PM Accepts Simon Wiesenthal International Leadership Award

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Good evening ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you Philip for that kind introduction.

I’d like to acknowledge the presence of some important dignitaries with us tonight.

Please welcome the Vice Prime Minister of Israel, Silvan Shalom , and the former Prime Minister of Australia, the Honourable John Howard.

Greetings also to Chairman Schwartz, Rabbi Hier, Avi Benlolo, and the many respected members of the federal and provincial Parliaments who I’m pleased were able to join us this evening.

Ladies and gentlemen. 

I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for choosing to honour me with your Leadership Award this evening. 

And I am particularly humbled since your organization’s namesake, Simon Wiesenthal, was a man whose commitment to the principles of freedom, justice and human rights is world-renowned. 

The famous "Nazi Hunter" devoted his life to pursuing justice for the Jewish people;
- Tireless in his efforts
- to track down the monsters who perpetrated the Holocaust. 

As you know, in April of last year, I visited the Auschwitz death camp, a deeply disturbing experience. 

Yet on the plane ride back to Canada, I also reflected on the hopeful things that have emerged from that dark period:  the indomitable spirit and strength of the Jewish people, most spectacularly demonstrated in the establishment and growth of the State of Israel, and the widespread recognition today of anti-Semitism for what it is – a pernicious evil that must be exposed, confronted and repudiated whenever and wherever it appear, as it is an evil so profound that it is ultimately a threat to us all.

Our Government, ladies and gentlemen, doesn’t just pay lip service to our support for Israel and the Jewish people.

Our actions and deeds mirror our words, whether they are popular or unpopular at the time. 

Under our Government’s leadership, Canada was the first country in the world to withdraw from Durban II, the United Nations anti-Semitic hatefest masquerading as a conference against racism.

When campus radicals harassed Jewish students in Toronto, our Minister Peter Kent forcefully denounced their menacing tactics.

We have taken proactive steps to protect synagogues and other Jewish community facilities at risk for hate-motivated crime.

And this week in Parliament we’ll introduce legislation that will give victims of terrorism the power to obtain just compensation from those responsible for their suffering.

When Hamas formed the government of the Palestinian Authority, refusing to drop its objective to eradicate Israel and its people, Canada was the first country in the world to suspend ties with and assistance to its government.

We have pulled no punches on the menacing actions and malevolent statements of the government of Iran.

And when Israel was beset by a volley of Hezbollah rockets, we unequivocally supported Israel’s right to defend herself. 

Because a battle between a democratic state and a terrorist group seeking to destroy it is not a matter of shades of grey – it is a matter right and wrong.

Ladies and gentlemen, I certainly don’t need to tell the people in this room that the age-old hatred of anti-Semitism remains sadly present in our world today.

Rooted in lies and fuelled by paranoia, it is a vile affront to the values that unite all civilized peoples. 

Let me be very clear:  The Jewish people will always have a steadfast friend and a stalwart defender in our Government.

Not just because hatred is a threat to all of us, but because Canada owes so much to the Jewish people. 

In every field of human endeavour, be it the arts, academia, business, or any other endeavour, our country has been immeasurably enriched by your contributions. 

Together we are building a better, stronger country.

And together we will continue working to lift the darkness of intolerance and oppression from our world.

Thank you.

Shalom.

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