Today is Inauguration Day in the United States. Millions ofpeople around the world are watching as a new American administration assumesthe leadership of the White House and of the western world.

In addition to the issues facing American politicians, including the economy,jobs, education, immigration and the environment, the new White House will alsohave to address an alarming resurgence of antisemitism and hatred directedagainst Jewish communities across the U.S. at levels not seen for more thanhalf a century.

In fact, theFBI has launched an investigation into two separate incidents in which 27Jewish community centers in 17 states received telephone bomb threats thisweek; last week 16 community centers in nine states received similar calls.Although they were fake threats, the anxiety and fear they provoked arecertainly real.

Canadians are also confronting racists who feel empowered to share theirdespicable beliefs - witness the support for suspendedUniversity of Lethbridge professor Anthony Hall, who is not alone in hisopinion that the Holocaust is a controversial subject of legitimate debate, andthat 'Zionists' were responsible for the 9-11 attacks. While a complaintagainst Hall has been lodged by the university with the Alberta Human RightsCommission, he has many supporters who agree with his twisted view of historicalfact.

Holocaust revisionism is a growing trend we cannot afford to ignore, and it'simportant to take immediate steps to address this incomprehensible perversionof the truth. To that end I delivered a two-hour workshop this week torepresentatives of the Ontario Provincial Police and the Halton and NiagaraPolice Services, about the history and impact of antisemitism.

The program began with an exploration of the Jewish Diaspora, including theexpulsions from Jerusalem, England, France and Spain, and the consequentexperience of the Jews as a persecuted and stateless people. Participantslearned about the Dreyfus Affair, Theodor Herzl, the rise of Zionism, and theantisemitism which led to the Holocaust, followed by an examination of modernforms of antisemitism masquerading as anti-Israel hatred.

Judging by the feedback, this session was very successful in explaining theswift and emotional reaction of the Jewish community to antisemitic speech andactions; for these police representatives - many of whom work in schools andcommunities across the province, this presentation was an important educationalopportunity which will help support their efforts to address hate crimes. Asnoted by a constable with the Niagara Police Service, "Educating all the policeservices can play a big part as we move forward together as a community and asa country."

This presentation was a small step to address a big problem. But as I deliverthis presentation to a growing number of groups across the province, the rippleeffect of each successive small step is cumulative; the determination toconfront and condemn Holocaust revisionism and denial grows with everyeducational workshop I present. I invite you to join me in the growing movement to recognize and confront Holocaustdistortion. Incontrovertible firsthand testimony by survivors can be foundon Friends of Simon Wiesenthal's new website www.neverforgetme.ca. 

I encourage you to support our efforts by sharing this website widely. Truth is our best weapon, and we are all obligated to do our part to ensurehistory is not rewritten by those who hope to erase the Jewish people from itspages.

Avi