Israel’s Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism, Michal Cotler-Wunsh, called for Canada to come to terms with its “historic sin” of excluding Jews while harboring Nazis in the aftermath of World War II.
Cotler-Wunsh, who started her job last month, argued that the resignation of Canada’s Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, was only a “first step to acknowledging responsibility for this wrong.” Now Canada has to admit to their policy of not allowing enough Jews to cross its borders during and after the Holocaust, while welcoming Nazis. “Nearly 2,000 documented Nazis… immigrated to the country following WWII and built lives, at the same time as the immigration policies towards Jewish victims was ‘none is too many’.”
She pointed out that such incidents demonstrate the need for “comprehensive education on antisemitism then and now, on the Holocaust and on the history of WWII.” The “very possibility” of such a scandal undermines Canada’s commitment to ensure tragedies like the Holocaust are never repeated, as well as its ability to “identify present threats.”
