Association issues statement in support of two Jewish camps

The Manitoba Camping Association has issued a “statement of unity” in response to a campaign targeting its two Jewish member camps.

The statement, which was issued on Feb. 18 by the association’s board of directors, signals its support for Camp Massad, located north of Winnipeg Beach on the shore of Lake Winnipeg, and BB Camp on Lake of the Woods near Kenora, Ont.

The two camps, along with 15 Jewish camps in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, have been targeted by a campaign organized by a coalition of pro-Palestinian organizations. The coalition, which is led by Just Peace Advocates, includes the Palestinian Canadian Congress, the Canadian BDS Coalition & International BDS Allies, Palestinian and Jewish Unity, and the Ontario Palestinian Rights Association.

The campaign urges camping associations in the four provinces to de-certify the accreditation of the Jewish camps, and asks the federal government to take away their charitable status, because their programming supports what they call the “genocidal, settler-colonial state” of Israel.

They criticize the camps for adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism, and for hiring Israeli staff who have served in the Israeli Defence Forces, where military service is mandatory.

The association became aware of the campaign recently, said executive director Kim Scherger.

In response, the board said it is concerned by the campaign’s “discriminatory and antisemitic themes, including accusations rooted in longstanding stereotypes related to Jewish identity, Zionism, and Jewish community institutions.”

The statement goes on to say the association is concerned the campaign “appears to be part of a broader effort to delegitimize Jewish camps across Canada, and Jewish community life through public pressure campaigns aimed at accreditation bodies. Campaigns of this nature are harmful, divisive, and inconsistent with the values that Manitoba’s camp community strives to uphold.”

The association doesn’t assess camps based on religion, ethnicity or cultural identity, the statement says, adding it is “committed to ensuring that all camps in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario are environments where children, staff, volunteers, and families feel safe, respected, and protected.”

It says it won’t allow “intimidation, discrimination, harassment, or hate to take root” in Manitoba’s camp community.

The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and the Manitoba chapter of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs denounced the campaign.

Their response, signed by Jeff Lieberman, president and CEO of the federation, and Gustavo Zentner, CIJA vice-president for Manitoba and Saskatchewan, expressed gratitude for the statement.

“It sends a clear message that discrimination and harassment have no place in Manitoba’s camping community,” they said.

An effort was made to contact Just Peace Advocates. In an update on its website, the organization said the campaign was created not because the camps “encourage connection to Jewish identity,” but to draw attention to how the camps support “a foreign state and foreign military engaged in occupation, apartheid, and genocide.”

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