Tolerance.ca
Director / Editor: Victor Teboul, Ph.D.
Looking inside ourselves and out at the world
Independent and neutral with regard to all political and religious orientations, Tolerance.ca® aims to promote awareness of the major democratic principles on which tolerance is based.
By Vlast.kz
The thriving toi business is a prism through which it is possible to read the complexities of the present, namely chronic unemployment, underdeveloped infrastructure, and strategies of survival under capitalism. (Full Story)
By Richard Denniss, Adjunct Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Australia continues to support unlimited growth in fossil fuel production and export, flying in the face of the latest IPCC report. Mapped: 67 new coal, and 49 gas/oil projects.The Conversation (Full Story)
By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
In the first year of the pandemic, Australians were given a glimpse of a truth so unnerving that economists and politicians normally keep it to themselves.The Conversation (Full Story)
To live as a Black Jew in North America is to live with a keen awareness of just how precarious group belonging can be, yet a felt sense of ‘belonging’ is a core human need. Between this self-evident need for community and the complexities of contemporary identity lies a unique space bounded by subtle challenges and creative possibilities.  (Full Story)
By Victor Teboul, Ph.D., Editor, Tolerance.ca®
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)
By Itzik Itzhak Dessie and Meir Elran

Amending the Anti-Discrimination Act, as proposed in the coalition agreements, gives license to generic discrimination against entire groups. This is a shameful moral failure that damages national resilience – and as such, Israel’s national security. he clause in the coalition agreement that permits discrimination against social groups “in services and entry to entertainment venues and public places” is morally and socially objectionable. The initiative is based on exclusionary bias and reflects the notion that Jewish, white, religious, heterosexual males are superior to all others, and further deepens the rifts and existing polarization of Israeli society. Indeed, the very proposal amounts to a blow against societal resilience and, consequently, national security. (Full Story)
By Miriam Rabkin, Contributor to Tolerance.ca®
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)
Every year for several weeks before November 11, a field of scarlet poppies appears on coat lapels across Canada. This wearing of the poppy has a complex history ... (Full Story)
By Yannick B. Vallee, B.A. Political Science, Member of Tolerance.ca®
The Scottish National Party leads a majority government in Scotland supported by the Green Party under a confidence and supply agreement. Both parties want to reverse the U.K. decision to leave the European Union by promoting the separation of Scotland from the U.K. Still, 62% of the Scottish people wanted to remain in the European Union. In 2014, the SNP promised a ¨once in a generation¨ referendum which meant there could not be any other independence referendum before 40 years; however, the SNP broke this promise by planning a second referendum in October 2023. Consequently, the British government refused to allow a second referendum and the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Surgeon, asked the U.K. Supreme Court to overrule the refusal of holding a second referendum by the Truss government. The Truss government does not intend to break down the 300-year-old union between Scotland and the rest of the U.K. British Prime Minister Liz Truss would not push back the nation into a divisible over the national unity. The matter has been referred to the Supreme Court, the highest court can either allow or reject a second referendum and a decision is expected to be made in autumn 2022 or in early 2023. Nevertheless, most constitutional experts argue that Scotland cannot legally hold a referendum without the legislative approval of the Westminster Parliament; thus, any refusal from the Supreme Court to grant Scotland a referendum might only help the separatist flame to keep burning within the separatist movement. However, the British unionists should try to transform the U.K. into a federation which will give regions more powers while Westminster keeps powers relating to national and international matters. A federation could get some separatists back into the union movement which promotes national unity. (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)
By Yannick B. Vallee, B.A. Political Science, Member of Tolerance.ca®
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)
By Victor Teboul, Ph.D., Editor, Tolerance.ca®

Victor Teboul at UQAM's Symposium, May 2018.

Photo by Gunther Gamper.


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)
By Leon Benbaruk, B.A, M.A
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)
By Yohanan Tzoreff

The PLO as an organization and its leader Abu Mazen essentially lost their status as the sole representatives of the Palestinian people once Abu Mazen decided to cancel the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council. The Palestinian Authority suffers from a loss of relevance, and Abu Mazen personally is the target of harsh criticism from many members of Fatah, who are eager for his departure. (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)
McGill University Archives.
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)
On the morning of September 4, 2020, Ms. Surnaa, a Mongolian employee of the Alshaa Left Banner Chinese Communist Party Committee in western Southern Mongolia, jumped from her residential building to her death in protest of the Chinese authorities’ new language policy called the “second generation bilingual education”. (Full Story)
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Identity and its Discontents. An Evening of Culture and Conversation with Rabbi Kendell Pinkney
To live as a Black Jew in North America is to live with a keen awareness of just how precarious group belonging can be, yet a felt sense of ‘belonging’ is a core human need. Between this self-evident need... (Full Story)
Josh Freed Rides again. Letter to Josh Freed, Gazette Columist
By Victor Teboul, Ph.D.
Editor, Tolerance.ca®
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... (Full Story)
Jewish Democracy or Jewish Theocracy ?
In this alarming moment ⁠— as Israel’s new government makes bold moves to undermine democratic protections ⁠— important Israeli voices are urging supporters abroad to stand with them.

NIFC is proud to tour Lihi Shmuely, Deputy Director of... (Full Story)
Quebec’s Bill 21 Brings Positive Change to the Lives of Girls and Women. The feminist case for this controversial bill
By Joyce Wayne, Writer
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)
Israel. Amending the Anti-Discrimination Act gives License to Generic Discrimination against entire groups
By Itzik Itzhak Dessie and Meir Elran

Amending the Anti-Discrimination Act, as proposed in the coalition agreements, gives license to generic discrimination against entire groups. This is a shameful moral failure that damages national resilience – and as... (Full Story)
Valentine’s Day Rituals Often Begin in the Classroom
By Miriam Rabkin, Contributor to Tolerance.ca®
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... (Full Story)
Montreal through letters. Post-Monumental re-imagines Tiohti:áke. Installation from December 3rd to January 13th 2023
Opening reception with artists: December 3rd, 2pm-6pm.
BBAM! Gallery is presenting Courtney Clinton’s first solo exhibition,  Post-Monumental, an interactive art project led by Clinton, inviting various artists and voices from around Tiohti:áke/Montreal to "write" on the landscape of our... (Full Story)
Remembrance Day : The Symbolics of Poppies
Every year for several weeks before November 11, a field of scarlet poppies appears on coat lapels across Canada. This wearing of the poppy has a complex history ... (Full Story)
Queen Elizabeth II, 96, Has Passed Away
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)
GOLDEN YEARS. International Ssymposium on the Bicentenary of Egyptology
We are very pleased to announce our international symposium GOLDEN YEARS, which will take place at the Cœur des sciences of UQAM on June 17-18-19, 2022. Come and celebrate with us the bicentenary of Egyptology. Many prestigious guests, conferences, debates and workshops... (Full Story)
Contributors
Victor Teboul's Column

Josh Freed Rides again. Letter to Josh Freed, Gazette Columist

Dear Josh,

You are always picking on Quebec’s language laws because you know little or no French. Have you ever...
(Full Story)
Rabkin, Myriam

Valentine’s Day Rituals Often Begin in the Classroom

Valentine’s Day rituals often begin in the classroom, where the holiday serves both as an enjoyable arts and crafts activity and... (Full Story)
Tolerance
Identity and its Discontents. An Evening of Culture and Conversation with Rabbi Kendell Pinkney
To live as a Black Jew in North America is to live with a keen awareness of just how precarious group belonging can be, yet a felt sense of ‘belonging’ is a core human need. Between this self-evident need... (Full Story)
Israel. Amending the Anti-Discrimination Act gives License to Generic Discrimination against entire groups
By Itzik Itzhak Dessie and Meir Elran

Amending the Anti-Discrimination Act, as proposed in the coalition agreements, gives license to generic discrimination against entire groups. This is a shameful moral failure that damages national resilience – and as... (Full Story)
Valentine’s Day Rituals Often Begin in the Classroom
By Miriam Rabkin, Contributor to Tolerance.ca®
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... (Full Story)
Montreal through letters. Post-Monumental re-imagines Tiohti:áke. Installation from December 3rd to January 13th 2023
Opening reception with artists: December 3rd, 2pm-6pm.
BBAM! Gallery is presenting Courtney Clinton’s first solo exhibition,  Post-Monumental, an interactive art project led by Clinton, inviting various artists and voices from around Tiohti:áke/Montreal to "write" on the landscape of our... (Full Story)
Remembrance Day : The Symbolics of Poppies
Every year for several weeks before November 11, a field of scarlet poppies appears on coat lapels across Canada. This wearing of the poppy has a complex history ... (Full Story)
Will the British Supreme Court Grant Scotland a Second Referendum?
By Yannick B. Vallee, B.A. Political Science
Member of Tolerance.ca®
The Scottish National Party leads a majority government in Scotland supported by the Green Party under a confidence and supply agreement. Both parties want to reverse the U.K. decision to leave the European Union by promoting the separation of... (Full Story)
Black Antisemitism in America : From Malcolm X to Black Lives Matter
By Eunice G. Pollack

On May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, when a police officer asphyxiated George Floyd, an unarmed African American, by kneeling on his neck, the claim that he or his department had been taught the maneuver... (Full Story)
$80-million investment: Montreal Holocaust Museum announces the construction of a new museum on Saint-Laurent Boulevard
Montreal, February 7, 2022 – The Montreal Holocaust Museum (MHM) is proud to announce the construction of a new museum. The facility will open in 2025 at 3535 Saint-Laurent Boulevard in the Plateau Mont-Royal borough. This important project addresses growing... (Full Story)
Can Pluralism Go Hand in Hand with Collective Destiny?
Tolerance.ca has organized several panel discussions since 2002.  To mark International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Tolerance.ca® organized two panel discussions on religious diversity featuring several distinguished panellists. The first meeting was held at Vanier College... (Full Story)
Paper Stories, Layered Dreams. The Art of Ekua Holmes​ at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
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... (Full Story)
It is time to address the global pandemic of anti-Semitism
By Danielle Ben-Shoshan, 4th Year student, University of Ottawa
While the world is at war with a deadly, infectious strain of SARS-CoV-2, a more overt, insidious virus has gone largely unaddressed by the world community. That virus is anti-Semitism.  

Two days have passed since the vandalization and... (Full Story)
Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Mediator, who earned the trust of Israel and the Palestinians alike
By Noa Shusterman, Research Assistant and Israel-Palestinian Research Program Coordinator

Nickolay Mladenov served as UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process for nearly six years and earned the trust of Israel and the Palestinians alike –... (Full Story)
COVID19. Despite the urgency for vaccination, Canada has one of the slowest vaccination roll out rates
By Danielle Ben-Shoshan, 4th Year student, University of Ottawa
Following the dawn of the new year, countries around the world have been promptly vaccinating their populations in aims of controlling record-high COVID19 rates. But as the world rushes to end the pandemic millions of doses at a time... (Full Story)
Charles Taylor: A Marriage of Cultures
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... (Full Story)
The Abraham Accords : What are the implications for the Palestinians?
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... (Full Story)
Woman Commits Suicide to Protest against Eradication of the Mongolian language by Chinese Authorities
On the morning of September 4, 2020, Ms. Surnaa, a Mongolian employee of the Alshaa Left Banner Chinese Communist Party Committee in western Southern Mongolia, jumped from her residential building to her death in protest of the Chinese authorities’... (Full Story)
Could Jean Charest Become The Next Prime Minister of Canada?
By Yannick B. Vallee, B.A. Political Science
Member of Tolerance.ca®
Canada has one of the most flourishing economies in the World. The nation is the 10th largest economy with $1.7 trillion in GDP. Canada is a member of the G7; therefore, Canada has some influence on the World stage... (Full Story)
British Liberalism and the Liberal Democrats
By Yannick B. Vallee, B.A. Political Science
Member of Tolerance.ca®
Liberalism has greatly influenced the nation because modern Britain is based on liberal values. The Liberal Party dates back to 1859 in Britain and this party promoted balanced budgets, low taxes, and free market. In the early 20th century... (Full Story)
British General Election: Could The Labour Party Settle Brexit?
By Yannick B. Vallee, B.A. Political Science
Member of Tolerance.ca®
Political parties rule the nation by forming governments; these organizations have a great deal of power in the Westminster parliamentary system. Until 1832, governments used to be formed by coalitions and people rather than by political parties. However, the... (Full Story)
Brexit: Prime Minister Johnson`s Strategy
By Yannick B. Vallee, B.A. Political Science
Member of Tolerance.ca®
The British nation has been dealing with the Brexit issue since 2016. British people are fed up of hearing the ¨Brexit¨ word on a daily basis. Brexit divides families and friends; everyone has an opinion on the issue. Besides... (Full Story)
Canada and the Brexit Challenge
By Yannick B. Vallee, B.A. Political Science
Member of Tolerance.ca®
The United Kingdom has officially left the European Union in January 2021. As a result, the United Kingdom seeks new trading partners and Her Majesty`s Government considers the Commonwealth is the best solution to cope with Brexit. British Prime... (Full Story)
The New British Prime Minister: Boris Johnson
By Yannick B. Vallee, B.A. Political Science
Member of Tolerance.ca®
The British Prime Minister is one of the most influential political leaders in the World. Even though, the prime minister is said to be ¨first among equals¨ in the cabinet, he has several powers such as deciding most of... (Full Story)
Brexit Is Felt Throughout The British Territories
By Yannick B. Vallee, B.A. Political Science
Member of Tolerance.ca®
Brexit will not only have social and economic consequences on the United Kingdom, but this will also be felt throughout the British territories. The British Crown once ruled over a quarter of the Earth; nowadays, Her British Majesty, Queen... (Full Story)
Theresa May`s Brexit: An Uneasy Deal
By Yannick B. Vallee, B.A. Political Science
Member of Tolerance.ca®
In 2016, British people voted at nearly 52% to leave the European Union and Prime Minister Theresa May is committed to deliver Brexit. Therefore, Britain is expected to leave the Union in 2019. The end of European Union law... (Full Story)
The Mysterious Jewish Orphan of Salonica
By David Barzilay

The intriguing tale of the location and fate of a Jewish baby placed in the Municipal Foundling Home of Thessaloniki during WWII.

It is March 4th 2016 an email pops onto my screen from some... (Full Story)
Declaration of Principles on Tolerance
Proclaimed and signed by the Member States of UNESCO on 16 November 1995. (Full Story)