I wrote about the case
in these pages last week, and though Sid Tafler, the author of the Globe item, and self-confessed Israel supporter, didn't bother to call me, he did cite a couple of my articles. So, I'll check my inclination to criminal bias, and reproduce his piece as it appears in today's G$M below, but before doing so will let you know, as Sid doesn't make it clear: The society in question does not accept the charge of racism, and will contest it with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
VICTORIA
— The B.C. representative for the League for Human Rights of B'nai
Brith Canada has filed a human-rights complaint alleging a
Victoria-based website and its editors, manager and directors "contrive
to promote ongoing hatred affecting persons identifiable as Jews and/or
as citizens of Israel."
Eighteen articles allegedly containing
anti-Semitic material have been removed by publisher Alan Rycroft from
Peace, Earth and Justice News pending the outcome of an inquiry by the
Canadian Human Rights Commission, and after the receipt of a letter
from the commission detailing a complaint from B'nai Brith's Harry
Abrams.
"There are a number of calumnies that need to be
exposed," Mr. Abrams, a Victoria businessman, said in an interview.
"The idea that Israel has no right to exist or that Israel is an
apartheid state," he cited as examples.
Mr. Rycroft said Mr.
Abrams has quoted some of the articles out of context and that they are
critical of the policies of the Israeli government and do not express
hatred toward Jews.
A letter from the Canadian Human Rights
Commission to Mr. Rycroft signed by Richard Tardif, deputy
secretary-general, says the commission is required to address any
complaint that alleges a violation of the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Many
of the articles on the website,
http://www.pej.org, discuss the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the war in Lebanon last summer. Some
question Israel's right to exist or compare Israeli policy with Nazi
persecution of Jews. One article, entitled We Should Nuke Israel, is an
apparent spoof of a column in The Toronto Sun proposing a tactical
strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Anita Bromberg, director of
the legal department of B'nai Brith Canada, which has joined Mr. Abrams
in the complaint, said the articles "are virulently anti-Israel to the
point that they meet the criteria of crossing the line of legitimate
criticism of the state straight into anti-Semitism."
Mr. Rycroft said removing the articles in question "is the respectful thing to do, until the issue is concluded."
"We
removed all 18 articles ... named in the complaint within 24 hours as a
courtesy to Harry Abrams and to show our goodwill. The 18 articles
remain in our database and can be reactivated to public view at any
time."
PEJ News, operated since 1996, provides articles and
online discussions of peace, environment and justice issues written by
its own writers and others. It is operated by the non-profit Prometheus
Institute of Victoria and claims a global monthly per-page readership
of 500,000 people.
Mr. Abrams says other Canadian-based websites are being examined for possible complaints before the commission.
"We have to show that Canadian law extends to the Internet as well as the conventional printed word," he said.
Mr.
Abrams is encouraged by the removal of the articles pending the outcome
of his complaint. "I see that as a gesture of good faith. I am open to
the idea of a mediated settlement."
The letter to Mr. Rycroft
from the human rights commission said a settlement may be approved "if
the parties reach an agreement during the course of an investigation."
Reaching
a settlement is one option the commission tries in the early stages
after a complaint is lodged, said Nathalie Dagenais, director of
investigations for the commission.
Other options open to the
commission include dismissing the complaint or referring the case to a
human-rights tribunal for a hearing.
The news is out: I'm a hate-filled, anti-semitic, racist. That according to a typically one-sided assessment of the case of Hate Crimes charges emanating one Harry Abrams, and his colleagues at the British Columbia branch of the B'nai Brith written up in "Canada's national newspaper," The Globe and Mail. 
