Click to expand Image China's then-Minister for Foreign Affairs Qin Gang delivers a remote statement during the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, February 27, 2023. © 2023 Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP Photo The Chinese government appears increasingly anxious to silence critics of its appalling human rights record. At home, it arbitrarily detains or forcibly disappears them; abroad, it harasses them. At the United Nations, it’s seeking anotherterm on the UN’s top human rights body – the Human Rights Council – while telling member states to boycott public events… (Full Story)

Click to expand Image Pedestrians walk across a crossroad as a big electronic screen supported by face-recognition system shows the image of a jaywalker at the intersection in Nanjing city, east China's Jiangsu province, July 4, 2019.  © 2019 Imaginechina via AP Photo We are at a fork in the road regarding states’ approaches to facial recognition surveillance. On the one hand, governments in places like Israel and the United Kingdom are progressing plans to roll out widespread use of this powerful biometric technology. On the other hand, the latest draft of the European Union’s AI Act reveals… (Full Story)

By Georgy Poroskoun

The mercenaries led by businessman and former underworld figure Yevgeny Prigozhin surprised the world with their mutiny and their threats to reach Moscow in an armed column. Who is Prigozhin, whose name is now familiar to all of us? How will this historic event affect the stability of the Russian establishment? And at this point, should Jerusalem look differently at its relations with Moscow? (Full Story)

BBAM! Gallery is proud to present the exclusive Montreal premiere of Essential Noise Volume 1 - a new and immersive film and music experience telling the story of the 1960s Toronto Yorkville music scene (the coffeehouse/folk era). The Montreal screening will be an exclusive director's cut with emphasis on Leonard Cohen's influence on the era. (Full Story)

In October 2018, a trial led the Moroccan public to call into question the integrity of Taoufik Bouachrine, who was then the editor-in-chief of the renowned Arabic-language daily newspaper Akhbar al-Yaoum. The Casablanca Court of Appeal sentenced Bouachrine to fifteen years in prison and a fine of €255,000 (Euros) for human trafficking, abuse of power for sexual purposes, rape, and attempted rape.  The accusation that he used his professional status to obtain sexual favors, especially from junior journalists, seemed credible. After all, patriarchal structures, with their logic of male sexual predation and victimization of women, are deeply anchored in Moroccan society.  The consequences of patriarchal constructs include the feminization of unemployment,  discrimination against women in the job market,  and the normalization of violence against women, including sexual violence.  As a result, Bouachrine’s trial threw part of the Moroccan population into a moral conflict, namely, whether to support the freedom of expression of a daring journalist or denounce the violence he allegedly perpetrated against women. (Full Story)

By Pnina Sharvit Baruch and Udi Dekel

The Israeli government prefers to undermine the rule of law, violate Israel’s commitments to the United States, and pay the price for the escalation of terrorism in the northern West Bank in order to advance the ideology of the radical right. (Full Story)

By Jenny Ashcraft

It’s been 75 years since the HMT Empire Windrush, a former troop carrier turned migrant ship, arrived at Tilbury Docks near London on June 21, 1948. More than 800 passengers and several stowaways disembarked the following day, on June 22nd. The journey for many of these migrants began in Jamaica. They were West Indian Commonwealth migrants headed to the United Kingdom searching for jobs and a better life. From 1948-1971, some 500,000 people born in the British Empire, particularly Caribbean countries, arrived in the UK. They became known as the Windrush generation. (Full Story)

ALBERTA – On May 29, Alberta celebrated an important milestone for women's representation in Canadian politics. The results of the Alberta provincial election revealed a notable increase in the number of women joining Alberta's Legislative Assembly, marking a momentous step forward in achieving gender equality in political leadership. (Full Story)

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has often threatened Western nations that he is willing to use the Russian nuclear arsenal in Ukraine. Putin clearly said that the Russian territory cannot be violated by NATO because the conflict could turn into nuclear warfare. Besides, several political science experts think that if Russia is going to lose the war, Putin could use nuclear tactical weapons on the battlefield to force  Ukraine to surrender.  (Full Story)

Dear Josh,

You are always picking on Quebec’s language laws because you know little or no French. Have you ever written to your readers about a French film or a French book that you liked ? I remember how you praised Michael Applebaum’s command of the French language when he was serving as our Interim Mayor, while everybody laughed at his broken street French. (Full Story)

We need only look as far as Canada’s residential school tragedy to observe the results of religion’s role in educating children and how macabre the outcomes can be when the state teams up with organized religion. (Full Story)

Valentine’s Day rituals often begin in the classroom, where the holiday serves both as an enjoyable arts and crafts activity and as a pedagogical tool, teaching children about structuring love and friendship into a concrete, prescribed form. The ritualization of love continues throughout our lives, not only on Valentine’s Day, but through weddings, anniversaries, and Mother’s and Father’s Day. (Full Story)

London, U.K.  Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch whose rule spanned seven decades, died on Thursday, September 8, 2022, at the age of 96, Buckingham Palace has announced. (Full Story)

Since 1945, nuclear weapons have been used as a strategy of nuclear deterrence which has meant nuclear powers have not waged war against each other for fear of mutual assured destruction. Thus, modern peace and stability can be maintained through this concept of MAD. However, MAD is a Cold War concept of deterrence that only applies to nuclear powers, not to the non-nuclear power of Ukraine. Nowadays, the Ukrainian War challenges humankind as a whole for fear that several nuclear powers could participate in this war which could degenerate into nuclear warfare. NATO has three nuclear powers among its members and Russia is the supreme nuclear state with the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. Vladimir Putin threatens to use nuclear weapons if NATO nations dare to intervene in the Ukrainian War. This military situation is a source of concern because Russia could escalate the conflict to a nuclear war that could threaten humankind. Still, the U.S. and NATO nations can stop some of the Russian ICBM missiles, but the true effectiveness of these ICBM defence systems still remains unclear. (Full Story)

Montreal Jews rely on non-Jewish academics, writers and filmmakers to present and even explain, in French, Jewish realities to the Quebecois public and within Francophone academia. The considerable number of publications on Jewish themes, both in fiction and non-fiction, written in French by non-Jews is certainly unequaled in the Francophone world and most likely in the West, contends writer Victor Teboul. But do these works encourage or dissuade critical assessment of Quebec and of Quebec–Jewish relations, asks Tolerance.ca’s editor, whose most recent book also questions Quebecois identity. (Full Story)

MORNINGS IN JENIN  by Susan ABULHAWA is a novel  reflecting the reality of the  Palestinian plight and suffering. Its original title in 2002 was THE SCAR OF DAVID   in 2002 which  becomes  relevant in the story. The SCAR of David is probably a metaphor for the Star of David. The book is well researched and  is also a personal account . (Full Story)

Web magazine Tolerance.ca, founded by writer Victor Teboul, marks its 20th Anniversary in 2022. Visit the event marking its 10th anniversary at la Librairie Zone Libre, on Thursday, November 29, 2012. (Full Story)

The United Nation’s General Assembly adopted on Thursday January 20, 2022, by consensus, a resolution that condemns denial and distortion of the Holocaust.  (Full Story)

A lifelong resident of Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, Ekua Holmes (b. 1955) is an artist and community activist whose body of work explores themes of childhood, family bonds, memory, and resilience. This exhibition focuses on her award-winning children’s book illustrations—vibrant collages revealing stories of self-determination, love, and community that reflect the artist’s distinctive vision and commitment to Black imagery and representation. (Full Story)

Many countries are looking to the COVID-19 vaccines with the hope of overcoming the pandemic and beginning economic recovery. While the drug companies in the West operate as independent for-profit businesses, in China the government directs the research and development efforts of both state and privately owned companies, and uses them as a tool in its policy through official visits in the international theater, cooperation agreements, commitments to supply vaccines, and the provision of loans and other financial assistance. (Full Story)

By Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE)

Dr. Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE), underscores the role of antisemitic concepts and rhetoric in the ideology and activities of major far-right groups in the United States, just after extreme right-wing groups, stormed Capitol Hill the day Congress certified Joe Biden as President-Elect. Dr. Beirich outlines the theoretical and organizational evolution of antisemitism amid the ranks of America's right-wing extremists. (Full Story)

As part of a series of articles on major personalities who have furthered the cause of tolerance in Canada, Tolerance.ca® presents the world-renowned Montreal philosopher Charles Taylor, 2007 winner of the prestigious Templeton Prize. Mr Taylor co-chairs the Québec Commission on reasonable accommodations created by the Charest government in February 2007. (Full Story)

By Udi Dekel and Noa Shusterman

The Abraham Accords will ostensibly serve to inspire peace and normalization agreements between Israel and additional Arab states. Indeed? Which issues are included in the agreement, and why? Why did the UAE and Bahrain decide to establish official relations at this time? What are the implications for the Palestinian arena? And what new challenges are likely to emerge? Insights from a discussion of experts held following the festive signing ceremony at the White House (Full Story)

Is Diversity about empowering people who have been victims of exclusion or an expression of resentment? Resentment, argues McGill University professor Marc Angenot in his  most recent Senior College Lecture, inspires defeatist behavior by pretending  to march towards the future, to avenge the real or mythical wrongs undergone in the past. (Full Story)

The Canadian government's recent announcement that it will be providing more than CDN $600 million (USD $455 million) over the next five years to bail out the country's financially strapped media outlets -- as part of the fall fiscal update about the federal budget ahead of the 2019 federal election -- is not as innocent as it may seem. (Full Story)

In 1976, the nationalist Parti Québécois came to power in Quebec and governed the province until 1985. A tense period followed its election within business circles and among the Jewish community. In the midst of this crisis, Victor Teboul’s Mythe et images du Juif au Québec had just been published and it exposed a negative portrayal of Jews in Quebec’s most well-read novels and history books. The book had a strong impact on the Jewish leadership and created some controversy among Quebec’s francophone intellectual elite. (Full Story)

To many observers, the Jewish community in Quebec is highly integrated into Quebec society, yet to others it appears insular. How can this apparent contradiction be explained? How do religious groups, including Jews, deal with the trend towards secularization in Quebec? We raised these questions and others with Dr. Morton Weinfeld. Professor of Sociology at McGill University in Montréal, Dr Weinfeld holds the Chair in Canadian Ethnic Studies. He is the author of Like Everyone Else, but Different: The Paradoxical Success of Canadian Jews (McClelland & Stewart, 2001), a study of the Jewish community in Canada. Dr. Weinfeld is also a recognized authority on Quebec’s Jewish community. (Full Story)

On Thursday, April 19, 2018 at 7:00 pm at the Gelber Centre, veteran British journalist Ian Black will be speaking on “Israelis and Palestinians: Contested Past, Uncertain Future.” (Full Story)

By Daniel Shapiro and Eldad Shavit

The Democratic Party's success in regaining control of the House of Representatives is a sign of the American public's attitude toward the leadership of President Donald Trump. On the eve of the elections, the President himself stated explicitly that the results would constitute a referendum on his policy. In the American domestic arena, most legislative processes are likely to be paralyzed following the elections, but no conclusions about the 2020 presidential elections should be drawn. However, the results will require President Trump to begin preparing for the presidential race already in the coming months.  (Full Story)