The B'nai Brith, a self-proclaimed representative of Canada's Jewish community, accused the cartoonist of inferring in his cartoon, that Canadian Jews control Parliament. The cartoon in question had a Jewish Star placed in the face of Parliament's clock tower.
The cartoonist said the depiction was inadvertent and that it was just a representation of the the clock face, which actually does have a Jewish Star buried it's artwork.
“The caricature plays into vicious and baseless age-old stereotypes of a Jewish conspiracy of control,” said Moïse Moghrabi, Quebec Chair of The League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith Canada."- B'nai BrithB'nai Brith admits that it never even bothered to get Mr. Badeaux's take on the cartoon, thus demonstrating appalling arrogance and a profound absence of fair play. Labelling someone a racist, without checking the facts is an unpardonable sin, especially when it is done on a organizational level.
Mr. Badeaux's explanation that the depiction was inadvertent seems to be reasonable and his reputation and his friends (many Jewish) back him up.
In accepting B'nai Brith's theory over Mr. Badeaux's explanation, one would have to violate the principle of Occam's Razor, which postulates that "the simplest explanation is usually the correct one".
Faced with a barrage of criticism from all quarters, including the premier Jewish lobby group, the Canadian Jewish Congress, B'nai Brith reacted the way most self-righteous and moralistic organizations would, they dug in their heels, claiming that they weren't satisfied with the explanation.
"Despite both Badeaux’s and Congress’ claims that the cartoon was innocuous, a Sept. 22 statement by B’nai Brith re-iterated the organization’s belief that it was aimed at the Jewish community." LINKFor that, they have become a laughingstock.
Bernie Farber of the Canadian Jewish Congress, reacted strongly in Mr. Badeaux's defence;
"There is a Star of David on the face of the Peace Tower clock, there is. He has used it not for the first time in a caricature he has done," Farber said. "This has nothing to do with anti-Semitism and everything to do with a cartoonist who was trying to depict the Peace Tower. It was very legitimate." LINK
Farber was incensed that B’nai Brith did not seemingly “check all the facts” about Badeaux and decided to label him an anti-Semite “when he clearly isn’t. We have to set the record straight.” LINKI don't know Moïse Moghrabi, chair of B’nai Brith Canada’s, Quebec region of the League for Human Rights, who levelled the accusations on behalf of the organization, but he certainly deserves to get the sack. Anything less and any semblance of legitimacy, evaporates.
It is ironic that the only reputation damaged in the whole affair, is that of the B'nai Brith, itself.
I've never been a fan of unelected lobby groups presuming to speak on behalf of whole communities, be they Jewish, Italian or whatnot. That includes both the Quebec Jewish Congress and the B'nai Brith and perhaps by saying so, Mr. Moghrabi will label this blog as antisemitic, as well. So be it.
It is impertinent for these organizations to lobby in
the name of all Jews. Their position on Israel, on education, language
issues and even antisemitism may represent what many Jews believe, but
certainly not all. They are elitist organizations that presume quite a bit.
The Quebec Jewish Congress' lobbying on behalf of Hassidic schools that clearly break the education laws certainly does not reflect well on the community and the generally negative reaction has affected the entire Jewish community's standing. LINK
Another major gaffe was the organization's push to influence Premier Jean Charest to increase funding to private Jewish schools, an incident that backfired so badly that it was likely the tipping point in the 'Reasonable Accommodation" debate.
As for it's most important role, denouncing antisemitism, the above brouhaha with Mr. Badeaux is sad proof that many of the accusations of antisemitism are clear over-reactions.
Although antisemitism is a problem, not every crime committed against a Jew is antisemitism. By crying wolf at every slight, imagined or real, B'nai Brith does a disservice to those it claims to protect.
Last month a Catholic cemetery in Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu suffered an appalling attack of vandalism, with over 90 gravestones defaced. LINK
Was it a case of anti-Catholic racism or an act of stupidity, more likely perpetrated by rowdy youth?
Had it been a Jewish cemetery, I've no doubt that Mr. Moghrabi would be screaming antisemitism.
Don't get me wrong, I am in no way belittling the problem of racism that Jews and other minorities (especially Muslims) face, but overreacting and 'crying wolf' doesn't help.
B'nai Brith should be ashamed of their actions and apologize to Mr. Badeaux. If they don't, they lose any moral authority that they claim. For the organization, it's time to suck it up and do the right thing, otherwise, just go away.
