TORONTO, August 27, 2008 - The Canadian Race Relations Foundation condemns the latest attack on a Jewish family in Ste. Agathe, Québec recently and is calling on all levels of government and the police for a more decisive action in condemning these kinds of attacks.
“It is deeply distressing that at a time when these kinds of incidents should be unheard of, the reverse – increases in hateful attacks and assaults – seem to be on the rise,” noted Dr. Ayman Al-Yassini, Senior Executive Vice President of the CRRF. “According to reports, this is the latest in a number of anti-Semitic harassments in this part of Québec. Clearly, there needs to be more decisive action taken to discourage these kinds of behaviour.”
In this latest incident against French tourists on their way to synagogue, a young man was assaulted by youths who were harassing them with insults. The young man was cut on the face with a ring.
“This is not the first time that this alarming trend, which is beginning to sound like a summer past-time, has happened,” added Al-Yassini. “Last summer, there were a series of fires in a nearby town where a number of Hasidic Jewish families own cottages. It should be clear that there needs to be determined action taken to avert these hateful acts of racism and anti-Semitism before it gets out of hand.”
The CRRF calls upon the Government of Québec, and the police, to take a decisive action against these incidents by affirming a zero-tolerance policy for hate crimes. We also call upon the local communities in the Ste. Agathe - Laurentian region to speak out against these acts.