Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center Says Queen's Park Should Not Be a Venue for Hate and Intolerance

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 10, 2012) - In light of the controversy surrounding the planned appearance of Florida's anti-Muslim pastor Terry Jones on the lawn of Queen's Park tomorrow, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) reiterates its position that the Ontario legislature should not be turned into a venue for hate propaganda.

The scheduled speech by Jones has reignited a debate that began when FSWC protested the right of the virulently anti-Israel, pro-Iran al Quds Committee to hold an antisemitic hate rally at Queen's Park in August. "Regrettably, by permitting the al Quds day rally the Speaker of the House and the Sergeant at Arms have opened the doorway for other such events," explains Avi Benlolo, President and CEO of FSWC. "Hate groups who hope to introduce racist ideologies at odds with Canadian values now see the steps of our provincial government as a prime venue from which to export their intolerant and bigoted dogma".