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Conference of Presidents Welcomes Appointment of Canadian Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism

. . . Arthur Stark, Chairman, William Daroff, CEO, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Vice Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, issued the following statement:

“We applaud Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for appointing Irwin Cotler as Canada’s first Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism. This follows Canada’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism over the summer.

Professor Cotler, a longtime friend of the Conference, has an outstanding record of fighting against Jew-hatred and all forms of hate. He will now lead the Canadian delegation to IHRA to promote Holocaust education and remembrance internationally, while working to implement the adoption of the IHRA definition across Canada.

This appointment signals that Canada recognizes the reality of this pernicious threat to the Jewish people, and will rise to the occasion of fighting to neutralize it. Canada joins the US, France, Germany, the UK, the EU, and the UN in creating this type of role. We urge more countries and institutions to do so as the world confronts this increasingly urgent challenge.”