This week, The Suburban published the Statement of Principles against Antisemitism from my Institute for Public Affairs of Montreal entitled \u201cMontreal For All!\u201d Please read it on page 13 of the paper. Read it and act!<\/p>\n
The statement is endorsed by an extraordinary cross-section of Quebec business, professional, cultural, academic, media and community leaders. It reflects a simple conviction: Montreal must remain a city for everyone. Freedom of expression and peaceful protest are fundamental democratic rights. But intimidation, hatred, harassment and violence are not. Nor should political institutions become vehicles for rhetoric that divides Montrealers or makes any community feel targeted or unwelcome.<\/p>\n
I urge you in the strongest terms possible to contact the Mayor of Montreal and your city councillors and tell them to reject Projet Montr\u00e9al\u2019s anti-Israel motion. The motion contains serious misinformation and inflammatory rhetoric that will further fuel the antisemitism Montreal\u2019s Jewish community has already endured.<\/p>\n
Whatever one\u2019s views on Israel, Gaza, or Canadian foreign policy, Montreal City Council should be working to bring citizens together \u2014 not passing divisive declarations on international conflicts that risk setting communities against one another.<\/p>\n