New anti-hate policy for Rainbow Resource Centre after incidents

The Rainbow Resource Centre has developed a new anti-hate policy after concerns were raised by members of the Jewish LGBTTQ+ community.

The need for such a policy arose after what the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg called “painful experiences” for Jews who attended the 2024 Pride parade in Winnipeg and an event sponsored by the centre.

That included Jewish participants being subjected to “a barrage of antisemitic and anti-Zionist chants and messages,” at the parade, the federation said, adding some were asked to remove symbols of their Jewish identity.

At a separate Pride event hosted by the centre, anti-Zionist statements were shared from the stage, the federation reported; one performer unfurled a giant banner with the words “No pride in genocide” and rallied the crowd “with vocal anti-Israel chants.”

Many of the Jewish attendees in the packed house felt threatened and trapped, the federation said.

It reached out to the centre to talk about ways to help Jews who are queer feel safe at their events. The result is an anti-hate policy that was approved by the board in September.

The policy commits the centre to “providing an environment that supports the physical and psychological well-being of all people” who attend or perform at its events and activities and seeks to promote positive and respectful behaviour.

It applies to all who are involved with the centre to behave “in a manner that will not reasonably offend, intimidate, humiliate or embarrass others” and prohibits actions that “discriminate or advocate intolerance” based on group stereotypes.

In the event someone violates the policy, the centre also commits itself to ensuring “immediate and appropriate corrective action” to restore a respectful environment.

Charlotte Thrift, chair of the centre’s board, said “it was hard to hear” that Jewish LGBTTQ+ community members felt unsafe at events it had sponsored, and at Pride events.

By creating the policy, the centre wanted to provide expectations for everyone involved with its events, not simply a list of prohibited behaviour.

“We wanted to be positive and forward looking,” Thrift said, adding there is still more work to be done.

Through its interactions with the federation, a good relationship has developed with the Jewish community, Thrift said.

Josh Malam is a member of the Jewish federation’s 2SLGBTQI+ committee and was part of the discussions with the centre that led to the anti-hate policy.

The goal was to “repair relationships” between the two communities, he said, “not to live in the negative, but to live in peace.”

“We wanted to be helpful, not just complain,” Malam explained, adding no incidents were reported at Pride events in 2025.

Jews “felt safer this year… nothing bad happened,” he said.

Carrie Shenkarow, the incoming board chair of the Jewish federation, said the discussions were an opportunity for both groups to learn from each other, and ensure members of the Jewish queer community feel safe at centre-sponsored events.

“We built a good relationship with the centre,” Shenkarow said, adding members of the Jewish community were also able to talk with the centre more generally about the antisemitism they have faced since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.

The conversations with the centre will continue, she said, adding the federation is in ongoing conversations with Pride Winnipeg.

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