Open letter to Joyce Murray re: Israeli Apartheid Week

As I wait for my plane to Calgary then on to Toronto, I submitted the following to my Liberal MP Joyce Murray who recently criticized Israeli Apartheid Week as anti-Semitic, racist and intolerant:

Dear Ms. Murray,

It was with great disappointment that I read your recent statement Re: Israeli Apartheid Week. You state that "dissent and opposition to individual actions of the Israeli government are both legitimate and permitted," yet then make baseless accusations that the proponents of IAW are anti-Semitic, racist, and intolerant.

Please direct me to evidence that IAW seeks to destroy the state of Israel, and does not merely attempt to draw attention to the plight of the people of Palestine.

Many prominent Israeli’s consider the treatments of Palestine to be reminiscent of the South African Apartheid including former Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_and_the_apartheid_analogy#By_Israelis).

Pro-peace debates are what are needed, and the only side that is not at the table is the pro-Israeli side. This isn’t about Jews versus anti-Semites, it’s about two people’s rights to autonomously rule themselves.

Do the Liberal Party, and you personally support a two-state solution?

Ian Bushfield

The Canadian Witch Hunt

What could be more noble than “Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism?”

Well, that is, if they were based in reality.

Unfortunately, this multi-partisan committee throws around accusations that seem to lack any basis whatsoever. From their about page:

Antisemitism is not a new problem, however recorded incidents of antisemitism have been on the rise both locally and globally. Furthermore, the problem is now being manifested in ways never experienced before. While accusations of blood libel, or petty vandalism are still issues for the Jewish community, new fears have arisen especially for those who support the State of Israel. On campuses specifically, Jewish students are being threatened and intimidated to the point that they are not able to express themselves, or are even fearful to wear a Jewish skull cap or star around their necks. Antisemitism represents a break from Canadian values, which promote the rights of all individuals to practice their religion, educate themselves, and express themselves with security and freedom.

Despite the fact that Murray Dobbin at the Tyee calls bullshit on the “rise” in anti-Semitism, showing that the converse is true. I especially like how they specifically target campuses with some baseless examples of true discrimination (where’s the links to news stories or actual reports).

The best comes in their contradictions:

Antisemitism is an age-old phenomenon, yet it is always re-invented and manifested in different ways. For example, while accusations of blood libel are still being made against the Jewish people, instead they are being directed against the State of Israel, such that anti-Zionism is being used as a cover for antisemitism. [emphasis added]

..dissent and opposition to individual actions of the Israeli government are both permitted and encouraged in and outside of Israel, just as political dissent is permitted and encouraged with respect to any democratic nation.

So who’s on this? NDP MPs Pat Martin and Judy Waslycia-Leis are steering members, Vancouver Liberal MPs Joyce Murray (my own MP) and Hedy Fry are on the “Inquiry Panel.” And a number of Bloc and Conservatives. Of course, the inquisitor himself Jason Kenney chairs the whole party. We might expect groups from the Conservatives, but I didn’t expect this from some supposed “progressive” MPs.

So “Who is paying for/supporting the inquiry?”

We will voluntarily disclose all sources of funding.

But they never really say when they will release that information anywhere…

So let the witch-hunts begin. Because criticizing Israel in 2009 is equivalent to banning Jewish refugees in the 1930s. Note the difference: outright government discrimination in 1933 was okay, but debate on college campuses today is the real anti-Semitism.

And this is all to say nothing of the increasing number of Jewish communities that are coming out in criticism of Israel’s actions.

So contact the MPs on the list, ask them who funds the CPCCA and why they feel criticism of Israel is illegal.