all aboard the crazy train...again.

i think this recent decision out of the human rights tribunal of ontario is basically a red flag. former chair, michael gottheil, ruled against complainant david noble and branded him as an anti-semite because dr. noble had the guts to point his finger at the israel lobby at york university(who also branded him as an anti-semite).

more information about that decision is here, but what i'm really interested in right now is how the human rights tribunal can move ahead and claim to be an impartial body when it's very clear that they (some of them) absolutely are not.

from the human rights tribunal website:

"The Human Rights Code represents fundamental principles upon which our society is based. The Tribunal plays an important role in ensuring that those rights have real meaning. To do this, we have developed processes designed to be accessible and understandable.

The community must have confidence that Tribunal staff and members will treat each party with respect and address each Application in a fair and timely manner. Applicants, respondents and intervenors have the opportunity to be heard in a process that is accessible, fair, and based on the law and jurisprudence."

well, after gottheil's decision i have to say that i have no confidence that the tribunal staff or members will treat each party with respect and address their application with fairness because zionists are not fair. that's just how they roll. when he writes that criticizing israel is anti-semitic because israel is a jewish state, that ain't fair. what about the countless jews who criticize israel? they are self loathing jews??? automatically anti-semitic?? that makes no sense and is actually offensive and nonsensical.

so, does this mean that michael gottheil is a zionist--because if we flip the logic of his own decision that's the conclusion we would come to, and that doesn't really seem fair does it? that he's on the tribunal as a pawn of the israel lobby? that this decision(which actually doesn't matter so much considering david noble's historic court decision agains the israel lobby recently) wasn't based on "fairness... facts, the law, and the merits of the case"??

sounds like the human rights tribunal of ontario is a ship without a real captain, or one who is just intent on steering it into dangerously rocky territory on secret orders then abandoning ship.

dear human rights tribunal: this is a travesty. your ability to work, to "protect" human rights, relies on the community's belief that you are doing your job fairly and in good faith. it's clear this isn't the case and you are losing community confidence fast.

sad, really. the human rights tribunal was, for a moment, a pretty decent institution. there is no appeals process at the tribunal, so the only appeal here would be public opinion.

you can call the human rights tribunal at 416 326 1312 or you can email them at hrto.tdpo@ontario.ca .

let them know that as the community whose confidence determines the legitimacy of their tribunal, you aren't pleased.