This Week in Canadian Jewish Advocacy | March 03, 2024
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This Week in Canadian Jewish Advocacy

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Dear John, 

This week, we highlighted the government’s action to counter online hate, facilitated dialogue between our spiritual leaders and our elected officials, and experienced the new reality in Israel.

Read on to learn more.

CIJA


As Jews know all too well, what happens online does not stay online. It affects our community, our children, in real life.

Over the past several years, CIJA has worked intensively both domestically and internationally to ensure legislation addresses the hateful rhetoric, harassment, and intimidation Jewish and other vulnerable communities face online, as well as to target those who use the internet to prey on and radicalize individuals for terror.

On Monday, February 26, Minister of Justice Arif Virani tabled the long-awaited Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act the Government of Canada’s plan to combat antisemitism, online hate, and online terrorist content – which has been allowed to fester on the internet for far too long. It protects vulnerable communities from the disproportionate amount of hate they receive online, while respecting freedom of speech.

While not perfect, and still requiring study at committee, with this Act, we have a chance to diminish Jew-hatred online. Tell your local Member of Parliament that you want them to support the Online Harms Act.

This week, CIJA accompanied a delegation of Orthodox Rabbis from across Canada to Parliament Hill to meet with decision-makers and discuss the important matters affecting their congregations and Canada's Jewish community. They met with Members of Parliament from both the Liberal and Conservative Parties, Public Safety Canada, and dignitaries including Israeli Ambassador Iddo Moed, and Deborah Lyons, Canada's Special Envoy for Preserving Holocaust Remembrance & Combatting Antisemitism.

Discussion focused on rising antisemitism in their communities, how the new changes to the Security Infrastructure Program (SIP) have impacted their congregations, and on other issues directly affecting the Orthodox community, including kashrut regulations and cost.

CIJA’s Board of Directors were in Israel this week to experience firsthand the new reality that Israelis are living. Over three days, they met with elected officials, dignitaries, media, and academics for in-depth briefings on the changing landscape of Israeli society, regional security, and diplomatic relations. The group visited communities near Gaza that were attacked by Hamas terrorists, including the Bedouin village of Rahat to meet the family of a hostage, and visited Hostages Square in Tel Aviv where they spoke with Israeli families to hear their stories of heartache and survival.

Community Calendar

Communities are gathering in cities across Canada in support of the people and land of Israel. Find an event near you.

March 23-24 | Purim
April 22-30 |
Passover

CIJA in the News 

The New Reality – Rising Hate: Antisemitism in Canada (Global News)

An anti-Israel blockade at McGill University's Bronfman Building led in-person classes to be cancelled for the day (The Canadian Jewish News)

Government threat report warns about attacks in Canada inspired by Hamas-Israel conflict (Global News)

Online harms bill puts onus on tech platforms to remove child pornography (The Globe and Mail)

Ottawa veut protéger les enfants sur Internet, sans leur couper la pornographie (Le Devoir)

Vancouver International Women's Day group lauds Palestinian terrorist (National Post, + Postmedia Syndication)

Arif Virani's new frontier (Politico)

Ottawa promet des garanties pour les nouvelles mesures contre les préjudices en ligne (Noovo, + syndication de La presse canadienne)

UBC student union has voted against posing a referendum question about whether Hillel House should be evicted from campus (The Canadian Jewish News)

Hamas leader hosted as honorable speaker at PFLP-linked webinar (The Jerusalem Post)

Get more CIJA in the News here.

Community Careers

Associate Director, Communications & Marketing - CIJA

National senior professional, External Affairs - CIJA

Associate Director, University Relations and Public Education | Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver/CIJA