Op-ed: Jewish Canadians concerned about suppression of criticism of Israel

The statement below was rejected as an op-ed by the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star, according to a March 16, 2009, statement posted at Independent Jewish Voices (Canada) and e-mails obtained by the Straight.

Jewish Canadians Concerned about Suppression of Criticism of Israel

We are Jewish Canadians concerned about all expressions of racism, anti-Semitism, and social injustice. We believe that the Holocaust legacy "Never again" means never again for all peoples. It is a tragic turn of history that the State of Israel, with its ideals of democracy and its dream of being a safe haven for Jewish people, causes immeasurable suffering and injustice to the Palestinian people.

We are appalled by recent attempts of prominent Jewish organizations and leading Canadian politicians to silence protest against the State of Israel. We are alarmed by the escalation of fear tactics. Charges that those organizing Israel Apartheid Week or supporting an academic boycott of Israel are anti-Semites promoting hatred bring the anti-Communist terror of the 1950s vividly to mind. We believe this serves to deflect attention from Israel’s flagrant violations of international humanitarian law.

B’nai Brith and the Canadian Jewish Congress have pressured university presidents and administrations to silence debate and discussion specifically regarding Palestine/Israel. In a full-page ad in a national newspaper, B’nai Brith urged donors to withhold funds from universities because "anti-Semitic hate fests" were being allowed on campuses. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff have echoed these arguments. While university administrators have resisted demands to shut down Israel Apartheid week, some Ontario university presidents have bowed to this disinformation campaign by suspending and fining students, confiscating posters, and infringing on free speech.

We do not believe that Israel acts in self-defense. Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign aid, receiving $3 million/day. It has the fourth strongest army in the world. Before the invasion of Gaza on 27 December 2008, Israel’s siege had already created a humanitarian catastrophe there, with severe impoverishment, malnutrition, and destroyed infrastructure. It is crucial that forums for discussion of Israel’s accountability to the international community for what many have called war crimes be allowed to proceed unrestricted by specious claims of anti-Semitism.

We recognize that anti-Semitism is a reality in Canada as elsewhere, and we are fully committed to resisting any act of hatred against Jews. At the same time, we condemn false charges of anti-Semitism against student organizations, unions, and other groups and people exercising their democratic right to freedom of speech and association regarding legitimate criticism of the State of Israel.

Signatories:

Abigail Bakan, Adam Balsam, Sharon Baltman, Julia Barnett, Lainie Basman, Jody Berland, Sam Blatt, Geri Blinik, Anita Block, Elizabeth Block, Sheila Block, Hannah Briemberg, Mark Brill, Stephen Brot, Meyer Brownstone, Eliza Burroughs, Smadar Carmon, Gyda Chud, Charles P. Cohen, Nathalie Cohen, David Copeland, Natalie Zemon Davis, Eliza Deutsch, James Deutsch, Judith Deutsch, Abbe Edelson, Jack Etkin, Elle Flanders, Danielle Frank, Ursula Franklin, Dan Freeman-Maloy, Miriam Garfinkle, Alisa Gayle, Jack Gegenberg, Mark Golden, Brenda Goldstein, Sue Goldstein, Cy Gonick, Marnina Gonick, Rachel Gotthilf, Amy Gottleib, Kevin A. Gould, Daina Green, Lisa Frances Greenspoon, Ricardo Grinspun, Cathy Gulkin, Rachel Gurofsky, Deboran Guterman, Yesse Gutman, Freda Guttman, Judy Haiven, Michael Hanna-Fein, Jean Hanson, Jan Heynen, Maria Heynen, Adam Hofmann, Jake Javanshir, Jeannie Kamins, Marylin Kanee, Howard S. Kaplan, Gilda Katz. Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta, Mira Khazzam, Bonnie Sher Klein, Mark Klein, Martin Klein, Naomi Klein, Joshua Katz-Rosene, Ryan Katz-Rosene, Judy Koch, Anton Kuerti, Jason Kunin, Aaron Lakoff, Michael Lambek, Natalie LaRoche, Richard Borshay Lee, Andy Lehrer, Gabriel Levin, Gabriel Levine, Joel Lexchin, Kim Linekin, Abby Lippman, Lee Lorch, Martin Lukacs, Audrey Macklin, Elise Maltin, Richard Marcuse, Wayne Mark, Gabor Mate, Arthur Milner, Anna Miransky, Dorit Naaman, Joanne Naiman, Neil Naiman, Michael Neumann, David-Marc Newman, David Noble, Clare O’Connor, Robin Ostow, Andre W. Payant, Jenny Peto, Simone Powell, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Fabienne Presentey, Yacov Rabkin, Diana Ralph, Naomi Rankin, Judy Rebick, Ester Reiter, Jillian Rogin, Richard Roman, Joseph Rosen, Herman Rosenfeld, Martha Roth, Marty Roth, Ruben Roth, E.Natalie Rothman, B. Sack, Ben Saifer, Miriam Sampaio, Jacob Scheir, Fred Schloessinger, Alan Sears, Shlomit Segal, Edward H. Shaffer, Noa Shaindlinger, Ray Shankman, Eva Sharell, Elliot Shek, Sid Shniad, Max Silverman, Samuel Singer, Elizabeth Solloway, Susan Starkman, Greg Starr, Jonathan Sterne, Jeremy Stolow, Rhonda Sussman, Vera Szoke, Joe Tannenbaum, Howard Tessler, Marion Traub-Werner, Ceyda Turan, Sandra Tychsen, Cheryl Wagner, Jon McPhedran Waitzer, David Wall, Naomi Binder Wall, Kathy Wazana, Karen Weisberg, Barry Weisleder, Paul Weinberg, Judith Weisman, Suzanne Weiss, Abraham Weizfeld, Ernie Yacub, B.H. Yael, Yedida Zalik, Melvin Zimmerman

Comments

7 Comments

Truth

Mar 16, 2009 at 3:52pm

Explained in the article, is that Israel is the 4th most powerful army in the world. It is a recipient of U.S. military aid to the tune of 3 million dollars a day. We have seen the military prowess in action displayed in Lebanon in 2006. We also know that 1,000's of rockets have rained down on Israel from Gaza. This was a provocation of war by Hamas, and hence Israel's response was certainly expected. My first question is why would Hamas do this given the highly expected response by Israel? The second question, why is there a transgression of anger to Israel and away from Hamas by the mass media given that Hamas antagonized Israel? The third question is why did Egypt not open the boarder to minimize Palestinian casualties? My fourth question is why is it that we are not boycotting, divesting, and sanctioning the Palestinians because the Fatah bombed the Islamic University in Gaza in 2007 of which is stated that Israel bombed in this current conflict. The fifth question is why did we not hear about Fatah bombing the Islamic University in our newspapers?

Travis Lupick

Mar 16, 2009 at 4:06pm

A quick clarification: The 2006 Israel-Lebanon war involved Hezbollah, not Hamas. And Hezbollah was firing rockets into Israel from southern Lebanon, not Gaza.

Danfreedmn

Mar 16, 2009 at 8:53pm

Nowhere do the authors say that Israel has a right to exist. It's a key issue, and their silence is telling.

just laugh

Mar 19, 2009 at 8:31am

I want to congratulate The Straight for publishing this story. The Jewish Organizations named, have a history of stifling speech. Like Noam Chomsky says: "If we don't believe in freedom of speech for people we despise, we don't believe in freedom of speech at all." The history of Zionism is one of repression of freedom of speech. And their supporters are doing a great disservice to Jewish people in general and to the whole of humanity.
The way things are I fear for the reaction when the pendulum of 60 years of oppression will swing back. The CIA just released a report that casts doubts about the state of Israel : http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=88491&sectionid=351020202
It is about time to call a spade a spade: Israel is running an apartheid regime and is there for the world to see. We don't need to talk about it. Is very visible. However there is hope for an end to the Occupation and a change for the better.

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Khrishnamurti

just laugh

Mar 19, 2009 at 8:50am

We have to ask the most unquestioned question: Why the Palestinians and Arabs in general have to pay for the terror created by Europeans and Japanese on the Second World War II? Why a state for the Roma and Sinti has not been proposed? Why Germany has not been obliged to pay reparations for the countries it attacked? Why are all this questions not answered?
Because Israel was a perfect Trojan Horse for robbing Arabs of the OIl and other resources and as a Intelligence Officer said: It is cheaper for the US to pay for Israel to do the dirty work that the US would be in trouble for doing it, i.e. supporting death squads and the Mano Blanca, supporting of the Apartheid Regime in South Africa, etc

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Khrishnamurti

Rockford

Mar 20, 2009 at 7:21am

Support is growing.
Since this statement was first released more people have come forth to sign it and express their support. The updated version of the statement with the new signatures as they are added is available at Sources at
http://www.sources.com/Releases/NR256.htm

jafortier

Mar 20, 2009 at 12:49pm

This article begs the question as to whether Independant Jewish Voices and other groups are anti-Semitic.
If their focus is only on Israel's faults and the innocence and victimhood of the Palestinians, then they may be, or tend to be racist.
If they ignore the thousands of missles fired at Israel that precipitated the IDF response, then they may be biased.
If they focus on the 600,000 Arab Palestinians that fled the Arab attack on Israel in 1948, do they also point out the 900,000 Jews that were expelled from Arab countries and Iran?
Do they note the 700,000 Christians forced out by the Palestinian occupation of Lebanon?
Do they acknowledge that the PLO forced out 80% of Bethlehem's Christians?
When IJV participates in the ISM-led Israel Apartheid events that infect our universities and trade unions, do they study, teach, read and discuss the positives and negatives of both the Arabs and Israelis? If they do not, they are anti-Semitic.
The Canadian government takes an even-handed approach to the conflict. Canadians want to see peace in the region, with 2 states living side by side. If IJV and ISM do not promote the 2-state solution, be suspicious.