TORONTO — B’nai Brith Canada (BBC) has expelled some of its most vocal critics for what a disciplinary committee found to be “conduct unbecoming a member.”

Eight of 21 members facing discipline were expelled – including BBC’s
most senior member, 68-year veteran Lou Ronson, left, – one month after a
four-hour hearing into their status. The expelled members received
unsigned letters last week saying they had been stripped of “all rights
and privileges of membership.”

A letter addressed to Hermie Gimpel, who was expelled along with her husband, Henry, stated, “Your behaviour amounts to a persistent disregard or violation of established B’nai Brith Canada policy and code of conduct and other such disreputable behaviour that is contrary to the interests of BBC have been made out.

“It is the panel’s finding that documents presented have clearly identified you as a member of the group calling itself Concerned Members of B’nai Brith Canada and that there is sufficient evidence of conduct unbecoming a member.”

BBC launched the expulsion proceedings in November 2007 after several high-profile members, including past presidents, raised concerns over governance and what they described as a lack of transparency at the 132-year-old organization.

Montreal lawyer Harvey Crestohl, one of those expelled, said he was “a little aggravated” by the decision.

“It has to have been the most undemocratic, dictatorial procedures ever produced by a human rights organization in the free world,” he said.

“There was no opportunity by our counsel to cross-examine anybody. No witnesses were called. Documents were filed with the [disciplinary] panel and not given to our counsel” until the end of the hearing.

“There was no indication of who it was who voted for the procedure to start, who filed the complaint, what the complaints were even about. None of this information was made available.”

Crestohl, a former BBC president, said the entire procedure was fraught with procedural irregularities and violated longstanding Canadian legal requirements of “natural justice” in administrative hearings.

He said that despite the disciplinary committee’s ruling, he has “absolutely no idea” what he did to warrant expulsion.

He said he and the other expelled members plan to appeal and exhaust all legal remedies, including those in the civil courts.

B’nai Brith Canada responded with the following statement: “After a thoughtful and careful process of deliberation, the disciplinary committee of B’nai Brith Canada unanimously decided to expel a handful of disgruntled individuals for ‘conduct unbecoming a member of B’nai Brith Canada, contrary to the best interests of the organization.’ These eight individuals who received expulsion orders represented the most blatant cases of members seeking to undermine and bring harm to the organization.

“In the remaining 13 cases under review by the disciplinary committee, five were dismissed, whereas the other eight voluntarily came forward to disassociate themselves from Concerned Members [of BBC] and reaffirmed their B’nai Brith membership.

“This peer-to-peer internal review process was conducted in full compliance with B’nai Brith International’s governing structure and Brith Canada’s constitution.

“B’nai Brith considers this matter now closed and is moving forward with the good and important work that it has always done in service to the community.”

Those facing expulsion were sent a letter last November warning they could face removal from the organization. The letter alleged members circulated information at the 2006 annual general meeting that “contained serious and unsubstantiated allegations against the organization and leadership.”

In addition, BBC documents alleged a group called Concerned Members of B’nai Brith Canada circulated e-mails that included “defamatory allegations of wrongdoing, both financial and otherwise.”

Lawyer Rochelle Cantor, who represented Crestohl and 11 others, said that members of the disciplinary committee “have not specified what the conduct unbecoming is. They haven’t defined it, outlined what the conduct is.”

She said the disciplinary committee departed so far from procedural norms that it expelled one member, Sid Isenberg, who had not even been served with notice that he was subject to expulsion. Isenberg learned that his membership was in question only after he arrived at the hearing to support others facing expulsion, Cantor said.

At the actual hearing, no evidence was called, she continued. “Did they give any of these people the opportunity to speak at the hearing before expelling them? Absolutely not.”

Cantor also criticized BBC for handing her a file of materials as the hearing came to a close. The material, which included clippings of CJN articles that appeared after the expulsion proceedings were launched, was relied upon by the tribunal.

Her request for an adjournment so she could study the materials was turned down, she added.

Henry Gimpel, past chair of the BBC’s Toronto co-ordinating committee, said he was expelled by “a kangaroo court.”

“I’m not surprised. The whole thing was a total sham from the beginning to end,” Gimpel said.

He said he planned to appeal, but he questioned whether taking the case to an internal BBC review would make a difference. He preferred, he said, to proceed to the civil courts for a hearing.

Gimpel questioned why BBC was acting against longstanding members. “I assume it’s being done to hide something. What are they trying to hide? They don’t give us financial reports. Everything is unsigned. Everything is hushed up. What are they trying to hide?”

Internal critics of BBC said its leadership has not complied with corporate rules and the organization’s own by-laws that require disclosure of audited financial statements prior to annual general meetings. They said the organization is overly centralized and secretive, and that a new constitution was declared passed even though a majority of members voted against it at an annual general meeting.

Senior B’nai Brith spokesperson Frank Dimant has responded to those allegations by saying that BBC followed proper governance procedures and that B’nai Brith International’s court of appeal ruled the constitution was properly enacted.