TORONTO, June 3, 2011: B’nai Brith Canada has lodged a protest with the Government of Venezuela through its Embassy in Ottawa and Consulates General in Toronto and Montreal over the promotion on Venezuelan state-owned Radio Nacional de Venezuela of the notorious Czarist-era antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
“We are deeply disturbed by reports that incidents of antisemitism have increased in Venezuela in recent years,” said Frank Dimant, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, “and promotion of this type of virulently anti-Jewish propaganda can of course only exacerbate the problem. The Protocols have been used over the course of history with the sole intention of stirring up hatred towards Jews and fomenting violence against them. More recently, known neo-Nazis and antisemites worldwide have attempted to rehabilitate and promote the ugly lies this text promotes.
“We are asking for the President Chavez’s Government to immediately and unequivocally denounce the promotion of this virulent antisemitic text and launch an investigation of the incident, in order to ensure that state media plays no part in such reprehensible incidents in the future. This would be an affirmation that Venezuela shares the same commitment to human rights and civil society as Canada.”
