TORONTO (November 22, 2017) -Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) has sent a letter to the Township ofPuslinch, urging its councillors to support residents who have been pushing forthe renaming of the street Swastika Trail. 

“The swastika as a name and a symbol is a reminder of theevil perpetuated by the Nazis,” said FSWC President and CEO Avi Benlolo. “Tothis day, the swastika remains the most used symbol by neo-Nazi groups andcontinues to appear in antisemitic vandalism right across this country. Itfalls to the town leadership to send a clear message that such offensive nameswill not represent the community.”

The town’s neighbourhood association recently voted forkeeping the street name as is, with some residents saying the street wascreated in the 1920s and shouldn’t be associated with the Nazis. The swastika,however, was already adopted by the Nazi party led by Hitler at that time.

Puslinch council will be meeting in December to discuss thematter.

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Media Contact: 

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

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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. 

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