Ben Mulroney

By Beryl Wajsman The Suburban

The Suburban had an exclusive opportunity to speak with award-winning author, journalist, national political strategist and Toronto Sun columnist Warren Kinsella and nationally syndicated Corus radio host and newly-named National Ambassador for B’nai Brith Canada Ben Mulroney at their appearance at Côte St. Luc’s Beth Israel Beth Aaron Synagogue on the subject of Weaponizing Genocide: Exposing Propaganda in the Age of Misinformation. The packed event was presented by Heidi Berger’s Foundation For Genocide Education and the Dym Family Foundation. Pam Litman professionally directed{span} the organization and logistics of the evening and provided vital engagement with the fundraising for it.

The evening began with words of welcome from the synagogue’s Rabbi Reuben J. Poupko. Heidi Berger then delivered eloquent and heartfelt remarks that touched everyone particularly when she talked about the struggle to get genocide education on the public agenda to the point where there is now a Quebec approved course book put together by Berger and the Foundation for high schools. it is elective and some schools are using it. She is continuing her efforts to make it mandatory. She spoke movingly of how her mother Ann Kazimirski, a Holocaust survivor, educator and author of “Witness to Horror”, committed herself to Holocaust education and how much her example continues to inspire Berger. She is particularly concerned with the lack of knowledge among young people and said, “Very few high school students learn about genocide in Canadian schools, and it’s evident by actions such as the TikTok posts, how damaging the consequences can be. There is no better way for young people to develop empathy and understanding for others than by listening to the stories of those who have lived this history”

Kinsella, the author of “Web of Hate” and “Recipe for Hate”, was introduced by StartUp Nation Vice-Presidents Ashley Steinwald and Amanda Rosenthal. He has gone across the country and used his columns and books to expose today’s rampant antisemitism. He makes it a point to unmask how extremists use accusations of genocide as propaganda in the war against democratic society. His forthcoming book is entitled “The Hidden Hand.” For his part, Mulroney is unwavering in his fight against antisemitism on his national radio show.

In Kinsella’s keynote address before the fireside chat with Mulroney, he emphasized that extremist actors manipulate genocide rhetoric to fuel hate and undermine democratic societies. He demonstrated that antisemitic and anti‑Israel narratives are not spontaneous but are orchestrated, well-funded efforts leveraging social media and bot farms to amplify genocidal accusations and hate speech—part of a broader strategy to “weaponize genocide”. Kinsella stressed that the surge in Jew‑hatred demands urgent, targeted leadership from political figures and law enforcement . He called for strengthened legal enforcement of existing laws and proactive policing to confront hate crimes, prosecution of those who finance or organize extremist protests, and combatting misinformation online by all people to prevent the conflation of advocacy with genocide rhetoric. He called on politicians and public officials to vocally condemn antisemitism and refuse to frame Israel as a legitimate target, dismantling the “blame-the-victim” narrative pervasive in many circles. He underlined the importance of educating younger generations—particularly 18–40-year-olds, whom he described as susceptible to Holocaust denial and genocide rhetoric—through meaningful engagement and legal education to rebuild robust democratic resistance.

These are the questions I posed to them.

The Suburban: Warren, Ben, you’re not just speaking about antisemitism but about who we have to be as Canadians. You are two people in this country who, almost uniquely, are still rallying the call to protect our values and not to submit to the voices of hate. I have to ask you Warren what made you go out and become the preeminent voice today against what we’re seeing in Canada?

Warren Kinsella: It’s just the way I was raised, being the son my parents raised. I was born in Montreal near Snowdon. I had Jewish and Catholic friends, and when I encountered antisemitism, that’s when it jumped off the pages of my schoolbooks and affected me. I remembered it, and as a journalist, a citizen and a lawyer, it became a focus in my life.

TS: You once told me that your father taught you something about antisemitism.

WK: It’s just how he brought me and my brothers up, my mom as well. If you’re a Montrealer of a certain vintage, you have a certain perspective that in this city, you have to get along with everybody. That’s how I was brought up.

TS: Ben, your dad, his last public address was about antisemitism.

Ben Mulroney: It was his last public address in New York City for the World Jewish Congress, where he was the first Canadian to win the Theodor Herzl Award. What’s interesting is I remember being, on a beautiful summer day, in Montreal with him 30 years earlier. He said, ‘what are you doing today?’ and I said ‘hopefully, sitting by your beautiful pool’ and he said ‘no, I need you to come to a synagogue with me because I’m giving a speech.’ We sat in the basement of the synagogue and he gave the first iteration of that speech. It was entitled ‘Israel is the new Jew’. He had been thinking about that very topic for 30 years. In his office, he had a framed old poster, saying ‘the Irish need not apply’ for jobs. He was always struck about the forward march of progress for every cultural community, with the exception of the Jews. There could be these leaps forward or these massive steps back, and he was always taken and struck by the unique predicament of antisemitism and why it’s so pervasive and doesn’t go away. Every other community seems to have this march towards progress, equality and acceptance

TS: He had a great institutional memory. He would talk sometimes about how the longest serving Mayor of Dublin, Robert Brodie,was Jewish. He remembered that Isaac Herzog, the grandfather of the current Israeli president and the father of General Chaim Herzog, was the Chief Rabbi of Ireland.

BM: He had a memory unlike anyone else. He would remember people’s names from 55 years ago, and he might have met them once.

TS: Warren, you have gotten enough threats over the years from people since the early ‘90s. What’s the threat level in your life, particularly in the last couple of years?

WK: It’s increased, but I suspect it’s nowhere near what my friends in the Jewish community experience. I don’t complain about it. What I’ve noticed is how industrious and awful these people have become. My partner is a Zionist like me, we just got back from Israel. I was filming a documentary. The Campaign is coming out at the end of the year. We’re editing it and fundraising to complete the process. Anybody who’s interested in contributing we’d love to talk to. She’s been put on a list — in the little county where we live, 25,000 people — of Jewish businesses, because she’s a Zionist. That is the qualitative difference. It’s everywhere in a way that it has not been.

TS: Yes, it’s in a way that it’s never been because Iran funded it. It started a week before Israel ever entered Gaza. What I try to get across to audiences is there are a lot of historical things happening. Over half the Arab Muslims in the world are living under governments at peace with Israel with diplomatic relations due to the Abraham Accords. Western Europe is legislating against Islamists as never before. Do you find that this positive side of the message is often missing?

BM: Yes, I absolutely do. What I see on my Twitter feed is what the algorithm is feeding me. We do need the good news repeated.

TS: Gentlemen, thank you for your courage. n