OTTAWA (JTA) — Two army privates suspected of involvement with white supremacist groups were dismissed last month from the Canadian army, military sources said.

The two soldiers had engaged in "significant acts" of racism, said Maj. Gen. Bryan Stephenson.

Three other privates are under investigation and may face disciplinary procedures, the sources said.

Better Jewish census sought in Australia

SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) — Australian Jewish leaders are encouraging Jews across the country to answer the question on religion in the national census in order not to be undercounted.

Respondents must answer most questions in the census, but a response is optional on such questions as religious affiliation.

Jewish leaders are seeking an accurate census because the figures for religious affiliation are widely used in the allocation of services. They also determine the political clout of Australia's various ethnic and religious groups.

In the 1991 census, 74,186 people responded that they were Jewish. But 23.4 percent of the Australian population did not answer the religion question and an estimated 3 percent of the resident Jewish population was overseas on census day. As a result of these two factors, the Jewish community was undercounted by an estimated 25,000.

Denier can reapply to become a citizen

OTTAWA (JTA) — A federal court has given Toronto-based Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel a green light to reapply for Canadian citizenship.

The Aug. 1 ruling came in the wake of a finding by Canada's Security Intelligence Review Committee that Zundel posed a threat to security and should be denied citizenship. The court ruled that the committee held an anti-Zundel bias.

Zundel, the author of the pamphlet "Did Six Million Really Die? Truth At Last Exposed," has been denied use of the mail for his activities and has twice been convicted of breaching Canada's hate laws.

In each case, however, the decisions were overturned.

Last week's ruling elicited strong criticisms from Jewish groups. "Zundel has been dodging through our legal system and showing the Canadian courts that the hate law is toothless," B'nai B'rith Canada said in a statement.

The group called for an appeal of the federal court's decision, adding that it "finds it astonishing that Canada's security and intelligence services can be chastened for holding biases against ideologies and individuals who propagate hatred."