Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau last night told Quebec Province’s Jewish minority to insist on its rights in the society it helped to build, condemned anti-Semitism, and lauded Israel as an inspiration to Jews all over the world. Mr. Trudeau made these remarks at a meeting of more than 1,500 members of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation League where be was presented with the organization’s 1970 Family of Man Award. Mr. Trudeau said. “Being a member of a minority in these circumstances can be a cause for apprehension. I know that many members of the Jewish community share this feeling and have doubts about the future in Quebec.” The Prime Minister, who is French, told the audience, “if I can speak as a member of one minority to another 1 say stick with it, with all your energies and abilities.” He noted that prejudice and anti-Semitism exists in the province. A bill has been introduced in the Parliament that would make dissemination of hate literature a criminal offense, he said. “The people of Canada condemn any defamation based on race or religion,” Mr. Trudeau stated. Focusing on Israel, the Prime Minister said that “the new roots that Jewry has established there in present times continues to inspire and unite Jews in the diaspora, and Jews throughout the world have come to regard Israel as a spiritual home.”
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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.
