TORONTO (September 29, 2017) - Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) has learned that the City of Peterborough, following a storm of protest, has retreated from its initial willingness to grant a permit  for a planned white nationalist rally this weekend. The City has attributed this change to the failure of the organizer to meet technical requirements. That being said, the city has indicated that it will be vigilant in anticipation of the rally still going forward.   

“While city officials found a reason to deny the permit on technical grounds​,​ it remains concerning that the Mayor of Peterborough was of the belief that the rally had to be permitted to proceed on the grounds of free speech. A city need not necessarily grant permission for a rally – especially if there is wide condemnation by the community at large including some 100 organizations who have joined together in protest of this activity," said FSWC President and CEO Avi Benlolo. 

"It is true that our Charter protects our freedom of expression, but there are limits to that in Canadian law. One would think that after the debacle of Charlottesville last month where Nazi protestors marched with torches in hand yelling "Jews will not replace us", municipalities would have taken extreme caution with respect to white supremacist rallies. Hate must be countered at every step and not be allowed to fester and grow. These are the lessons of history we at the FSWC put into practice.

"The decision to allow the rally to proceed is especially disconcerting given the rising significance of "white power" and Nazism is this country. In the course of this very heated summer, not a week has passed when several antisemitic and racist incidents have taken place somewhere in this country. There were at least three major antisemitic and hateful incidents this week alone and Canadians are becoming increasingly concerned. Hopefully the small but strong Jewish community of Peterborough will be able to pray in peace and security this Yom Kippur which falls tomorrow. The golden lining in all this is that there has been a strong response of solidarity with a weekend of events that will surely drown out the hate.”

In solidarity with the community and a united front against hate and intolerance, FSWC will be bringing its ground-breaking mobile classroom, the Tour for Humanity, to the city during the weekend events.

Through its advocacy initiatives and educational programs - such as Tour for Humanity, Freedom Day and the National Policy Conference on Holocaust Education - FSWC speaks out against all forms of hate and antisemitism, and is committed to promoting tolerance and acceptance in communities throughout Canada.

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To arrange an interview with Avi Benlolo, please contact:

Atara Cadesky  
Communications Associate  
416.864.9735 x 30 
acadesky@fswc.ca

Avital Borisovsky  
Communications Associate    
416.864.9735 x 30 
aborisovsky@fswc.ca

Follow us on Twitter at @CanadianFSWC for latest news and organization updates

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Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) is a top Jewish human rights foundation in Canada's organized Jewish community. It directly impacts over 100,000 people each year and 500,000+ peripherally. FSWC is committed to countering racism and antisemitism and to promoting the principles of tolerance, social justice and Canadian democratic values through advocacy and educational programs including workshops, Freedom Day, Spirit of Hope Benefit, Tools for Tolerance and the widely acclaimed Tour for Humanity. FSWC is affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization headquartered in Los Angeles which has won two Academy Awards, has built two Museums of Tolerance (with a third being built in Jerusalem) and is an NGO at the United Nations, UNESCO, OAS, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament. Visit us at www.fswc.ca. 

 Canadian Headquarters: Toronto       Branches: Los Angeles • New York • Chicago • Paris • Buenos Aires • Israel

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