Comments from a guest on a popular Quebec talk show are condemned by members of the province’s Jewish community.
Stéphanie was invited on Radio Canada’s Everyone is talking about it Sunday night to discuss her controversial decision to open the dining room of her pastry shop Vite des Péchés in Jonquière. She chose to deliberately break Hariot’s public health rules as a protest.
However, her position on the government’s COVID policy is not what drew the condemnation of organizations fighting anti-Semitism.
“I do not want to need to dress like a Hasidic Jew to have rights,” she told the host of the program in French.
Marvin Rotrand, B’nai Brith Canada’s national director of the League for Human Rights, said the organization had received several complaints from people who were “stunned” and “shocked” by the comments.
READ MORE: Quebec Supreme Court agrees with Hasidic Jewish community over restrictions on religious gatherings
“She somehow thinks that all orthodox Jews are breaking the rules and they get away with it because they are all powerful, and that incites hatred and discrimination,” he told Global News.
Hariot was unable to make herself available for an interview in time for our deadline, but did manage to send some voicemails on Facebook Messenger.
“Their schools are open, their synagogues are open, and we were closed. That’s it, that’s all, “she said.
During the pandemic, some orthodox Jewish people had illegal gatherings, with the police responding in several cases.
Rotrand says tarring all members of that community with the same brush is wrong.
“If you want to say that specific individuals have violated the rules and they should be punished, that is fine. By saying, ‘Oh, they are religious Jews, so they got away with it,’ it creates a stereotype that is false, and that who knows where could lead, “he said.
Rotrand called on Radio-Ccanada to distance itself from the comments.
READ MORE: Hostages in Texas Synagogue Escaped When FBI SWAT Team Moves In
In a statement to Global News, the broadcaster said the production team had no reason to suspect that Hariot would make any such remarks about the live program.
“Nothing in Ms. Hariot’s pre-interview could have led the production team to suspect that she was referring to Hasidic Jews on air,” said spokesman Marc Pichette, adding that the program was live and guests, on occasion, made controversial comments.
He said the opinions of guests do not reflect those of the producers of the program or Radio Canada.
“While acknowledging that what she said was both wrong and deplorable, we believe that any further action is unjustified as it will only expose thousands of people to her misleading remarks,” he said.
Rotrand is concerned that highly visible anti-Semitism could lead to hate crimes against the Jewish community.
“She herself needs a little introspection about the pain she caused. But moreover, society as a whole must understand that this type of thing is not acceptable, ”said Rotrand.
According to B’nai Brith, hate crimes against Jewish people have seen a worrying increase in recent years.
Reference-globalnews.ca