“Canada is home to an estimated 400,000 people of Jewish heritage, making it the fourth-largest Jewish community in the world. Jewish Canadians have made and continue to make important contributions to our society, including medicine, theatre, engineering, music, architecture, academia, politics, law, the arts, and more. During this month, we also recognize the courage, determination, and resilience that members of Jewish communities have shown throughout history.
We must also recognise that Jewish communities in Canada and around the world continue to face a frightening rise in acts of antisemitism, violence, and xenophobia. This is unacceptable. We must always condemn this violence and continue to stand firmly against it.”
The above statement is from Canadian Heritage, a department of the Canadian government. The IAM agrees with this statement, but also want to add our own thoughts.
It is not only important recognise that the Jewish community continues to face antisemitism, violence and xenophobia, it is also important to speak out against it when we see it. It happens in our workplaces and in our communities, on public transit and in public spaces.
Hate doesn’t go away unless we act to make it go away!
Finally, little has been done to recognise the role Jewish-Canadians played in the early labour movement in Canada. Those activists spoke up against racism as well as bad working conditions. They supported workers’ rights and many other societal problems.
Please click on the link to read an (English-only) article by the Broadbent institute
