24 Feb 2017
Motion 103 and similar resolutions refer to a climate of fear
and hatred that exists in Canada in respect of Muslims. But a review of
crime statistics show that overwhelmingly the victims of religious hate crimes
are Jews, not Muslims.
Hate crime data in the United States is collected by the
FBI. Their figures show that between 2010 and 2014 the total number of
people victimized for their religion declined from 1,552 to 1,140 in the
America, of which anti-Jewish bias comprised 1,039 and 648 respectively.
A slight uptick was observed in 2015, to 1,402 total, of which 730 were the
victims of anti-Jewish bias.
Hence, of the hate crimes based on religion, between half
and two-thirds of the victims were Jews. The numbers thankfully are
small, but the proportion in the numbers is significant.
Now, Canada is a more peaceful country than the US, and our
numbers are likely proportionately even lower in the overall than one tenth of
the US figures, but there is no reason to think that ratios are strikingly
different.
Hence, in Canada too, Jews are overwhelmingly the victims of
religious hate crimes, not Muslims. These facts seem not to be taken into
account when debating the ‘climate of fear and hatred’ in Canada, where it is
assumed that Muslims are the victims when in fact it is the Jews who are.
I think this point is worth raising in the debates because
the resolutions specifically condemn Islamophobia but neglect to mention that
the real problem that exists is anti-Semitism. The crime numbers
thankfully are small, and to that extent it is an exaggeration to speak of a
“climate” of fear and hatred.
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