Nominations Sought

TORONTO — UJA Federation of Greater Toronto is taking nominations for its second annual Community Inclusion Awards of Excellence, which honour individuals, programs and groups that promote inclusion of people with special needs or disabilities in the Jewish community. One individual, one organization and one program award will be given out Feb. 26. Nomination deadline is Dec. 1. E-mail [email protected], or call 416-924-6211, ext. 255.

CJC Backs Lesbians

TORONTO — Canadian Jewish Congress expressed support last week for a lesbian couple in Oshawa, Ont., who were punched by a 43-year-old man in a school parking lot while their kids watched. The women were picking up their three children on Nov. 3 when they were attacked by a father who called them “f—ing dyke lesbians” and punched them both in the face, the couple said last week. Both women needed treatment in hospital. The man was charged with assault, but the women want him to face hate crimes charges. “In our multicultural society, it’s important for us to speak up in solidarity with other minority groups,” said Fredelle Brief, chair of CJC’s community relations committee. She said police should “give strong consideration to the possibility that this attack was motivated by hate.”

High Heel Vice?

TORONTO — A mosque advising several Somali women in a Canadian Human Rights Commission complaint has posted material online attacking westerners as wicked and Jewish women as the corrupting and evil influence behind high heel shoes. The Toronto Star reported last week that the Khalid Bin Al-Walid Mosque in the city’s west end posted the slurs in a teaching section of its website. Eight Somali women allege the courier company UPS violated their human rights by forbidding them from wearing full-length skirts. UPS says the skirts violate safety rules. The women say the mosque backs up their claim that Islam requires them to dress modestly in the skirts.