Sharing links to anti-Semitic sites or talking about Republican officials urging American Jews to pull themselves together, etc. The controversies with anti-Semitic overtones surrounding the North American conservative camp are increasing. Why?
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In its annual audit in April 2022, the Jewish advocacy movement B’nai Brith found a 700% increase in violent acts from 2020 to 2021, from 9 to 75.
David Matas, the organization’s legal adviser, told The Canadian Press, which was quoted in Le Devoir, that “if you are Jewish, you are far more likely to be the victim of a hate crime only if you are a member of another minority”.
The audit also indicates that the current anti-Jewish discourse comes mainly from the far right and on college campuses.
Now it goes beyond that as the democratization of anti-systemic discourse and the rise of political tribalism helps make this discourse more mainstream.
A “gangrene” fuel to the antisystem
For the constitutionalist Frédéric Bérard, we have reached the level of “gangrene”.
“Using social networks and people of power, anti-Semitic and hate speech is becoming more and more prevalent. It allows some to reap the benefits at the cost of a disintegration of democratic values and living together, ”he explains.
The finding is thus final south of the border, and the list is long, as Madeline Peltz of Media Matters for America reminds us on Twitter.
From Donald Trump, who calls Jews ingratiating, to the Attorney General of Texas, who claims that George Soros is preventing him from opening investigations into child abductions, to the team of the Republican candidate for the post of governor of Pennsylvania, who attacks his adversary for the simple fact that he is Jewish, we observe an increase in inflammatory and hate speech by members and officials of the Republican Party in the run-up to the midterm elections.
However, Canada is not left out. The recent revelations surrounding the former newsletters of the new Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, as well as some of her recent releases, are glaring examples.
The latter has twice shared in its former newsletter links to sites considered anti-Semitic by a Canadian Jewish organization working for human rights.
She was also able to endorse the rhetoric affiliating the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos to a cabal of wealthy decision-makers controlling governments around the world. Ms. Smith wants to sever ties with the WEF because of its supposed omnipotence.
If she defended herself from harboring hateful thoughts, arguing that Pierre Poilievre also intends to cut ties with the WEF if he becomes Prime Minister of Canada, many specialists have recalled that the basis of this assertion remains above all a set of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
A “gangrene” that spares no political camp
The commentator Bryan Breguet, founder of the site Too Close To Call, sees the democratization of this kind of references as “worrying”.
He adds that “with the polarization of political life and the rise of extremes, we have an extension of the anti-elite discourse. We are no longer afraid to say things that were unthinkable 15 years ago. It is absolutely no longer disqualifying”.
Guillaume Rousseau, associate professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Sherbrooke and columnist, can only agree.
“If in Canada this rise was less clear, with the case of the Prime Minister in Alberta, it becomes worrying. The type of content she shared, the links, etc., it’s kind of hateful theories like that of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, ”he explains.
“That said, she has apologized and unequivocally denounces anti-Semitism now. To see, therefore, if the controversy resumes, ”he adds.
“On the other hand, we must be careful not to think too much that it is as serious with us as with the Americans. It is certainly worrying, but it is absolutely not at the same level as what we see in the United States, ”he concludes.
The two analysts nevertheless agree that one should not look solely for the presence of anti-Semitic codes in political discourse only on the right.
Guillaume Rousseau argues that “unfortunately, all camps are concerned. Take the examples of Jeremy Corbin in England, accused of anti-Semitism, or that of Amir Khadir here, for his support of the movement to boycott Israel.
Bryan Breguet, meanwhile, prefers to focus on “the many controversies surrounding New Democratic Party MP Nikki Ashton or the rather evocative tensions between the various fringes of the Green Party of Canada under the leader, Annamie Paul”.
A “gangrene” gateway to a loss of rights
If this speech is a gangrene, as Frédéric Bérard puts it, “it is at risk of rotting everything it touches, a bit like real gangrene rots the human body”.
The constitutionalist concludes his remarks with a warning: “if the resurgence of hateful acts and remarks becomes legitimized to such an extent that it contributes to winning elections, the rights of minorities (LGBTQ, Jews, Muslims, etc. ) and fundamental rights (eg abortion) will pay the price”.
While this increase is worrying, many associations reaffirm the need to denounce loud and clear statements that have no place in our societies.
