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We have new details about ugly antisemitic incident; BB director makes baseless claim Jew-hating students were “dealt with”
- 29 June 2023
- 1:12 am
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- 29 June 2023
- 1:12 am
The University of Winnipeg basketball players have often come from their UW Collegiate team program. The campus also has a long history of being the home of radical extremist antisemitic and anti-Israel groups. B’nai Brith dismisses concerns about the antisemitic incident in February because it was “dealt with” by the school, but has no proof of what was done to address the Jew-baiting behavior or root causes. (Photo: U of Winnipeg)
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On Tuesday a press release proclaimed, “B’nai Brith Looking to Premiers’ Conference to Discuss Surging Antisemitism.”
It stated, “The 13 provincial and territorial premiers will meet July 10-12 in Winnipeg for the Council of the Federation, offering what B’nai Brith Canada believes is a unique opportunity to call out surging antisemitism in the country.” There was a mention of education curriculum, and that “students were often susceptible to online misinformation and disinformation that fosters hate.”
The release went on to focus on Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, who will host the gathering. But when it comes to ‘discussing antisemitism’ and education in Manitoba, B’nai Brith has a credibility problem.
To recap, the best case study for those concerns occurred right in Stefanson’s riding last February.
A basketball game on the Jewish campus saw antisemitic outbursts at a junior varsity boys contest that were so outrageous the University of Winnipeg Collegiate disbanded the team and both schools at the highest levels scurried to cover up what happened. I filed a number of stories advancing our investigation with new details documenting the cover-up – including how the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg was kept in the dark for 13 days until informed by TheJ.ca, and how the Free Press couldn’t even mention the word antisemitism in their own reporting.
Since we are based in Winnipeg, I messaged B’nai Brith Canada to find out what they knew occurred between the Wesmen and the Gray Academy Raiders, tell them about the details we have now confirmed, and find out what they intended to say to Premier Stefanson about the incident.
As I learned, rooting out high school antisemitism and the safety of Jewish athletes was the last thing that concerned the local B’nai Brith office.
Winnipeg director cites hearsay to justify B’nai Brith inaction
Dr. Ruth Ashrafi is the Regional Director Manitoba, B’nai Brith Canada. My inquiry was routed by head office in Toronto to her. I asked her, what do you know about what happened at the basketball game?
Long pause. “I know there was an incident.” Another pause. “I know the schools dealt with it.”
She refused to cough up any details of what she “knew”, but said she had talked with people at the Gray Academy. So she knew what she was told, and nothing else. And she didn’t want to know anything else.
Ashrafi had zero interest in discussing the scope of the Jew-hating outburst, even when I told her I had multiple sources confirming sickening details of what was said and done to Jews at our community gym.
Was B’nai Brith aware the Minister of Sports Obby Khan said he was going to look into what happened at the high school basketball game and how it was handled?
“What does the Minister of Sports have to do with it?” she asked me.
I was dumbfounded. We’re talking about a basketball game, but Ashrafi had no idea that the province funds the agency that supervises high school sports. Or about multiple antisemitic incidents at basketball games across North America this spring. Or that Khan had alerted the Department of Justice. She had not even thought about whether the Department of Education had taken action or not.
And Ashrafi obviously, had never once thought about the Jewish kids playing sports who were the victims of this, and of the example this sets.
Since the perpetrators were in Grades 9 and 10, they still have years of interscholastic sports ahead of them. Even though the basketball team was disbanded, isn’t B’nai Brith concerned that they can go on to harass Jewish kids in other sports settings, like soccer?
“I am sure they were reprimanded.”
Not what I expected from B’nai Brith, which has helped build a sense of community for generations through its sports leagues. That’s it? Was she suggesting ‘maybe they were reprimanded’ is a sufficient consequence given the details she claimed she knew about? Is that B’nai Brith’s official position, I asked her. She didn’t like that.
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Manitoba Education won’t answer questions
To discuss antisemitism in Manitoba high schools and the management of the issue with the Premier effectively, one would need actual evidence for Stefanson to review. Unlike B’nai Brith, TheJ.ca has plenty.
Education Department officials intercepted an inquiry from TheJ.ca to Sports Minister Obby Khan, and provided a bizarre answer to our publisher on April 20th. Rhonda Shaw, Acting Executive Director, Learning and Outcomes Branch provided a baffling reply on behalf of Stefanson’s government to Ron East which concluded:
The department is committed to ensuring safe, inclusive and welcoming environments for all students in Manitoba and to disrupting all forms of antisemitism in our school divisions and schools. If you have further questions or concerns within your community, I would recommend that you discuss the matter with a superintendent in your local school division.
The entire jargon-laden response was forwarded to me and I challenged Shaw to prove that her Education Department walks the walk when it comes to antisemitism in Manitoba schools.
Here’s what I asked:
1) What steps has your department specifically taken to “disrupt“ the various forms of antisemitism at the University of Winnipeg collegiate in their basketball program, which according to my investigation included demonstrations of blatant antisemitic behavior by the players inside the Jewish school?
2) Has any of your department officials met with the athletic department or with the students themselves from the basketball team that was disbanded?
3) What information does the department have about how the University of Winnipeg Collegiate has “confronted” and “addressed” the “challenge” of antisemitism being manifested within the school? Does your department have any reports that have been filed by UW or your officials in that regard?
4) If a Jewish student encounters an antisemitic incident such as occurred at the Rady campus, what emergency or hotline number is provided for them to report it, or is none available?
5) You recommend Mr. East take his concerns elsewhere, but can you identify which superintendent is responsible for the University of Winnipeg Collegiate and for the Gray Academy?… Based on my search, neither school seems to have a superintendent.
My last question illustrates the extent of the cover-up mode inside education circles: It’s been over 3 months, and the Education Department “Learning and Outcomes Branch” still hasn’t specified who the superintendent is for U of W Collegiate or the Gray Academy for Ron to complain to. How convenient.
The President of the Board of Jewish Education, Josh Weinstein, flatly refused any discussion about the antisemitic abuse hurled at Gray Academy basketball players when the Raiders hosted the University of Winnipeg Collegiate. As a player in 1989, he led the Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate varsity Raiders to a provincial title. (Screencap: Sport Manitoba)
Swearing, spitting, and a genocidal chant
Here are the specific details, confirmed from multiple sources by TheJ.ca, that no one – including it seems B’nai Brith in Winnipeg – wants to admit, confront and rectify:
1) The ethnic makeup of the U of W Collegiate team contains numerous Muslim/Arab family names, and the roster represents about 5 different backgrounds.
2) The Wesmen had a winless season and was losing to the Raiders.
3) One Wesman started saying “Fuck the Jews”.
4) A dispute erupted between that player and an adult male associated with the Jewish school, described as a “staff member” by 2 sources.
5) Then, the Wesmen bench started chanting “Free Palestine”.
6) Someone was spitting at someone and at the crowd, and it wasn’t done by the Raiders.
7) Originally, only the instigator was suspended when the team was disbanded. Then the varsity Wesmen wanted to call up a few of the JV squad to the senior team- but athletics officials found out, told the coaches it was a no-go, and those other players were then also suspended.
8) To be clear, a few Wesmen JV players thought they were playing a game with the Varsity Basketball team and were not immediately suspended after chanting “Free Palestine”. That’s why this is bigger than “the schools handled it.” UW was willing to tolerate that kind of hate.
9) Some of these high school basketballers play other sports. If they acted like antisemites when they played basketball, why are they allowed to play other sports?
10) If they learn there are no consequences, and are only “spoken to” and “maybe reprimanded”, and it doesn’t affect their athletic eligibility, how does this result protect Jewish players in high school and amateur soccer, volleyball, track, etc. from being the next targets of hate and abuse? When I made this point, it was Ashrafi’s turn to be dumbfounded.
I have seen correspondence from Obby Khan stating he was also getting his Sports department involved. Accordingly, I copied my (still-unanswered) questions of Shaw to Minister Khan on May 30th, telling him,
“… a report on the U of W Collegiate-Gray Academy basketball incident, (it) should be referencing the kinds of questions I have asked and the answers should be presented in full detail by officials in both education and sports.”
I asked Stefanson’s Education official “how the University Winnipeg Collegiate has “confronted” and “addressed” the “challenge” of antisemitism being manifested within the school?”
To do so means the Collegiate had to find out a) where this hate for Jews and Israel comes from, which may lead back to the the ethnic makeup of the Collegiate team, and the attitudes at home and around their communities towards Jews; b) where these kids learn it, which may lead to the faculty at 515 Portage Avenue, and c) what influences at the UW campus downtown foster and harbour antisemitism, which may lead to the extremist far-left anti-Zionist elements that the UW has gladly welcomed for many years. Keep in mind this was a strongly Jewish campus from the 1960’s for decades, until for some reason, things changed.
We have seen that high school coaches and administrators want the details of antisemitism in local basketball suppressed on their assurances they have “dealt with it”. The province won’t answer if they made sure educators confronted the antisemitism inside the U of W Collegiate that spilled onto the Rady Centre court. Basketball officials won’t return messages.
The threat posed by this is usually right up B’nai Brith Canada’s alley. Just not in Winnipeg.
Did the hate-spewing roundballers get off scot-free? What if they faced no consequences, no education programming, no public act of contrition, after abusing Jewish student athletes and the Jewish community at large? Inside a building paid for and named after Zionists, no less.
No problem, according to Ruth Ashrawi, because she thinks a “reprimand” will rein in the ‘Free Palestine’ high school mob.
She should ask Heather Stefanson if the Premier agrees, and let us know the answer.
Marty Gold is the Editor-in -Chief of TheJ.ca. Known for investigative reporting, he has specialized in covering municipal and provincial politics, and a wide range of sports and entertainment, in newspapers, magazines, online, and on his first love, radio. His business and consulting experience includes live events and sales, workplace safety, documentary productions, PR, and telecommunications in Vancouver, Los Angeles and across Canada, and as a contestant on CBC-TV Dragons Den.
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Thank you for choosing TheJ.Ca as your source for Canadian Jewish News.
We do news differently!
Our positioning as a Zionist News Media platform sets us apart from the rest. While other Canadian Jewish media are advocating increasingly biased progressive political and social agendas, TheJ.Ca is providing more and more readers with a welcome alternative and an ideological home.
We revealed the incursion of anti-Israel progressive elements such as IfNotNow into our communities. We have exposed the distorted hateful agenda of the “progressive” left political radicals who brought Linda Sarsour to our cities, and we were first to report on many disturbing incidents of Nazi-based hate towards Jews across Canada.
But we can’t do it alone. We need your HELP!
Our ability to thrive and grow in 2020 and beyond depends on the generosity of committed readers and supporters like you.
Monthly support is a great way to help us sustain our operations. We greatly appreciate any contributions you can make to support Jewish Journalism.
We thank you for your ongoing support.
Happy reading!
Thank you for choosing TheJ.Ca as your source for Canadian Jewish News.
We do news differently!
Our positioning as a Zionist News Media platform sets us apart from the rest. While other Canadian Jewish media are advocating increasingly biased progressive political and social agendas, TheJ.Ca is providing more and more readers with a welcome alternative and an ideological home.
We revealed the incursion of anti-Israel progressive elements such as IfNotNow into our communities. We have exposed the distorted hateful agenda of the “progressive” left political radicals who brought Linda Sarsour to our cities, and we were first to report on many disturbing incidents of Nazi-based hate towards Jews across Canada.
But we can’t do it alone. We need your HELP!
Our ability to thrive and grow in 2020 and beyond depends on the generosity of committed readers and supporters like you.
Monthly support is a great way to help us sustain our operations. We greatly appreciate any contributions you can make to support Jewish Journalism.
We thank you for your ongoing support.
Happy reading!
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