Toronto (March 7, 2018) - Friends of Simon WiesenthalCenter (FSWC) commends the University of Winnipeg for taking concerns aboutantisemitism on campus seriously as it undertakes a review of an on-campusevent last week.

OnFebruary 28, 2018, University of Winnipeg’s Global College gave space to a coalition of communitymembers to hold a panel discussion tocoincide with the university's “Middle East Week.” Promotional material stated the event would focus on "the religious and spiritualimportance of Jerusalem to the three Abrahamic religions – Judaism,Christianity and Islam.” Concerns were brought to the university’s attention that panel members allegedlyrepeated antisemitic canards during the event.

In its statement released yesterday, the university saidit has committed to examining the comprehensive definition of contemporaryantisemitism formulated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, ofwhich Canada is a member state, as it reviews its“Respectful Workplace and Learning Environment” policy and the alignment of its event-based procedures with this policy following the troubling incident. 

Media Contact:

Avital Borisovsky  
Communications Associate    
416.864.9735 x 29 
aborisovsky@fswc.ca

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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. 

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