Jewish group to fight 'over the top' racial tension

The Jewish Defence League of Canada is planning on setting up shop in Ottawa with one simple message: “Don’t mess with us.”

Meir Weinstein, the league’s national director, claims there is a “disturbing trend” of racial tension between Arabs and Jews in Ottawa, highlighted by an apparently anti-Semitic attack on a pair of Carleton University students in Gatineau earlier this week.

But regardless of that attack, “we feel that things are over the top already,” said Weinstein.

“There is very high anxiety in Ottawa,” said Weinstein. “It’s almost non-stop the activities and vilification against the Jewish people.”

B’Nai Brith Canada also weighed in, calling the machete attack a “spill-over effect” of “hate-fests” like Israeli Apartheid Week, which has been the source of controversy on university campuses, including Carleton’s.

Weinstein said he hasn’t spoken to officials at Carleton University, but he was critical of the response from university administration to anti-Semitic slogans discovered scrawled in a bathroom stall last month during Israeli Apartheid Week.

Weinstein promised to “stir something up” when he holds an open house meeting off campus sometime within the next month.

JDL Canada distances itself from the U.S.-based Jewish Defence League, whose core ideology, according to its website, is to combat anti-Semitism “by whatever means necessary” and says it is “sinful” for Jews “to sit idly by while Jews are harmed, suffer and even die.”

The Los Angeles-based organization, which claims to be “the most controversial, yet most effective of all Jewish organizations,” has been branded a “violent extremist” organization by the FBI.

Det. John Byers of the Ottawa police hate crimes section said he has “no issue” with the JDL setting up shop in the capital, but said the organization’s motivation may be misguided.

“It’s one thing to say there’s a pattern of behaviour, but if you look at each incident independently and there is no pattern, and no linkages, then is there really a problem or are things being blown out of proportion?” said Byers.

“I have no sense of any underlying racial tension, nor has anyone come to me with any concern of that calibre.”

Ben Saifer, a Carleton University student and outspoken supporter of Israeli Apartheid Week, said he is “concerned” with the JDL establishing a presence in Ottawa.

“While marginal, the JDL has a history of being a racist and violent organization,” said Saifer. “We hope that if they do actually come, the Ottawa community will reject this message.

Saifer, who is Jewish, said he hasn’t experienced any racial tension at Carleton, saying instead that political disagreements have created “healthy debate” on campus.

aedan.helmer@sunmedia.ca

Hate crime facts:

According to the most recent numbers available from Statistics Canada, police-reported hate crimes are actually on the decline in Canada.

In 2007, 785 hate crimes were reported and investigated across the country, down from 892 the previous year.

Of those, 64% were motivated by ethnicity, with blacks being the most frequent targets.

One-quarter of all hate crimes (185) were motivated by religion, down from 220 in 2006.

Incidents against the Jewish faith accounted for two-thirds of those.