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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Posters mar Jewish celebration

Anti-Semitic notices target mayor, others

By: Carol Sanders

Posted: 09/17/2012 1:00 AM

Anti-Semitic posters plastered in downtown Winnipeg marred the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year holiday, which began Sunday at dusk.

Jewish groups expressed outrage over the posters discovered late Friday taped up along Broadway and nearby streets, which reference Mayor Sam Katz and members of the Jewish business community.

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"It is worrisome," Bob Freedman, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, said Sunday. "It is upsetting, you bet, especially for those people who were named. Why were they named?"

The posters, headlined with a dollar sign and a reference to Hitler, were taken down by police Saturday.

Community members preparing for the Jewish new year rallied when they heard about the anti-Semitic posters, Freedman said.

"We've received a number of emails from prominent folks being supportive, many of whom are getting ready for the start of Rosh Hashanah," he said.

A Winnipeg Police Service spokesman said they had no suspects in the case.

The police major crime unit, which has a "small segment" that focuses on hate crimes, is investigating, Patrol Sgt. Wally Antoniuk said Sunday. The unit is looking into the source of the posters and checking out the author of 'Follow da Money' on the topix.com website that posted the contents of the poster, Antoniuk said.

The Free Press does not want to advance the anti-Semitic smear and is not publishing a photo of the poster or quoting directly from it.

The Winnipeg Jewish Federation did some checking online and discovered the contents of the poster in Winnipeg riffed on anti-Semitic posts in other North American cities, Freedman said.

"There's no shortage of hate websites you can get inspiration from," he said.

Katz issued a statement Sunday saying he believes that kind of malice isn't in the hearts of most Winnipeggers.

"I am extremely saddened and disheartened that an individual, or group of individuals, is posting such material," Katz said. "I have faith that the people of Winnipeg will not support such malice."

Freedman said he doesn't think the anti-Semitic posters resonate with many in Winnipeg, a city that's welcomed Jewish newcomers from around the world.

"We have a lot of immigrants coming here from South America and the former Soviet Union. They've come to clearly what is a very tolerant society."

B'nai Brith Canada also condemned the posters and praised Winnipeg police for taking the matter seriously.

The head of the national organization said Katz and his city hall controversy have nothing to do with his being a Jew.

"Bringing anti-Semitism into the debate about city hall is simply wrong," Frank Dimant, CEO of B'nai Brith Canada, said in a prepared statement.

Freedman agrees.

"I don't think the citizens of Winnipeg see this as a Jewish issue or... an ethnic issue at all," Freedman said of the mayor's business deals. "It's an issue that's political in nature."

B'nai Brith Canada wants to help the police bring those responsible for the posters to justice. Anyone with information is asked to call its 24-hour Anti-Hate Hotline at 1-800-892-2624.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 17, 2012 0