Activists confront controversial educator
Demonstrators charged as scuffle erupts over ex-teacher tied to white supremacists
JILL MAHONEY
EDUCATION REPORTER
A former teacher linked to white supremacists was targeted yesterday by a small group of activists in a confrontation that ended with scuffling in an elevator and assault charges against two demonstrators.
Paul Fromm was attending an Ontario College of Teachers disciplinary hearing on allegations of professional misconduct for associating with neo-Nazis and others with similar beliefs.
After arriving at the site of the proceedings, Mr. Fromm entered an elevator along with a few people attending the Jewish Defence League demonstration. A struggle ensued -- the protesters say Mr. Fromm pushed one of their group, Mr. Fromm says an activist lunged at him -- and police arrested two demonstrators, charging one with assault and the other with obstructing and assaulting a police officer.
"It's this sort of violence that is very distressing. Some people feel they have the right to take the law into their own hands when they see people's views they don't like," Mr. Fromm, who is soft-spoken and got teary when describing his parents' Second World War service, said in an interview.
Meir Weinstein, national director of the Jewish Defence League of Canada, said the protesters will not be intimidated by the day's events.
"This is not going to be a setback for us and we're determined to see to it that Nazis will not teach hate in classrooms," he said.
Mr. Fromm, a self-described libertarian, free-speech advocate and immigration opponent, is an associate of white supremacist Ernst Zundel, among others, and an organizing force in Toronto's extreme-right causes. He runs several groups, including the Canada First Immigration Reform Committee, the Canadian Association for Free Expression and Citizens for Foreign Aid Reform, which promote issues dear to supremacists, including protecting European heritage and strict immigration controls to keep ethnic minorities out of the country.
The Ontario College of Teachers alleges Mr. Fromm engaged in professional misconduct, including failing to maintain the standards of the profession, committing acts that "would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional," engaging in conduct unbecoming a member and practising as a teacher while in a conflict of interest.
The college is not alleging that Mr. Fromm, who was fired by a Toronto-area school board in 1997, taught inappropriate material.
"It's persecution for political ideas because there's no allegation that I discriminated against students, mistreated students or used the classroom as a platform," Mr. Fromm, 58, said. "What I'm being whipped and punished for is for my sincerely held political views expressed on my own time, away from school."
The college's notice of hearing outlines a litany of allegations against Mr. Fromm, including that he:
Founded organizations espousing "beliefs and values contrary to the principles of multiculturalism and tolerance;"
Described prominent Canadian neo-Nazi leader John Ross Taylor as a "hero;"
Attended a meeting held by the Heritage Front to celebrate Adolph Hitler's birthday;
Called refugee claimants "hordes of criminals, scam artists and welfare collectors" at another Heritage Front meeting.
Claimed government employment-equity goals constituted "anti-white discrimination."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070420.FROMM20/TPStory/NationalAs much as we rightfully contest this group's legitimacy and its right to operate under the name JDL, they actually did something. Even though it microscopic and was hardly covered, what they did was better than the Jewish establishment's so-called organizations. 
Topic: BREAKING NEWS: JDL Toronto Does Something! (Read 1996 times)