how gross is this?

despite having an environmental catastrophe on his hands, obama took some time today to make sure that he isn't on the wrong side of another catastrophe: israel and palestine.

obama met with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu today for a photo op to dispel concerns that the united states and israel are on a break.

just like a marriage, allied nations have to work hard to make sure that their relationship doesn't crumble. so obama and netanyahu scheduled some 'them' time today.

in fact, obama said "“The bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable" and went on to warn the palestinians against inciting the israelis.

last straw for this one on obama. after the flotilla atrocity to get together with netanyahu to prove to the world that the united states isn't mad at israel? childish.

committed to peace, obama? well then maybe you should take the peace option on this one and NOT back israel.

"one bullet in the chest and four bullets fired into his head at close range"

i hope that the recent information released about 19 year old furkan dogan, a turkish/american citizen aboard a ship attacked by israeli forces, will shake some people out of their stupor of 'self defense' and 'right to blockade'.
nine people were murdered that night one of whom was dogan, shot five times at close range. four out of five, in the head.

stephen saperstein frug of attempts writes of the latest reports:
"If confirmed, it will certainly put the lie to any claim of self defense by the shooter. A bullet in the chest might well be self-defense (by an aggressor, of course -- the Israelis shouldn't have been on that ship in the first place, and they were the ones attacking -- but nevertheless understandable). A bullet in the head at close range... possibly, probably not but possibly, that's self-defense too. Three more? That's murder. And calls into question the entire rest of the scenario."

jim buie, an american blogger residing in the same town in turkey that dogan was from, writes of the man:

"This young man obviously was a respected member of the community. He was studying at a private high school in Kayseri, similar to the one I teach at, and hoped to become a doctor. He was a neighbor of a student of mine."

on mondoweiss they're asking "can the israeli government kill american citizens with impunity?" what will the american government do to ensure that there is a real investigation into the murder of one of its own citizens?

this is a really great article as well.

the amount of sneering indifference some people have shown towards the loss of life not only on the flotilla but in israeli occupied palestine is just sad. but, this horrific incident has finally and unequivocally proven why we need to stand with palestine.

THIS is why the pamphleteers are voting keith cole:

toronto pride made a bad, bad decision. censoring freedom of speech(which is exactly what they did when they decided to ban queers against israeli apartheid) at a pride event was not only completely unjustifiable but it has also exposed pride TO's true mandate: censorship for sponsorship.

for immediate release is this statement from Keith Cole, the These Pamphleteers endorsed Mayoral candidate.

keith was asked to hose PRIDE's 2010 ALTERNA-QUEER stage on Saturday, July 3. This is his response:

FREEDOM OF SPEECH MUST PREVAIL!
NO CENSORSHIP

I must decline the offer to host PRIDE’s 2010 ALTERNA – QUEER stage on Saturday July 3rd, 2010, South Stage. It is with great sadness that I must say NO to host one of PRIDE’s best music venues due to Censorship and complete ignorance and respect for individuals right to Freedom of Speech by PRIDE.

I love Alterna – Queer. It is and has been one of the best stages at PRIDE for years. The music, the people, the vibe and the bands have been great in the past and 2010 has a great line up of talent indeed, but PRIDE’s decision to dictate censorship and prevent freedom of speech leaves me with no choice – I must decline PRIDE’s offer to host this event. As a human, an artist, a gay and a 2010 Toronto Mayoral Candidate I cannot nor will I ever support an organization that acts as censors and denies people freedom of speech.

PRIDE has made a dangerous and sickening decision. PRIDE now has censorship mechanisms in place and freedom of speech has been challenged today and for the future. Any individual, any group, any person is now at risk at being censored by PRIDE and denied freedom of speech – who or what will be next? A group? An individual? An artist? A band? An idea? A painting? A book? A body-part? A name? A memory? A thought? A drag queen? A dyke? A fag? It could be anyone or anything next. We, the queer community, are the major stakeholders in PRIDE – not governments, corporations, banks, condo developments or beer companies etc… We are what made PRIDE and we will continue to define our PRIDE.

PRIDE will happen with or without government / corporate sponsorship. We will march, gather, protest, party, celebrate and keep on fighting the good fight. Free speech is worth fighting for and censorship must be stopped no matter what the price.

The community will not forget this terrible decision made by PRIDE.

I love the event Alterna – Queer and I love the music but I love freedom of speech and I can never, ever support censorship.

Sent with a Proud, Free & Uncensored Voice,

Keith Cole

Contact: Keith Cole 416-944-0077 / keithcole@sympatico.ca

how much more proof do we need? boycott, divest, sanction.

emergency rally today in response to this horrific attack on a flotilla of ships bringing humanitarian aid to the gaza strip.

as stephen harper rubbed shoulders with the israeli prime minister yesterday in toronto, israeli commandos were getting ready to raid the flotillas--which were carrying civilian activists. there are countless injuries and activists were killed. the israeli forces are claiming they were attacked first--a justification that has no weight when you're an armed force and you're attacking civilians in international waters.

there is a live streaming video here.

EMERGENCY PICKET – TODAY MAY 31
5-7PM OUTSIDE ISRAELI CONSULATE

"Israel has used military force on the peaceful flotilla taking humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel has murdered several unarmed civilians (at least 10 confirmed so far). Again we see the Israeli apartheid state acting with full impunity outside the boundaries of international law while the the Harper government welcomes Prime Minister Netanyahu with open arms.

We will be out today to tell Israel and all its supporters it can not get away with its crimes against humanity without worldwide protest. "

Date: Today May 31
Time: 5-7 pm
Location: Israeli Consulate (180 Bloor St. West)

Bring noise makers! Bring flags! Tell your family and friends.
For more information, please contact endapartheid@riseup.net.

Organized by:
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA)
Toronto Coalition to Stop the War
Gaza Freedom March Committee

human rights tribunal of ontario=big zionist joke?

HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL OF ONTARIO JOINS CAMPAIGN TO CRIMINALIZE CRITICISM OF ISRAEL AS ANTI-SEMITIC

In a shocking decision issued on April 22 Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario Chair Michael Gottheil condemned the complainant in a reprisal case, Jewish Professor David Noble, as an anti-semite for attempting to expose the influence of the Israel lobby at York University. Writing about a flyer Noble distributed to his classes suggesting that the presence of prominent pro-Israel advocates, fund-raisers, and lobbyists on the Board of the York University Foundation might have influenced the university to clamp down on pro-Palestinian activists, Gottheil stated:

"I also find that the pamphlet could be taken as suggesting the existence of a 'Jewish conspiracy', with broad influence. While the complainant went to lengths to explain that the organizations and individuals he identified as being inter-connected and as having influence were so identified because of their support for the state of Israel, he acknowledged that these organizations would self-identify as Jewish organizations and Israel would self-identify as a Jewish state. Thus, whatever the complainant might have intended, it was not unreasonable in my view for these organizations, the individuals, and the University to have considered the pamphlet as playing into the notion of a "Jewish conspiracy," a notion the complainant acknowledged existed, and expressed through anti-Semitic writings such as the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion.'"

This is surely an echo of the current excesses of the Israel lobby, which has been seeking to criminalize as racism and hate speech all criticism of Israel. (By the same twisted logic, all criticism of Noble, a self-identifying Jew himself, should be construed as anti-semitic, including this attack by the Tribunal.)

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario must be held accountable for this dubious decision, which legitimates the preposterous proposition that any and all criticism of Israel or the Israel Lobby is anti-semitic, even when made by Jews, and condemned for directly contributing to a political agenda that threatens Canadian civil liberties.

"All morons hate it when you call them a moron."

this is a really great article written by a member of Independent Jewish Voices.

anyone interested in israel and the israel politics needs to read it, and needs to know about david noble.


"David Noble is Jewish, a university professor, and a member of Independent Jewish Voices. He has provided me with the following information.

In 2006 Noble filed what may have been the first and only defamation lawsuit against the Israel Lobby in response to accusations made against him that he was anti-semitic because of his criticism of Israel and the Israel lobby. Members of the IJV are all too aware of this commonplace smear tactic. The overriding purpose of Noble's lawsuit was to make the smear tactic costly to those who use it and thereby curtail its use. While the lawsuit is still proceeding through the Courts, there are already signs of success (see 2 below).

(1) In November, 2004 Noble exposed the influence of the Israel Lobby on the York University Foundation, the fund-raising entity created by York University two years earlier. A day after the expose was made public, he became the target of a smear campaign branding him a bigot, racist and anti-semite. The campaign was spearheaded by the "Israel Affairs" (now "Israel Awareness") operatives of Hillel@York and Hillel of Greater Toronto and consisted of defamatory press releases issued collaboratively by the York University Foundation, York University, the Ontario branch of the Canadian Jewish Congress, the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Ontario, and the two Hillel organizations.

The next day, a story based on the press releases appeared in the Globe and Mail. Noble publicly demanded an apology, which was reported in the Toronto Star. No apology was ever made. He immediately thereafter filed a grievance against York University which culminated in a favourable Arbitrator's award for breach of academic freedom.

In November, 2006 Noble filed a civil suit for defamation and injurious falsehood against the other parties, all of whom, in addition to the key individuals involved (including the Hillel Israel Affairs operatives Dori Borshiov, Talia Klein, Tilly Shames, and Hillel of Greater Toronto Director Zac Kaye), became named defendants. That suit is now proceeding.

During three years of litigation, all defendants adamantly refused to answer any questions regarding Israel or Israel advocacy, insisting that the questions were irrelevant. The strategy of the defendants was consistent with that of their smear campaign: divert attention from exposure of Israel and the Israel lobby by focusing upon Jews and anti-semitism. In 2009, Noble filed a motion with the Ontario Superior Court to force them to answer the questions.

All but the York University Foundation dodged the motion by agreeing to answer the questions. In February, 2010 the Court issued a landmark decision on the motion, ruling that the questions regarding Israel and Israel advocacy were indeed relevant and ordering the Foundation defendants (former York University president and Foundation Board member Lorna Marsden, Foundation president Paul Marcus, and the Foundation as a corporate entity) to answer them within thirty days. The Foundation failed to comply with the Order and went into contempt of court for three weeks
to avoid answering the Israel-related questions. Noble has now also filed formal requests for documents in the possession of all defendants related in any way to the State of Israel, organizations and agencies associated with the State of Israel and advocacy, fund-raising, and lobbying on behalf of the State of Israel, and will go back to the Court to insure production.

(2) In April, 2010 Judy Haiven, a Jewish professor at Saint Mary's University (and member of IJV) was smeared as a racist and anti-semite by the head of the "Israel Awareness" organization of Dalhousie University, the same kind of operatives who smeared Noble. Like Noble, Haiven demanded an apology. But just days after the appearance of the Globe and Mail article on the landmark Court order in Noble's lawsuit, Haiven received the apology she had demanded. Noble believes there is a direct connection between this unprecedented apology and his lawsuit, demonstrating its intended effect.

Why does he think this? The Israel Affairs/Awareness operatives in Canada are in very close and constant contact. Paige McPherson, the student who smeared Haiven, is a Member at Large Eastern Canada of the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students (CFJS). CFJS is affiliated to The Canadian Council for Jewish and Israel Advocacy (CIJA), National Jewish Campus Life (NJCL), the Canada-Israel Committee (CIC), Hillel International, and the World Union of Jewish Students. It is extremely unlikely that she and her handlers were unaware of the lawsuit. Could it be that the message was sent that such smear tactics could be costly? Noble is convinced that is the story here and that it is one that IJV should broadcast far and wide.

(3) What Have They Got To Hide? The York University Foundation (YUF) has steadfastly refused to answer any Israel-related questions and has defied a court order commanding them to do so. Why? What is so sensitive about this information that they would risk contempt of court to conceal it? The YUF is the incorporated entity York created to raise and massage its money.

• YUF is headed and directed by prominent financial figures in the Canadian Zionist establishment:

• YUF President Paul Marcus is the former director of development for the United Jewish Appeal Federation and, before that, the director of International Affairs for B'nai B'rith.

• Chairman of the YUF Board of Directors Tim R. Price is the CEO of Hees Bancorp International and Brookfield Funds, Brookfield Asset Management, and the former Board Chair of the EDPER Group and Brascan. These international finance powerhouses are part of the Bronfman family empire. (Edper, which was Canada's largest conglomerate, is short for Edward and Peter Bronfman). The Bronfmans have, of course, been strong supporters of Israel.

• YUF Director Marshall Cohen, former CEO of Molson's, used to be the financial director for the Reichmann family real estate empire (president of Olympia and York) also strong supporters of Israel. He has also been a director of AIG as well as Ameritrade.

• YUF Director Julia Koschitzky, a founding member of CIJA and former head of the United Israel Appeal, has also been on the international Board of the Jewish Agency and Keren Hayesod, the Israeli funding agency.

• YUF Director Howard Sokolowski (husband of Linda Frum, former board member of the Canada-Israel-Committee) is CEO of Tribute Homes and fund-raiser extraordinaire who raised record amounts for the UJA and the Israel Emergency Fund.

• YUF Director Honey Sherman was Sokolowski's UJA fund-raising partner and is the wife of Canada's richest individual, Apotex CEO Barry Sherman.

• YUF Director H. Barry Gales runs the family's global international investment and merchant banking operations along with his sister UJA president Leslie Gales.

• YUF Director Alonna Goldfarb helps run the Goldfarb polling and marketing agency that handles the marketing of Israel bonds in Canada.
  

These are only the most prominent of pro-Israel supporters on the YUF Board (see the YUF website for the complete list of Board members).

Given the prominent financial profile and international reach of players such as these one must wonder what they are up to that requires such secrecy. (Noble spent three years trying to bring the YUF under the Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act; the YUF fought him tooth and nail and won on Adjudication, on the specious grounds of the legal fiction that the YUF was not a part of the FIPPA-covered institution, York University.)

Could it be that the YUF, which attracts donations from the creme de la creme of the Israel Lobby, functions somehow to funnel funds to the Israel Lobby, or to Israel itself? There is no evidence available to demonstrate any such connection and even to suggest it is pure speculation. But then what explains the extreme reluctance of the YUF to answer Israel-related questions? In time, with the production of documents in the ongoing discovery process in Noble's lawsuit, some answers might yet rise to the surface. Meanwhile, the matter merits close attention and further inquiry by the IJV.

The IJV should also note the connection between Noble's lawsuit against the York University Foundation and recent revelations regarding York University's attempt to block and censor last June's conference on Israeli and Palestinian statehood. A major role in this effort was played by Marshall Cohen, who was at the time a member of the Board of Directors of the York University Foundation as well as Chairman of the Board of Governors. Cohen was the founder of the Foundation. His direct effort to influence York's president would appear to confirm the truth of the allegations suggested by Noble's 2004 expose.

another way, tried?

remember last year(a year ago today) when a couple of idiots decided to destroy a campus newspaper for no good reason? and they were video taped doing it? but still nothing was done about it?

aaron rosenberg and mark levin were caught red handed destroying over one thousand copies of the latest edition of the YU free press. rosenberg and levin were also both members of the campus based israel advocacy group, hasbara fellowship.

when they were caught they said they had the right to destroy the paper because the free press publishes "views, opinions, and in this particular instance cartoon images that are "anti-semitic" in nature."

both students were arrested in june(after much work) and were at a hearing in september, 2009. at the hearing, the charges were dropped on the condition that the two pay restitution for the destroyed papers--which they did.

so the YU free press has been vindicated and continues to pump out top notch journalism. hurray!

"the politricks of york centre ontario"

part one and two of a great article by laila rashidie about zionism and york centre(not york university, which we are normally obsessed with):


http://lailarashidie.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/the-politricks-of-york-centre-toronto/


http://lailarashidie.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/the-pro-israel-politricks-of-york-centre-toronto-part-2/

laila's article is perfect example of good research into your own community and what you can find, read them!!!

probably not the best advice...

according to the toronto star this morning, israeli soldiers invading the gaza strip in january received no real guidelines or rules of engagement and were encouraged to "shoot first ask questions later."

breaking the silence, an israeli organization that collected testimony from IDF soldiers on the front lines of what was called operation "cast lead" is releasing a book containing the stories of 26 israeli soldiers.

"If you're not sure – kill," confessed one of the soldiers who gave his testimony anonymously "The firepower was insane. We went in, and the booms were just mad. The minute we got to our starting line, we simply began firing at suspect places. In urban warfare, everyone is your enemy. No innocents. It was simply urban warfare in every way."

the assault, which left more than 1.300 palestinians and thirteen israelis dead, has been defended extensively by the state of israel which claims that it warned civilians to flee.

as well, despite both amnesty international and human rights watch accusing israel of war crimes in the assault, former commander of british forces in afghanistan col. richard kemp has stated that the IDF did more to diminish civilian casualities than "any other army in the history of warfare."

the head of breaking the silence, yehuda shaul(a veteran of the IDF), says that

"Very few soldiers ever heard in the briefings, `Guys – be careful about innocent people...That's the most disturbing and disappointing thing." he notes that this particular invasion of gaza was a marked departure from previous IDF practices, stating:

"Cast Lead was something different...we had an opening-fire policy... `You see something you're scared of – you shoot...' we were shocked, this is not the IDF I know."

when one soldier is asked to sum up his overall reaction to the three week operation, the toronto star reporter writes that he "waxed philosophical" when the soldier responded:

"how people are able to watch others die or suffer, how terribly easily you can grow indifferent to this. It's like you can turn yourself off, the guy's dead, let's move on."

unfortunately, what this book reveals is that soldiers respond in a way that is completely opposite to the philosophical: they live the reality of being unable to feel empathy for another human being, they feel indifferent to being responsible for death or suffering, and that probably that kind of desensitization doesn't just stay in the war zone.

there are a lot of blogs etc that post pictures or stories of IDF soldiers helping palestinians: shaking their hands and dressing their wounds. of course this happens. IDF soldiers are people as well(not to mention that they have mega public relations probably), but when captions on pictures are labelled "IDF soldier pets palestinian cat" we have to wonder how far people are willing to stretch to prove the soldier's humanity when governments and militaries do so little to protect that humanity in the first place.

wait wait wait... toronto pride ISN'T political?

this year pride toronto is selling t-shirts and merch that say "I BELONG" and "CAN'T STOP/WON' STOP" on them.. very interesting considering the following:

yesterday at rabble andrew brett wrote about how "pro-israel" lobbyists(b'nai brith) threatened the government and corporate sponsorship of the toronto pride festival unless pride bans pro-palestinian marchers from participating in the parade.

apparently martin gladstone has met with and written to the pride committee many times asking them to ban queers against israeli apartheid( a totally legit group, btw), claiming that their presence has "very eerie parallels to nazi germany"

umm... you know what else has parallels to nazi germany? banning groups from participating in their community's own parade and festivities and punishing people for their political beliefs by pulling these seedy and totally unethical 'im holding your funding hostage' moves.

remember how under the nazis homosexuals were also persecuted?

b'nai brith did this last year as well after pro-palestinian marchers participated in pride i guess this year they're threatening to "go after funding from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, the City of Toronto, Heritage Canada, and corporate sponsorships."

gladstone has said that the city of toronto and td canada trust, who are major sponsors of the event, have both contacted the pride committee and expressed their "opposition to the inclusion of the anti-apartheid contingent."

this morning an update was posted that pride banned queers against israeli apartheid. according to their statement
"Pride Toronto wishes to state publicly that it is a non-partisan organization created to serve the LGBTTIQQ2S* community of Toronto in all its cultural, religious, ethnic and sexual diversity. The organization does not have any affiliations whatsoever to political entities or causes."

complete and total fucking bullshit. really? the organization does not have any affiliations whatsoever to political entities or causes? what about the corporations whose money you're beholden to, those corporations ARE affiliated to political entities and causes and by affiliation pride is as well.

also, thanks pride for deciding who and who may not participate in an event that is supposed to be inclusive.

ANYONE who is participating in toronto pride this year should not do so unless they contact pride and tell them how disgusted they are with their decision. pride is pride, and queer political groups should have just as much right to march as anyone else--queer political groups are the most targeted, the most marginalized, and the most willing to go to the frontlines to fight for queer rights and pride toronto is just going to ban them?

right, because its just better to fucking plaster yourself with corporate logos and glitter and strip your clothes off down church street because pride "isn't political."

like it or not it IS political and this decision sets a disgusting precedent that noone should feel settled with. queer and gay rights don't exist in a vacuum, they are intrinsically linked to political and human rights across the globe and to ignore this issue and just march around all day pretending that all is well with the world is not only lieing to yourself and your community but also being totally complicit.

do something, we don't let people tell us who we can fuck or love so why is it alright for the pride committee itself to ban people from participating in their own fucking parade!?

this is a list of pride's sponsors(including bud light, pepsi, pizza pizza, yellowtail, trojan, and via rail), pick one, send them an email:

http://www.pridetoronto.com/sponsor/sponsors/

city of toronto helped this happen? write the mayor and tell him what a douchebag move this is:

mayor_miller@toronto.ca

td bank put the pressure on? if you're a client call your bank, i am a td client and i'm going to call today and tell them i'm closing my account with them:

phone: 1-866-222-3456

email: td.capa@td.com

you can go here and contact b'nai brith directly: http://www.bnaibrith.ca/contactus.html

and let's not forget pride toronto, who would have us throw away our politics for one day in the sparkly corporate sponsored sun: office@pridetoronto.com

we think you a hater...

one of my friends sent me a link to a really great article written by rick salutin over at rabble about the accusation that israeli apartheid week(and its organizers, and those involved and attending events) are anti-semitic.

i was only able to attend the last event of the week: Turtle Island, South Africa to Palestine: The Struggle Continues, where Mike Krebs and Ronnie Kasrils discussed struggles for indigenous peoples in canada and the anti-apartheid movement in south africa in the context of israeli apartheid policy.

what i saw were deeply engaged and passionate people who had extensive knowledge of a complicated and complex issue--a knowledge and a passion that those accusing them of anti-semitism don't seem to possess.

these are people who welcome questions and dialogue, who have sacrificed so much to raise awareness and protect their and others right to hold events like this.

unlike the organizers and participants of IAW, Jason Kenny or Michael Ignatieff simply painted the entire week as a series of hate crimes without attending a single event themselves.

yet again we see the liberals and the conservatives align to show themselves as cowards and idiots who might as well be members of the same party.

prorogueing parliament, denying the coalition government's democratic right to govern, trying to push a sneaky budget that punishes students/allocates funding in a totally inappropriate way, a budget that makes it harder for women to access pay equity legislation, repressing student and labour movements and introducing dangerous legislation that undermines the right to strike, and using the economic crisis as justification for all of this are just a few examples of what we can continue to look forward to under the new liberal/conservative coalition.

and now this. calling israeli apartheid week anti-semitic is dangerous because it makes critique of israel's state policy off limits and as rick salutin writes at the end of his article critique of israel is important "because Israel is now a state among nations and must be held to account, not absolved for fear of igniting a new Holocaust"



""
Israel, apartheid, anti-Semites

by rick salutin

What is the sound of one side condemning? It's the media rendering of Israel Apartheid Week, now under way. B'nai Brith ran full-page newspaper ads asking universities to "prevent" it and the attendant "anti-Semitism on campus." There were no ads from organizers, so we didn't hear them being anti-Semitic in their own words -- or denying the charge.

Here's the Toronto Star's Rosie DiManno: "That detestable, despicable annual campus hate-fest ... Jew-bashing cloaked in self-righteousness ... students who don't recognize racism when they're spewing it."

I don't know if she meant to be ironic, spewing hate at the spewers. But I've talked with friends, Jewish and non, about these claims. They're disturbed, they don't want to witness the rise of a new horror. Here's my take.

Cabinet minister Jason Kenney calls Israel Apartheid Week "a systematic effort to delegitimize the democratic homeland of the Jewish people" by linking it to racism, a line virtually mouthed by Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff. That is way too cute. Any "settler state," such as Canada, which took someone else's land, can be seen as illegitimate. But it's an abstract point. "Apartheid" became widely used in this context only when Israel began building what came to be called an apartheid wall, looming over Palestinians, sequestering more land, cutting them off from each other.

The usage grew as Israel expanded settlements, built Israeli-only roads and set up checkpoints so Palestinians would at best be left with "Bantustans," such as those that apartheid South Africa offered blacks, rather than a true state of their own. A small but real Palestinian state would be accepted by almost everyone. The Arab League has offered peace in return for Israel just leaving the West Bank. Even Hamas has a (nuanced) position on living with Israel. You can look it up.

What of the "new anti-Semitism" that Jason Kenney says is "based on the notion that the Jews alone have no right to a homeland"? Well, who are these new anti-Semites? I never see names or quotations. Canada has always had anti-Semites, but they've felt no need to hide their hate behind a screen of anti-Israel criticism. Think of David Ahenakew. A cartoon banned from hallways at the University of Ottawa showed a helicopter marked Israel rocketing a kid in Gaza holding a teddy bear. It's crude, but that's cartooning. There's no anti-Semitism in it. A front-page National Post cartoon showing CUPE Ontario's Sid Ryan offering David Ahenakew a job was far more scurrilous. No one can say Sid Ryan embraces anti-Semites, though he criticizes Israel strongly. Opposition to Israel seems well delineated from anti-Semitism to me.

Most of the specifics come down to shouts at protests. As in: "Cries of 'Die, Jew' and 'Get the hell off campus' were heard." The Canadian Jewish Congress's Bernie Farber says he's "never" seen it this bad "on the streets of Toronto and university campuses." Well, I spend lots of time on streets in Toronto and it doesn't look like Kristallnacht to me. But wait, that's glib. It's these images that scare my friends: They evoke Nazi Germany. I know that.

But Nazi Germany wasn't about name-calling and group hate. Those will persist, perhaps always. The Holocaust occurred largely because anti-Semitism was historically rooted and respectable there: religiously, socially, intellectually, politically. Writers and politicians were proudly anti-Semitic. Here, anti-Semitism is unacceptable in all those ways. This whole debate proves it. We should be glad for that, and keep it in perspective.

Why does perspective matter? Because Israel is now a state among nations and must be held to account, not absolved for fear of igniting a new Holocaust. Israel Apartheid Week should be gauged on its critique of its subject, not anathematized due to shadows and terrors from another time.""

rosie dimanno gets the idiot prize once again..

Some highlights from DiManno's article today on Canada's vote at the UNHRC, entitled 'Canada a voice of integrity at UN':

"It is an increasing rarity for a country to do the right thing, boldly.
That is especially true from within the diplomatic bell jar of the United Nations, where tact and expedience so often trounce ethics.
Thus Canada is to be commended, rather than trashed, for voting against a preposterously imbalanced motion, courtesy of the agency's thoroughly discredited and Orwellian human rights council, a misnomer if ever one existed."

"Instead, predictably, the council used this moment of urgency to yet again display its warped sensibilities, cranking out a foolishly biased indictment of Israel while failing to include any acknowledgment of human rights violations by Hamas – provocateur of this crisis and at least equally responsible for the protracted harm being caused."

"Israel – a vigorous democracy, the only such creature in its geographical neighbourhood"

http://www.thestar.com/News/Columnist/article/570610