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As you may be aware, traditional and social media have been abuzz throughout October in response to American celebrity Ye’s dangerous antisemitic tirades, which spilled over into real-world incidents of Jew-hatred. Fortunately, his corporate sponsors, including Adidas, Gap, Balenciaga, Vogue, and CAA, did the right thing by discontinuing their partnerships with him, despite potential billion-dollar losses.

CIJA was among the many Canadian Jewish organizations, including Jewish Federations across Canada, that widely condemned West’s explicit expressions of Jew-hatred. But antisemitism, whether online or in-person, endangers all of us, and Ye’s shocking behaviour serves as a glaring reminder that, no matter the source, we must always be ready to speak up when confronted with antisemitism.

"Premier Heather Stefanson’s adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism is a clear affirmation of the Manitoba government’s recognition of the surge in hate targeting Jews and the need to counter this rise.” – Shimon Koffler Fogel, President and CEO, CIJA

This week, Manitoba became the sixth Canadian province to adopt or commit to using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. The IHRA working definition of antisemitism provides policymakers, law enforcement, and community leaders a tool to identify, understand, and combat contemporary forms of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere.

Click here to read our full statement.

Please send Premier Stefanson, Minister Smith, and the Government of Manitoba a note of thanks for adopting this gold-standard tool for defining antisemitism and for their commitment to apply it to government policies and actions.

Send a thank you note