In Shakedown, Mr. Levant claimed that the Canadian Jewish Congress "bankrolled" the creation of the Canadian Nazi Party. When this claim was challenged--thoroughly rebutted, is more like it--he simply changed "bankrolled" to "helped organize" and, hey presto!, its off the races again.
There have been a number of people who have attempted to correct this 2nd wave of inaccuracies. The best has been Liona Campbell, who responded in BCF's comments section:
A friend in Ottawa showed me this discussion originally in the Ottawa Citizen and some internet searches have sent me here.
I wrote my graduate thesis on John William Beattie at U of T. I have seen the original documents of the day and can confirm the following:
1. Beattie's group known as the "Canadian Nazi Party" and co-led by David Stanley had more than 100 members prior to the Canadian Jewish Congress action of 1965-66.
2. Any microfilm search of newspaper archives (which I undertook for my thesis) of the Toronto Telegram (today the Sun) the Globe and Mail as well as the Toronto Daily Star will demonstrate conclusively that Beattie and Stanley were notorious and had a national profile well before the Canadian Jewish Congress decided to hire a private investigator.
3. The fear and concern about Beattie and Stanley was palpable especially amongst Holocaust survivors in Toronto. It needs to be remembered that the scars of the gas chambers were less than 20 years old when these pseudo Nazis began to make a public appearance.
4. Absolutely no one knew the extent of Beattie's network. In fact it is true that the media shined a light on his antics amplifying his numbers. So the fear had a real basis.
5. Finally and quite contrary to Mr. Levant's assertions, the action undertaken by the Canadian Jewish Congress in the early winter of 65-66 to infiltrate and expose the Canadian Nazi Party did effectively destroy it.
It is important for the sake of history that these times be recorded properly. The Jewish Congress was a reluctant actor in exposing Beattie et al. It hoped they would simply dwindle away. Unfortunately Beattie and Stanley were expert in manipulating the media gaining a notoriety that amongst true historians is legendary. Mr. Levant should not conjure up erroneous details to fit whatever agenda he may have. Truth is essential and any good historian must set the record straight.
For those who want the real story of the Canadian Nazi movement and Jewish response, I urge you to read the penultimate book on the subject, "Delayed Impact: The Holocaust and the Canadian Jewish Community" by Professor Dr. Franklin Bialystok.
I hope this is helpful.
I am at the point where, when I read something by the Ez that I haven't heard before, I automatically conclude that its just more bullshit, via the same principle by which, when you visit a restaurant and see one roach, you conclude the restaurant has roaches. Its nice to see somebody else beavering away to prove the point conclusively.
5 comments:
All of this is fine and well but we should not lose sight of what this issue has always been about and BCL you noted it in this post.
Levant originally maintained and accused the leaders of the Canaidna Jewish Congress in 1966 of "bankrolling" the Canadian Nazi Party. This accusation turned out to be a gross fabrication. That should say much about Ezra Levant.
I admire anyone with enough intestinal fortitude to wade into Arnie Lemaire's coven.
He lies, engages in persoanl attacks and vendettas yet no one from the mainstream media seems to have what it takes to confront him. Why is that?
Well Sue, it's because they are all chickenshits!!
Look what happens when Levant wants to challenge an issue or policy. Most who do so deal with the issue. Levant and his erstwhile followers attack the person assocaiated with the issue. And the attack is always vicious. Just look at his targeting of Richard Warman or Bernie Farber.
So journalists prefer to play nice nice with Ezra. This is Ezra's style it comes directly from the hard right playbook.
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