TORONTO (November 15, 2017) - The Legal Action Committee of Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust  Studies (FSWC) is pleased Toronto Police Services and Ontario's Attorney General are enforcing the Criminal Code of Canada as it relates to hate crime and hate speech concerning "Your Ward News." The organization has  been out in front and fielding complaints from the public about the content  of the publication described as hateful and antisemitic.

"Just recently the 'newspaper' was delivered to a  predominantly Jewish neighbourhood in central Toronto where many Holocaust  survivors and children of survivors reside," said Avi Benlolo, FSWC's  President and CEO. "In some cases, it is reported that specific Jewish  homes were targeted, and this has become a form of harassment toward the Jewish community. We called upon the police and the Hon. Yasir Naqvi, the  Attorney General to protect the community on numerous occasions, as Crown  consent is required to lay hate crime charges. The 'newspaper' promotes  Nazism and is also considered offensive to many groups and individuals,  including women, Black, Muslim and LGBT communities."

Delivery of the newspaper was stopped last year by Canada  Post, a Crown Corporation representing the Government of Canada. FSWC is  pleased that action has been taken and that a red line has been drawn to  reaffirm hate speech and hate crime laws in Ontario. The organization is  especially concerned given the rise of antisemitism and racism across the  country as documented on its website.  

"Unfortunately, white supremacists have been emboldened  in recent months on university campuses and in small towns and cities,and these charges, we hope, will be a setback for those who peddle hate,"  Benlolo said. 

FSWC continues to call upon authorities to also enforce the Criminal  Code concerning the hateful rally called "Al-Quds Day," which is  held annually to call for the destruction of the Jewish state and its  citizens. 

‍

Avi Benlolo, President and CEO, is available for interviews. Please contact Avital at 416-864-9735 ext. 29 or by email at aborisovsky@fswc.ca. You may also reach Avi Benlolo directly at president@fswc.ca

‍

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

________________________________________________________________________________

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