not liked in the West and Easterners becoming involved would have not done us any good."
From here on, Katz said, the Jewish community will have to starts working in the "trenches" — seeing that books on Jewish themes are in school libraries, dialoguing with(^ the churches, and placing greater public emphasis on Yom Hashoa commemoration.