Several hundred students at Loyola College and McGill University of Montreal have received ‘hate’ literature mailed from some point in Montreal. The literature arrives in a medium-sized plain brown envelope with no return address.
The envelope contains back issues of “Common Sense,” an American anti-Semitic newspaper, leaflets against the Jews and Negroes and other racist material. The McGill Daily, organ of the student body, has appealed to all students who have received the discriminatory literature to turn the material in. “The envelopes are of utmost importance,” a Daily official declared, “because it might be possible to establish the point of mailing and trace the sender.”
An official of the Community Relations Department of Canadian Jewish Congress, stated: “We are aware of the problem and are taking all steps to deal with it. It is evident that the people mailing this literature are using the student directories, systematically blanketing the student bodies. It seems they are going through the directories alphabetically, and by now have reached at least the letter ‘c.'”
The official explained his department will “collect as much of the material as possible for submission to the appropriate authorities, who will then be in a position to document the nature and extent of the hate mailings.” Canadian Jewish Congress officials will meet with Rabbi Samuel Cass, director of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation at McGill, to discuss the problem and a meeting with university authorities has been proposed.
For the most part, the literature is being sent to non-Jews, but some Jews have been recipients. Most of the latter do not have Jewish names. This type of literature has been circulated before, but not to such a great extent. “Someone is spending a lot of money this time,” the CJC officials said.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.