Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on May 20, 2022

(L-R) Councillor Mac Bain, National Director B'nai Brith Canada's League for Human Rights Marvin Rotrand, B'nai Brith Canada's Chief Executive Officer Michael Mostyn, Mayor Al McDonald and Councillor Johanne Brousseau. (Photo by MyNorthBayNow.com staff)

Hate and racism have no home in North Bay.

That from Mayor Al McDonald as he accepted a certificate of merit from Bnai Brith Canada for speaking out against antisemitism and recognizing May as Jewish Heritage Month in the city.

Marvin Rotrand, National Director of the organizations League for Human Rights says theyre recognizing the entire community for its response to an incident of antisemitism last year that garnered national headlines.

He says North Bay is the perfect example for others across Canada.

If this happens in your community how are you going to react? We know how North Bay reacted, Rotrand says. The mayor spoke, the council spoke, the police department got involved, the school board became involved and the community as a whole became involved and said sorry its not going to take root in our community. Are you going to do the same?

Rotrand says incidents and manifestations of hate need to be taken seriously.

He says a recent shooting in Buffalo shows that things seen online can lead to radicalization, the poisoning of young minds and could lead to violence.

Rotrand says Bnai Briths audit of antisemitic incidents in Canada last year showed a record year of hate incidents aimed at Jews.

A lot of that was online, pretty vile and beyond the scope of Canadian laws, he says. Clearly, Parliament is going to have to weigh in. Theyre going to have to do what other countries have done; confront the internet, confront social media and find a way to balance free speech with the rights of minorities to feel protected and safe in their countries.

McDonald is encouraging everyone to stand up and speak against hate and racism.

We are a welcoming and inclusive community for everyone. It is our responsibility as leaders and as citizens of North Bay to always speak up against racism and hate when it happens, he says. Staying silent is really just assisting racism and hate to continue.

In late April, council passed a motion to recognize every May as Jewish Heritage Month in North Bay.

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North Bay recognized for standing up to hate and racism - My North Bay Now

Category: Jewish Heritage Month
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