'Something concrete': Why Asian

In the emerging movement of non-Jews speaking out against rampant antisemitism in Canada, Fo Niemi and his coalition of Asian community groups in Montreal stand out as veterans.

When a city synagogue was firebombed last month, the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) brought together a coalition of Asian communities – ranging from Cambodian, Chinese, Vietnamese and Filipino – to denounce antisemitism and support the Jewish community.

These were, in his words, “small steps to heal, bond and build solidarity.”

Niemi, a co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit, said the goal was “to do something concrete. We don’t want to just talk. We want to build things that could be lasting, so it can be better evidence of how much we have in common.”

CRARR, whose mandate is to promote racial equality and combat racism, also held a multi-faith, multi-ethnic dedication service on June 30, to honour Constable Mohamed Lamine Benredouane, killed while responding to a June 22 shooting in Côte-des-Neiges, and 68-year-old bystander Michel Moshe Mizrahi, who was killed in the same incident.

Niemi was the recipient of the Quebec Justice Award in 1995, the Queen’s Commemorative Silver Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. He has advised police and served on multiple boards including the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and the Canadian Bar Association’s racial equity committee. He has been honoured by the Indigenous Bar Association, the Chinese Neighbourhood Society, the National Association of Canadians of Origins from India, the Muslim Council of Montreal, and the Lord Redding Society (Montreal Jewish Bar Association).

Dave Gordon interviewed Niemi for the Post. Some excerpts:

On how CRARR got started in 1983:

We quickly realized that to deal with racism, we have to deal with the broader issues of, among other things, intolerance and hate-based violence. So eventually, within a short period of time, we made combating hate crime one of our priorities, to address hate in different forms.

Of course, at the heart of that is antisemitism. We also address hate based on race, and sexual orientation.

In 2004, the Jewish library in Montreal was burned, as a target of arson. One of the things we did was we brought together different voices from different backgrounds and communities to publicly denounce it. We call it ‘the common experience of the common humanity.’ I would say that it’s about bringing people of goodwill together.

As well, right after October 7th, when there was a rise in the violent targeting of Jewish institutions, schools, and synagogues. What brought together a group of 10 women from different backgrounds to speak out against that act of violence and hate, from a mother’s and grandmother’s perspective.