antisemitic

By Joel Goldenberg and Dan Laxer
The Suburban

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs is condemning a report on accelerating changes for a Montreal free of racism and discrimination from 2023 to 2025, saying it omits any mention of antisemitism. Numerous anti-Israel and antisemitic incidents have taken place in Montreal — including antisemitic slurs, Jewish schools being fired upon and Molotov cocktails thrown into Jewish community centres — since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.

The report on racism and discrimination was presented to the city last week by Bochra Manaï, Montreal’s Commissioner for the Fight against Racism and Systemic Discrimination. Manaï has been harshly criticized for attending 2023 anti-Israel rallies where antisemitic chants were heard.

A CIJA statement regarding the new anti-racism document says that “we are outraged—though unfortunately not surprised—to see that she did not even mention the Jewish community or antisemitism.

“This report represents a glaring erasure of one of Montreal’s ethnic minorities, by the City of Montreal itself, even though the Jewish community is one of the most frequently targeted by hate crimes and incidents in the city. This omission is concerning, particularly coming from an office responsible for addressing racism and discrimination, and it adds to some troubling stances the Commissioner has taken in the past.”

CIJA is calling on Mayor Valérie Plante to “ensure that the Office of the Commissioner for the Fight against Racism and Systemic Discrimination fulfills its mandate without ignoring one of the groups currently most targeted by hate. She must reconsider her decision in appointing a divisive Commissioner to a role that should never have been contentious.”

In seeking an answer directly from Manaï as to why antisemitism was left out of a report on racism, The Suburban discovered that the Mayor’s office had put all responsibility for responses on the report on the shoulders of CDN/NDG Mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa and City Director-General Benoit Dagenais. Katahwa is also the executive committee member responsible for the fight against racism.

Indeed even during the council meeting when the report was debated, and questions on the exclusion of antisemitism were asked, Manaï remained silent even when questions were directed at her and all questions were handled by Katahwa and Dagenais with Manaï nodding her head in agreement.

The Suburban attempted to reach Manaï by phone, email and at City Hall. Surprisingly, we found the whole office of “Commissioner” is Manaï and one assistant.

Finally, editor Beryl Wajsman obtained Manaï‘s personal cell number. He texted her one question: “Chère Mme Manai, nous aimerions avoir une brève explication claire des raisons pour lesquelles l’antisémitisme n’a pas été mentionné dans votre rapport sur le racisme.” She responded that, “Le service des relations média vous achemine une réponse.” The Suburban is still waiting.

Katahwa emphasized twice that the omission does not mean that the Plante administration doesn’t care about antisemitism. “For me, it’s important to say to Montrealers of Jewish origin that this does not mean that antisemitism is acceptable. It is absolutely unacceptable. We have taken action and we will continue to take action to ensure the members of the Jewish community are safe and will always be safe in Montreal.” She added, as mayor of the CDN-NDG borough, that the police are “present and mobilized to be sure to protect the Jewish community.”

For his part, Dagenais acknowledged the omission, adding that “antisemitism is a scourge,” and that the fight against it must be made a priority, especially “in the context of the conflict in the Middle East.” He said the goal is to fight antisemitism, “and all other forms of discrimination and racism. If there are any groups who lack confidence in the commissioner, specifically the Jewish community, she will work to restore that trust.”

Katahwa characterized the Manaï report as a progress update in response to a 2022 report tabled by the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) that was highly critical of the city’s record on racial profiling.

With files from Editor Beryl Wajsman n