This statement was rejected by both the Toronto Star
and the Globe and Mail (as an op-ed). Please help this
important statement get into broad circulation - pass
it on to your networks (faculty, community, MPs,
university presidents, unions etc.). You may also
wish to write to the Star and Globe editorials and
express your dismay that they have chosen not to
publish it.
Jewish Canadians Concerned About Suppression of Criticism of Israel
James Deutsch, M.D., Ph.D.
Judith Deutsch, M.S.W., R.S.W.
Miriam Garfinkle, M.D.
Over 150 Jewish Canadians signed a statement expressing their concerns about
the campaign to suppress criticism of Israel that is being carried on within
Canada. The signatories include many prominent Canadians, including Ursula
Franklin O.C., Anton Kuerti O.C., Naomi Klein, Dr. Gabor Mate, and
professors Meyer Brownstone (recipient of Pearson Peace Medal), Natalie
Zemon Davis, Michael Neumann, and Judy Rebick.
The signatories are particularly concerned that unfounded accusations of
anti-Semitism deflect attention from Israel’s accountability for what many
have called war crimes in Gaza. They state that B’nai Brith and the
Canadian Jewish Congress have led campaigns to silence criticism of Israel
on university campuses, in labor unions and in other groups. Immigration
Minister Jason Kenney and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff unquestioningly
echo the views of these particular Jewish organizations.
They strongly state that they are against all expressions of racism. While firmly committed to resisting any form of prejudice against Jewish people,
their statement explicitly states that these spurious allegations of
anti-Semitism bring the anti-Communist terror of the 1950s vividly to mind.
The statement underlines the immeasurable suffering and injustice to the
Palestinian people due to the severe poverty, daily humiliations, and
military invasions inflicted by the State of Israel.
- Linda Belanger
Statement: Jewish Canadians Concerned about Suppression
of Criticism of Israel
March 10, 2009
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
--
For more information contact:
James Deutsch, M.D., Ph.D.
Phone: 416-363-3751 Ext 2011
Email:
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Judith Deutsch, M.S.W., R.S.W.
Phone: 416 929-8180
Email:
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Miriam Garfinkle, M.D.
Phone: 416-897-0008
Email:
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Visit www.canpalnet-ottawa.org
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