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"As government programs experience cutbacks,
there's an urgent need in our communities for added assistance," says
Anne Freeman, Chair, Centre for Community Action. "In the greater
Toronto area alone there are 20,000 Jews who live below the poverty
line, most of them seniors. We are committed to responding to those in
need and, with further support from our generous sponsors, we hope to
expand the reach of our programs to improve their quality of life."
B'nai Brith works closely with a number of
social service agencies to identify and reach those in greatest need.
Our partners include: Big Brothers and Sisters from Halton Peel; Jewish
Family and Child Service; Agincourt Community Services; Eva's Place ;
Redwood Shelter; Interval House, Bloorview McMillan Centre, Reena,
Kadimah and Zareinu.
Highlights
Local B'nai Brith groups are making a
difference with a number of community initiatives, including:
* Helping families through tough times.
B'nai Brith delivers food and gift baskets to both Jewish and
non-Jewish families in communities across Canada. For example, we gave
more than 4,000 food baskets in Montreal during Rosh Hashanah and
Passover this year. We provided gift baskets to 1,000 families in
Toronto during Hanukkah and Purim.
* Providing student scholarships. The costs
of education have risen dramatically over the last decade. Some local
B'nai Brith groups provide funding each year to students who
demonstrate a high degree of involvement in human rights or other
community issues.
* Visiting hospitals and seniors homes.
Local B'nai Brith groups continue the tradition of visiting hospitals
and seniors homes during the holidays to comfort the sick and the
lonely. We also organize visits to children who are not able to go home
for the holidays.
* Organizing outings for kids. Some children
never have the chance to experience things like a professional sports
event; a trip to an amusement park or the local bowling alley. Local
B'nai Brith groups take great joy in making it happen. For example,
each year we take Toronto inner city kids to see the Blue Jays baseball
team in action.
* Sports and social programs for Jewish
youth and adults. B'nai Brith runs athletic leagues and other programs
to bring together Jewish youth and adults on a social and recreational
basis, building friendships and a strong sense of community.
Overcoming the forces of hate
To live in peace and harmony is a
fundamental human right. But in today's world, the opposite forces of
hatred and violence seem to be gaining strength. We're seeing
increasing hate on the Internet, harassment and even increased
violence. B'nai Brith and police Hate Crimes Units across the country
have corroborated a recent increase in racist and antisemitic activity.
B'nai Brith's League for Human Rights has
long been at the forefront of the effort to stem the rising tide. We
focus our work on two fronts:
1. We report incidents and support the
victims. Our Anti-Hate Desk tracks hate crimes against all minorities
in Canada , with a focus on antisemitic incidents. We also maintain an
Anti-Hate Hotline at 1-800-892-2624, which victims can call 24/7 for
front-line counseling and assistance.
2. We empower communities to take action.
Our Taking Action Against Hate initiative is an educational forum that
brings together different segments of our society, including community
members and leaders, anti-racism experts, educators, students, media
personalities, government and law enforcement representatives to
increase networking and reinforce positive relationships. It teaches
participants how to recognize hate and provides practical strategies to
counter the trend of violence and hatred in our society. Plans for next
year include creating a French version of the program to reach a wider
audience across the country.
"We believe in the power of awareness and
education as a tool to combat hate and promote human rights," says
Allan Adel, League Chair. "Our biggest enemies are indifference and
ignorance. We need, and welcome, the support of the broader Canadian
community to help us help the victims and bring the perpetrators to
justice."
In the future, the League will explore
further use of legal means to halt or disrupt the operations of known
terrorist organizations with representatives in Canada . The B'nai
Brith legal department will play a key role in this effort. The
department has a proud history of successful legal interventions. It
includes prominent members of Canada's legal community led by renowned
human rights lawyer David Matas.
"Our legal system can be an effective
instrument to combat antisemitism, hate and racism," says Mr. Adel. "We
will continue to take an innovative approach to dealing with legal
issues."
Strengthening Canada-Israel
relations
There have always been deep ties between
Israel and the Jewish community in Canada . B'nai Brith's Canada Israel
Public Affairs Committee (CIPAC) works to strengthen those bonds, while
promoting greater understanding and support from the broader Canadian
public.
One of B'nai Brith's most recent initiatives
was to sponsor a formal 15-week dialogue series in Montreal to
encourage increased Judeo-Christian understanding. With continued
support from the community, we hope to condense this program into a
more concentrated program and distribute it
widely to both Christian and Jewish
communities across Canada . The demand and the interest is there
"and it's growing," says Amos Sochaczevski, Chair, Institute for
International Affairs.
"We want to take advantage of every
opportunity to promote a better mutual understanding between Canada and
Israel ," he says. "As we dialogue with other community groups we begin
to remove the barriers to unity and understanding. We can also more
effectively act to correct some of the negative misperceptions about
Israel created by the media."
Highlights
Other key B'nai Brith initiatives to promote
positive Canada-Israel relations include:
* Representing Canadians concerned about
Israel in the public arena by responding to biased reactions to
Israel's policies on the part of government, the media, human rights
groups, unions and other public groups. For example, we have organized
a weekly Friday rally in Montreal to counterbalance virulently
anti-Israel demonstrations staged there on a weekly basis.
* We engage in regular consultations with
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure open lines of communication
and relay the community's concerns to the government.
* We provide an educational and leadership
development program that includes public lectures with world-class
experts, confidential briefings on sensitive topics, advocacy training
and briefs and publications on important international issues.
* We work to counter the aggressive
anti-Israel propaganda that has surfaced recently at campuses across
this country. We are now in the process of creating an information
piece to explain to students the issues Israel is facing. It will be
distributed as a special insert to every major Canadian university
campus newspaper.
* We arrange missions to Israel that bring
Canadian Jews, Christians and diverse groups of national, regional and
local community leaders together.
For example, in August 2004, the largest
aboriginal representation ever from Winnipeg visited the Holy Land. The
inspiration for the trip stemmed from last year's B'nai Brith Canada's
Holocaust and Hope Study Tour to Israel, which was specially arranged
for aboriginal educators in the wake of the Ahenakew Affair.
* We provide a broad forum for deepening
Christian understanding of Judaism, Zionism, the challenges Israel
faces, as well as the universal threat of terrorism to all democracies.
Through a strategic alliance with pro-Israeli Christian groups, we
ensure that our message is delivered to a wider spectrum of Canadian
communities.
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