Bernie Farber
Encyclopedia
Bernie M. Farber is the former chief executive officer of the Canadian Jewish Congress
and a social activist. He has testified before the Canadian courts as an expert witness
on hate crime
.
Farber was on leave from the CJC's successor, the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy
during his candidacy as the Ontario Liberal Party
's nominee in the 2011 Ontario election in the riding of Thornhill
.
Farber received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University
in Ottawa where he was involved in many social causes. He was a student leader with Ottawa's Jewish community and was also involved in the campaign to pressure the Soviet Union
to allow Soviet Jews to emigrate. As the director of Ottawa's Jewish Community Centre, Farber also directed its day camp
in the mid 1970s.
(CAS) and the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa-Carleton.
While working for the Children's Aid Society in the early 1980s, Farber served as president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union
Local 454, representing over 300 social and child-care workers.
(CJC) from 1984 until 2011. He was appointed chief executive officer in 2005 and had previously been executive director of the CJC's Ontario
section and CJC's National Community Relations Director. He is currently on leave from the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy
which absorbed the CJC on July 1, 2011.
Farber was appointed by the Ontario government to serve as a member of the Hate Crimes Community Working Group. He also serves on the city of Vaughan, Ontario
's Mayor’s Task Force on Community Safety & Security. Farber is also an associate member of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.
Farber has contributed articles on the Jewish political scene, human rights issues, the Holocaust, hate crime and white supremacy to newspapers including The Globe and Mail
, the National Post
, the Toronto Star
, and others. He has expressed his own or the CJC's views in newspapers such as The Washington Post
and The New York Times
. In 1997, Farber was the editor of and wrote portions of From Marches to Modems: A Report on Organized Hate in Metropolitan Toronto, commissioned by the Access and Equity Centre of the municipality of metro Toronto.
Farber appears in the 1994 educational video Who is Peter Iswolsky?, conducting an anti-racism workshop for high school students. The film was co-sponsored by the CJC and the National Congress of Italian Canadians.
Regarding the proposed beatification
of Pope Pius XII
, Farber has said it is improper to move the process forward until the Holy See's archives from the Second World War
are fully released.
Farber, who is apparently non-gay, was criticized in 2009 for marching in Toronto's Pride parade
wearing a "Nobody knows I'm gay" t-shirt and then having CJC file a complaint against the Toronto Star for "outing" Farber after columnist Antonia Zerbisias
sardonically commented "I didn't know he was gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that." Farber had joined the parade in order to oppose the inclusion of the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid
in the event.
reported that the white supremacist group Heritage Front
had developed a "hit list" targeting 22 Canadians for murder, most of them Metropolitan Toronto
Jews. One member had allegedly planned an attack on the CJC offices to "take some people out", with Farber believed to be the primary target.
Over the preceding years, Heritage Front had been infiltrated by, and become largely directed by, Grant Bristow
, an undercover agent of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
(CSIS). In August 1994, a report by the Toronto Sun
exposed CSIS domestic spying including Bristow's undercover role in Heritage Front, effectively putting an end to any plot.
. The commemorative medal was awarded to 40,000 Canadians for their contributions to community and country.
Canadian Jewish Congress
The Canadian Jewish Congress was one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country, although it often competed with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. At its dissolution, the president of the CJC was Mark Freiman. Its past co-presidents were Sylvain Abitbol...
and a social activist. He has testified before the Canadian courts as an expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
on hate crime
Hate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
.
Farber was on leave from the CJC's successor, the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy
Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs was founded in 2004 as the principal advocacy, oversight and co-ordinating body for a number of Jewish Canadian organizations including the Canada-Israel Committee , the Canadian Jewish Congress/United Jewish Appeal and National Jewish...
during his candidacy as the Ontario Liberal Party
Ontario Liberal Party
The Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
's nominee in the 2011 Ontario election in the riding of Thornhill
Thornhill (provincial electoral district)
Thornhill is a provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1999....
.
Early life and education
Farber was born in Ottawa, Ontario. His father was a Polish Jew who lost his first wife, two children and other family members in the Holocaust. Farber cites his father's experience as a major motivation in his life, saying, "the pain my father endured during the war is what drove me to fight for social justice today.”Farber received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
in Ottawa where he was involved in many social causes. He was a student leader with Ottawa's Jewish community and was also involved in the campaign to pressure the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to allow Soviet Jews to emigrate. As the director of Ottawa's Jewish Community Centre, Farber also directed its day camp
Day camp
Day camps are geared for schoolchildren. They offer activities in a larger social setting, usually in the children's home town or nearby and the children return home in the evenings...
in the mid 1970s.
Social work
He graduated in 1975 and found a job with the Children’s Aid SocietyChildren's Aid Society (Canada)
The Children's Aid Societies of Ontario, Canada, are independent organizations empowered by the Ontario government to perform child protection services. The declared goal is to "promote the best interests, protection and well being of children"...
(CAS) and the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa-Carleton.
While working for the Children's Aid Society in the early 1980s, Farber served as president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union is a trade union that represents about 120,000 employees in the broader public service of the Province of Ontario, Canada. The current president of OPSEU is Warren "Smokey" Thomas. Prior to Thomas OPSEU was headed by Leah Casselman. Casselman was the...
Local 454, representing over 300 social and child-care workers.
Canadian Jewish Congress
Farber was been employed by the Canadian Jewish CongressCanadian Jewish Congress
The Canadian Jewish Congress was one of the main lobby groups for the Jewish community in the country, although it often competed with the more conservative B'nai Brith Canada in that regard. At its dissolution, the president of the CJC was Mark Freiman. Its past co-presidents were Sylvain Abitbol...
(CJC) from 1984 until 2011. He was appointed chief executive officer in 2005 and had previously been executive director of the CJC's Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
section and CJC's National Community Relations Director. He is currently on leave from the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy
Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs was founded in 2004 as the principal advocacy, oversight and co-ordinating body for a number of Jewish Canadian organizations including the Canada-Israel Committee , the Canadian Jewish Congress/United Jewish Appeal and National Jewish...
which absorbed the CJC on July 1, 2011.
Farber was appointed by the Ontario government to serve as a member of the Hate Crimes Community Working Group. He also serves on the city of Vaughan, Ontario
Vaughan, Ontario
Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...
's Mayor’s Task Force on Community Safety & Security. Farber is also an associate member of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.
Farber has contributed articles on the Jewish political scene, human rights issues, the Holocaust, hate crime and white supremacy to newspapers including The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
, the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
, the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
, and others. He has expressed his own or the CJC's views in newspapers such as The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. In 1997, Farber was the editor of and wrote portions of From Marches to Modems: A Report on Organized Hate in Metropolitan Toronto, commissioned by the Access and Equity Centre of the municipality of metro Toronto.
Farber appears in the 1994 educational video Who is Peter Iswolsky?, conducting an anti-racism workshop for high school students. The film was co-sponsored by the CJC and the National Congress of Italian Canadians.
Regarding the proposed beatification
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
of Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
, Farber has said it is improper to move the process forward until the Holy See's archives from the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
are fully released.
Farber, who is apparently non-gay, was criticized in 2009 for marching in Toronto's Pride parade
Pride Week (Toronto)
Pride Week is a ten-day event held in Toronto, Canada, during the end of June each year. It is a celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community in the Greater Toronto Area. It is one of the largest organized gay pride festivals in the world, featuring several stages with live performers and...
wearing a "Nobody knows I'm gay" t-shirt and then having CJC file a complaint against the Toronto Star for "outing" Farber after columnist Antonia Zerbisias
Antonia Zerbisias
Antonia Zerbisias is a Canadian journalist associated with the Toronto Star since 1989. She has been a reporter and TV host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as the Montreal correspondent for Variety trade paper...
sardonically commented "I didn't know he was gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that." Farber had joined the parade in order to oppose the inclusion of the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid is a Toronto-based grassroots LGBT group involved in the movement against what the organization see as Israeli apartheid and is a member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid. The group has been involved in Israeli Apartheid Week as well as Pride Week...
in the event.
Alleged Heritage Front plot
In December 1994, Canada's Security Intelligence Review CommitteeSecurity Intelligence Review Committee
The Security Intelligence Review Committee is an independent agency of the government of Canada empowered to oversee and review the operations of Canada's security service, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and investigate complaints against CSIS...
reported that the white supremacist group Heritage Front
Heritage Front
The Heritage Front was a Canadian neo-Nazi white supremacist organization founded in 1989 and disbanded around 2005.The Heritage Front maintained a telephone message line with a different editorial each day. The voice on the hotline was Gary Schipper...
had developed a "hit list" targeting 22 Canadians for murder, most of them Metropolitan Toronto
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
Jews. One member had allegedly planned an attack on the CJC offices to "take some people out", with Farber believed to be the primary target.
Over the preceding years, Heritage Front had been infiltrated by, and become largely directed by, Grant Bristow
Grant Bristow
Grant Bristow was a mole for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service working inside the Heritage Front for six years, who was exposed by Toronto Sun reporter Bill Dunphy in August 1994...
, an undercover agent of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service
Canadian Security Intelligence Service
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service is Canada's national intelligence service. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence on threats to Canada's national security, and conducting operations, covert and overt, within Canada and abroad.Its...
(CSIS). In August 1994, a report by the Toronto Sun
Toronto Sun
The Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
exposed CSIS domestic spying including Bristow's undercover role in Heritage Front, effectively putting an end to any plot.
Awards
In 1992, Farber was awarded the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal
The 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal is a commemorative medal struck by the Royal Canadian Mint celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada...
. The commemorative medal was awarded to 40,000 Canadians for their contributions to community and country.