Criticizing Israel Isn't Antisemitism
But a new coalition of MPs seems to say the two are one and the same.
'Anti-Zionism is being used as a cover for anti-Semitism': CPCCA
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Harper's Unmeasured Support for Israel
Why Canada is wrong to fan the flames.
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Rewriting Israel's Story
Nation's claim to moral high ground attacked by Israeli authors.
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Samson as Suicide Bomber
Victoria choir cast the Hebrew icon as a terrorist. This helps?
Ever since the Israeli invasion of the Gaza strip last December, the global debate surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has intensified with both sides upping the ante, and the stakes of the framing battle increasing almost daily. One of the most recent -- but almost totally unreported -- developments in Canada is something called the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA). It is not an official parliamentary body but is a multi-party, voluntary association of 13 MPs. It is currently holding an inquiry into anti-Semitism because, it says, "The extent and severity of antisemitism is widely regarded as at its worst level since the end of the Second World War."
In fact, antisemitic attitudes in the U.S. are at an all-time low according to Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, whose mandate is to monitor and expose anti-Semitism. Statistics Canada reports the number of hate crimes against Jews has been dropping since 2001-2002.
But of course, it all depends on how you define anti-Semitism. Jewish organizations from the Canadian Jewish Congress and Hillel to B'nai Brith have all been vigorously redefining this scourge to capture many more alleged perpetrators in its net of enemies. One of their targets is the handful of Canadian universities where pro-Palestinian activity has been intense.
But it goes far beyond just the universities. For the first time in decades, the unquestioned dominance of Israel's public relations machine and lobbying juggernaut is being seriously challenged. The characterization of Israel as an apartheid state is gaining much more credibility than Israel's supporters had ever anticipated. So is the international Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. These are very serious threats to Israel's credibility as "the only democratic state in the Middle East" -- one of its most powerful claims.
'Rebranding' after Gaza
Last December's brutal assault on Gaza by the Israeli army and air force -- and the deliberate targeting of civilians (as publicly confessed by the soldiers who did it) -- was a tipping point for many who had preferred to sit on the fence or decline to form a hard opinion. Those hard opinions are forming everywhere and the current government of Israel, led by the hard-line Benjamin Netanyahu, is only making things worse.
There have been two responses. The newest is what the Israeli government has referred to as "re-branding," and in part it involves "soft" stories about Israel -- like one I saw on the CBC shot from a beach in Israel where bathers had claimed they saw a mermaid. The most prominent example was the celebration of Tel Aviv's centennial by the Toronto Film Festival. Scores of prominent Jews (and thousands of others) protested.
The other response is conventional. It is the simple rule of all pro-Israeli organizations and activists: either declare outright or hint at the possibility that any individual criticizing Israel is antisemitic. Critics of Israel who are Jewish -- whose numbers are increasing dramatically -- are branded as "Jew-hating" Jews. The strategy has been extremely effective at intimidating potential critics into silence.
Who's on the CPCCA?
Which gets us back to the CPCCA. The 13-member group is co-chaired by Conservative Scott Reid* and Liberal Mario Silva and also boasts Winnipeg NDP MPs Pat Martin and Judy Wasylycia-Leis and Conservatives Jason Kenney and Peter Kent. Bob Rae and Ken Dryden are members and the Bloc is also represented. But it is effectively run by Kenney and the other ex-officio member, Liberal Irwin Cotler. Both Kenney and Cotler were in London, U.K. last February for the first meeting of European parliamentarians that lead to the "London Declaration" of which the CPCCA is the follow-up initiative.
The core message of the coalition is that criticism of Israel itself is now a new form of anti-Semitism. The group's website asks, "What is the 'new antisemitism'?" and answers:
"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."
There is no evidence or links to any evidence to support the claim.
In its FAQ section the coalition answers the question of whether or not its inquiry is "really about limiting legitimate criticism of the State of Israel?" No, says the web site: "dissent and opposition to individual actions of the Israeli government are both permitted and encouraged in and outside of Israel."
But not, apparently, inside the inquiry. The coalition formally invited written submissions and stated that "Based on these submissions, the committee will invite witnesses to testify at a series of public hearings." There was virtually no general publicity about the inquiry, but when word did get out, numerous submissions were made arguing against the Coalition's concept of a "new anti-Semitism." Yet not a single organization or individual known for criticism of Israel has been scheduled to make a presentation to the inquiry (it is holding eight meetings on Parliament Hill from Nov. 2 to Dec. 8).
It seems the fix is in: the conclusion of the inquiry has been pre-ordained. If you are a critic of Israel you are already, by definition, antisemitic and obviously not welcome.
Speech laws in the works?
The CPCCA's inquiry begs a lot of questions, not the least of which is where do they get their funding? The coalition says it does not receive any funding from the government, NGOs or Jewish community organizations. Their budget is considerable, judging by the fact that eight of the 20-odd witnesses so far scheduled to appear at the inquiry are being flown in from the U.K., the U.S., Germany and Israel. While the web site promises to reveal funding sources, none are so far listed.
More to the point, just what do the coalition's members hope will result from their proceedings? The CPCCA will make a report to the government and "anticipates that the Government will respond to it by the spring of 2010." That seems pretty specific, especially for a government that is not known for responding readily to outside groups. Has the government already agreed to respond to the report? Will its recommendations find their way into the criminal code?
There is good reason to fear such an eventuality. Jason Kenney -- the powerful Conservative ex-officio member of the coalition -- is the point man for Stephen Harper on issues involving Israel and as minister of immigration he personally blocked British MP George Galloway from speaking in Canada. He also eliminated the half million dollars in funding the Canadian Arab Federation used for settlement programs for new immigrants (and not just Muslims). He refused to provide any evidence justifying the move. Kenney told a Toronto audience to "...be wary of the rise of a new form of anti-Semitism cloaked in debates about Israel's actions in the Middle East."
It remains to be seen what the recommendations of the coalition will be, but its conclusions regarding a sweeping redefinition of anti-Semitism have already been drawn and incorporated into their inquiry process -- mortally damaging its credibility. The likelihood that the Harper government is working in lock-step with the coalition is high and the CPCCA's purpose may well be to prepare the ground for criminalizing criticism of Israel.
The remaining question is whether Jack Layton, Michael Ignatieff and Giles Duceppe will allow such an abomination to be reflected in any new legislation.
*Story corrected at 11:20 a.m., Nov. 19, 2009. ![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
Jeffrey J.
18-11-2009
Right wing on the rise in Israel
Mr. Dobbin explains the logical distinction between the rejection of right wing Israeili policies vs anti-semitism. It is long overdue. And many other writers agree with him. The attempt to blur the distinction between what Israel does as a country with what people of the Jewsish faith believe is an obvious fallacy.
Many, many tolerant Jewish peace groups have been saying this for year. The most analytical of these progressive groups (IMHO) is Gush Shalom, led by the venerable Prof. Uri Avnery. A former member of the Knesset and an officer in the army, he is deeply opposed to the right wing extremism rising in Isreal, where he lives. He is very concerned about racism within the government. His latest article is sobering.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1258253296/
There is an entire book exploring the topic Dobbin discusses, which I found extremely enlightening. "The Politics of Anti-Semitism" by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair, features over a dozen brilliant essays (by Jews and non-Jews alike), all who demolish the efforts to stifle open discussion about criticism of Israel's occupation of Palestine.
The painful, too-obvious irony of this event is almost beyond description. For most of us, the shoah Jewish people suffered in Nazi Germany remains heart-breaking to this day. But then, to see similar sentiments repeated by Isrealis against Palestinians...it's too awful for words.
While many Westerners failed to speak out in the 1930's, that doesn't permit us to remain quiet now. Tyranny of any nation is wrong, whether it occurs in Israel, the US, or right here in Canada. If we don't speak out now, history is pretty clear about what happens later.
shepsil
18-11-2009
Anti-Israelism is not Anti-Semitism
I think it is about being a victim, victimhood as it were and nobody wants to say just get over it. For me it is about Israel having their cake and eating it too. Israel constantly claims anti-semitism, when it is more about "anti-Israelism". The Israeli Gov't does not represent me as a Jew, nor do they represent all Jews. I think the world will make that distinction as we move forward. Anti-semitism is deeply rooted in the Jewish psyche. There's a joke where Jews claim they are the chosen ones and then plead with God about their constant persecution, "Could you choose someone else for once?"
This article further sheds some light on this issue.
make_up_another...
18-11-2009
The Best PR In The World
The lobbies in the US for Israel have been successfully steering policy for decades. Universities in the US have dedicated watchers, ever vigilant and ready to snuff out any sign of criticism, launching campaigns against any professor who goes against their will (google Ward Churchill), noteably David Horowitz's Freedom Center and Terrorism Awareness Project, aimed at combating leftist professors who might dare question Israeli policy.
The Israel lobby's most successful endeavour has been to maintain absolute monopoly on holocaust guilt. There have been other genocides, but no genocide can ever be allowed to take away attention from the Jewish holocaust. Look at how holocaust denial has been made a thoughtcrime, but what is holocaust denial? It doesn't matter, the definition can be shifted to meet any rising challenge to the Jewish monopoly on suffering.
I find it curious that so much is made of the suffering of Jews under the Nazis, for one, but then the Palestinians have been coralled into what amount to the world's largest open air prisons. Walled in, restricted, shot at, bombed and starved.
We have our own dirty history in Canada when it comes to First Nations, but imagine the criticism we would suffer as a nation if we regularly leveled native housing with missiles.
Somehow Israel has managed to become the victimizer whilst claiming victim status. Now that's PR. How can such a small nation have such a profound effect on policy around the world? Why do we allow them to dictate policy to us?
I hear on the CBC about the triumph of arresting African war criminals here and trying them under international law. It only applies to the despots of 3rd world nations however.
samuidave
19-11-2009
When the Israeli governme starts behaving humanely
I will stop being suspicious of their own genocidal intentions toward Palestine.
The UN confirms such behaviour loud and clear.
http://newmatilda.com/2009/10/21/reports-clear-findings-israeli-terrorism
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2009/09/15/UNFFMGCReport.pdf
bedebyes
19-11-2009
Criticising Israel is anti=semitic
So Canada, Australia, The US and many South American countries, all colonised by Eurpean Christianity can blithely run their apartheid policies even today against their native populations without a peep, but Israel, who face an enemy, sworn to anhialate them, unlike, lets say, the red Indians of Canada and Aborigines of Australia who are forced to live in sub standard housing with sub standard education and social welfare and are to be seen often wandering the streets of your cities, and one of your commentators actually says that Canada doesn't attack your concentration camps, oh sorry, reservations with missiles as Israel does, as though the Pawnee and Cherokees are running a murderous jihad against the white populations backed by Iran and other assorted nutters. Of course you Canadians wouldn't dream of pushing any Native Canadian off their land without even a by your leave in order to extract some oil would you because nobody cares. However I bet that if Canada had been colonised by the Jews as the Zionist State, the whole world would be screaming blue murder. And that's why this non stop delegitamization of Israel is anti semitic.
Fiat lux
19-11-2009
We're constantly criticizing
We're constantly criticizing Canadian government actions, not because we're anti, but pro-Canadians.
The same applies to Israel.
Ed Deak.
dorothy
19-11-2009
Sure we can criticize the Israelis
I'll do so any day, if they should ever do anything reprehensible...
coyoteman
19-11-2009
The Arab Sea...
"The Israeli Gov't does not represent me as a Jew, nor do they represent all Jews. I think the world will make that distinction as we move forward."
And I read and hear more realistic Jews saying that all the time.
I think the real test, however, is going to come once the "two state solution" notion is finally abandoned. Which is now if not already effectively dead, is in its final death throes, and there is recognition by the Jews of Israel, that they are already a single state with the greater part of its population living in a ghettoized state of apartheid in Gaza, and elsewhere in the Arab world around it, no different than the old South Africa. (That Canada still also practises a kind of apartheid as well, against its own Native population, still does not make Israel right... only that we are both wrong and racist toward our native populations.)
Once there is a recognition by all the participants to Israel/Palestine, that it is in fact a "single state", then one can get to seriously discussing the "right of return" of the expelled Palestinian population, which will then be the majority of the state, of course. But which will allow at least, Israel/Palestine to get down to being a "normalized" democracy like any other, as inadequate as this is, in what currently passes for the civilized world.
Wherein the Jews will just have to accept as part of a single state normalization,that they are still as they were at the time of their expulsion through terror of the Palestinian diaspora population, a minority. Which is going to be hard for them to accept of course,and which is why this process could well run until their main enabler, the US Empire, is finally driven out of the Middle East itself, and the Jews of Israel are finally forced to face the fact that they are on their own as a small Jewish fish needing to swim and exist in an Arab sea.
Fiat lux
19-11-2009
What we should remember is
What we should remember is that wars are not fought between peoples and countries, but between governments pushing religions and ideologies on others and forcing their own people to climb the scaling ladders in the defence and promotion of "prophets".
Get rid of theorists, prophets, priests and ideologues and it will stop conflicts and wars.
Ed Deak.
freebear
19-11-2009
The same strategy is used when you say that you do not support
the war in Iraq; Afghanistan, etc. - oh your not a patriot; you do not support our troops (another matter entirely-troops are supported-just no support for waht they are 'ordered' to do); you are a taliban sympathizer; etc.
In a sense you are bullied for criticizing the war; or the Israeli government actions (more settlements in East Jerusalem; etc.).
Its similar to a SLAP suit, where they intimidate financially by dragging you to court; legal bullying so to speak!
Skywalker
19-11-2009
Arabs are Semites as well.
I sometimes wonder how the term "semite" was usurped by the Israelies. To be anti-semitic by definition also includes being anti-Arab yet that part is never mentioned. Perhaps we should be more specific and talk about being against Israeli domestic policy or being against their treatment of the Arabs within their control.
That being said, nothing that happened to Jews justifies their treatment of the Arabs in Gaza. I have no doubt that Israels lack of conciliation will cause much more pain and suffering to both sides of the conflict.
Simple Simon
19-11-2009
Remember Rachel Corrie?
Yeah, it's pretty hard to support a government or a state that condones bulldozing people, their houses and the non-violent protestors protecting them. Even if there might be secret tunnels for arms smuggling underneath them.
Sarah L
19-11-2009
Thank you so much for writing this
As a Jew who does not support Israel's oppressive, violent practices, I am constantly frustrated by the idea that criticism of Israel is anti-Semitism, and also by the erroneous claims of increasing anti-Semitism. You end up with weird scenarios like police hate crimes unit in Vancouver prioritizing anti-Semitic violence when actually I would imagine that hate crimes against people because they are native, or because they are poor, or because they are women, are much more common. It disturbs me to see right-wing Jews struggling to prove how victimized Jews are. A) it's not true when seen in context of all oppressed groups, B) it's a very effective tactic to shut critics up, and is consciously used for that purpose and C) why keep fighting for oppressed status instead of celebrating your success and using it to help others, which is what many progressive, activist Jews seem to be doing.
shepsil
19-11-2009
My blind support of the Israeli "Gov't" was changed by this show
I was brought up believing Israel and being Jewish were the same thing, that Israel could do no wrong after the thousands of years of persecution. But that blind support for Israel changed when I saw Ralph Benmergui's 5 part series on Vision TV, My Israel shows a very different viewpoint of Israeli gov't policies. In particular this segment. You can probably watch the whole series online, very eye opening!
slim
19-11-2009
"No, says the web site:
"No, says the web site: 'dissent and opposition to individual actions of the Israeli government are both permitted and encouraged in and outside of Israel.'"
Thankfully, this group has given us "permission" to criticize Israel.
I'll have to write letters asking a group of Italian-Canadians if I can get permission to criticize Italy. I wouldn't want to offend Roman Catholics.
on ways to pleasure
19-11-2009
to "make up"
Sorry, didn't mean to mark your comments as offensive.Commenting on your post- indeed, we all here are occupants of the native land. the difference is it happened 400 y ago and in Palestine just about 60. Could you imagine having rockets falling on your house sent from a native reserve? they used to live together in peace /or almost so/ before the creation of the state in 48 and now on both sides there are some power people interested in the conflict to go on..."money, money, money...it's a rich men's world". both nations suffer for the interest of the third party/s/. the difference is- Israel never had promoted to erase Gaza from the map. also, there's a new book coming out by Shlomo Sand, check on google or wikipedia.
chers
punkaintded
19-11-2009
First, the definition of
First, the definition of Semite does not refer only to Jews, historically, Arabs were also considered Semites. (so who's anti-semetic now? harhar!) If all the Jews lived in Israel, or even a majority of the Jewish population lived in Israel, the argument might be valid. But criticizing the policies of Israel towards the Palestinians is no different than criticizing the actions of our Canadian government. Unless somebody says something that is outright hateful, it freedom of speech.
soleprobe
19-11-2009
"Israel never had promoted to erase Gaza from the map"
Neither did Palestinians or Iranians
Actual quote:
"The Imam said this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time."
Word by word translation:
Imam (Khomeini) ghoft (said) een (this) rezhim-e (regime) ishghalgar-e (occupying) qods (Jerusalem) bayad (must) az safheh-ye ruzgar (from page of time) mahv shavad (vanish from).
Origin of "Wipe Israel off the Map" Breakdown:
Location: World Economic Forum in Davos
Ahmadinejad never used the word "map," The closest translation: "The regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time,"
He was referring to the Zionist regime occupying Israel. He was expressing hope the Zionists regime occupying Israel would fall. It’s the same as saying Churchill wanted to kill all Germans when he stated his desire to crush the nazis.
The acceptance of the word "map" seemingly originated with the New York Times, who later had to back away from this false translation. The BBC also wrongly used the word and, in comments to Steele, later accepted their mistake but refused to issue a retraction.
The fact that he compared his desired option - the elimination of "the regime occupying Jerusalem" - with the fall of the Shah's regime in Iran makes it crystal clear that he is talking about regime change, not the end of Israel.
Although he quoted Khomeini to affirm his own position on Zionism, the actual words belong to Khomeini and not Ahmadinejad.
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/norouzi.php?articleid=11025
RickOshea
19-11-2009
The Israel/Likud Lobby
Given Israel's barbaric, racist treatment of the Palestinians and their war mongering posture towards the rest of their Islamic neighbors (Iran, Lebanon, etc), the state of Israel needs to be treated as the pariah the are.
The C.R.A.Party's obsequiousness to the Likud Lobby has become legendary throughout the world and the Liberals compete for the affection and money of these special interest groups so you would expect their participation in this fools' errand but the NDP?
I find this bizarre; what the hell is Layton thinking?
kaplan_eugene
19-11-2009
Another viewpoint
To get a much clearer perspective of the Goldstone Report as well as the wider issues contained in the present article, here's a link to a little known magazine called The Economist. I encourage Mr. Dobbin to read it for his next exposé.
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14455609
straightshooter
19-11-2009
Kaplan-Eugene
Of course, the Goldstone Report was only one documented report regarding "Operation Cast Lead." Here's a brief excerpt from Amnesty International's issued on 2 July 2009:
“More than 3,000 homes were destroyed and some 20,000 damaged in Israeli attacks which reduced entire neighborhoods of Gaza to rubble and left an already dire economic situation in ruins. Much of the destruction was wanton and could not be justified on grounds of ‘military necessity.’" Amnesty also noted that “During Operation ‘Cast Lead’ Israeli forces made extensive use of white phosphorus, often launched from 155mm artillery shells, in residential areas causing death and injuries to civilians. Homes, schools, medical facilities and UN buildings – all civilian objects – took direct hits.”
As for Israel, it suffered some damaged buildings and 13 dead, including three civilians from rocket fire and three soldiers killed in a friendly-fire incident. For each Israeli killed, over 100 Palestinians perished.
Janie Jones
19-11-2009
Mummy! Daddy! We want to become war criminals!
So in order to increase the amount of antisemitism in the world, the ADL want to expand the definition to include any bad thoughts about Israel whatsoever.
Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East with Jews Only roads.
One Jewish writer, Sever Plocker, asked in Israel Opinion online at Ynet, how it is that, "An Israeli student finishes high school without ever hearing the name "Genrikh Yagoda," the greatest Jewish murderer of the 20th Century, the GPU's deputy commander and the founder and commander of the NKVD. Yagoda diligently implemented Stalin's collectivization orders and is responsible for the deaths of at least 10 million people. His Jewish deputies established and managed the Gulag system."
Into which millions of innocent Russians, my mother's family among them, were enslaved and died under the most brutal conditions imaginable from starvation, exposure and whatever savage whim their inhuman captors inflicted upon them.
Plocker concludes, "Many Jews sold their soul to the devil of the Communist revolution and have blood on their hands for eternity."
Gaza revealed those bloodstained hidden hands for all the world to see.
And thanks to the weight of the Goldstone Report, a group of South African lawyers are investigating "South African citizens who may have fought for the Israeli army during the war on Gaza with a view to prosecuting them on South African soil for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
"We've identified about 75 South Africans who we believe served in the IDF at one point or the other," one of them said.
"We believe that there is prima facae evidence against all of them. We have informants from South African police stations, whose identity we are currently protecting for their safety, who have pinpointed which of their fellow South African police force reservists went to Gaza to fight in the war. We have pictorial evidence as well."
Apparently they put their crimes up on Facebook.
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/10/200910298247857309.html
I can hardly wait until Irwin Cotler's daughters are convicted of crimes against humanity. He was in Israel last winter bragging about how proud he was that both older daughters had decided "to go on aliyeh (and) do what Israeli's do, join the army."
At 6:30:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi3V_4TA-Y8&feature=related
Why are the daughters of Canada's former Minister of Justice and Attorney General joining Israel's army. Which is their country Canada or Israel?
snert
19-11-2009
bedebyes
Just because one thinks that Israel is a canker sore on the face of the planet does not mean that one hates Jews or is anti-Semitic.
Far too many people of all beliefs have had their lives snuffed out because of those that think the 'promised land' truly belongs only to them, in perpetuity.
carfreed
19-11-2009
anti Muslim
Our dear leaders want to be on the side that wins them votes
.Does anybody know which party Muslims support in Canada?
And Jews can't be terrorists can they?
zalm
20-11-2009
Justice working for justice
Excellent thoughts, shepsil, and thanks for the links. Very thought-provoking.
It's important to remember there is no monolithic Jewish entity in Israel, just as there is no monolithic Canadian identity, as we prove every election. There's a wide variety of thought, social justice and action there, only it's difficult to see it from here, what with our liver-spotted CBC and our entirely flaccid print media to inform us. One has to find other sources...
Such as the always-excellent Jonathan Cook - former Beeb journalist now on his own and living in northern Israel and the Occupied Territories. His always-excellent articles detail slices of life for the less-privileged in that part of the world, with dispassionate prose.
Here, Cook details one minor victory for justice in Israel where a judge treats a youthful Arab offender in the same manner as youthful Jewish nationalists and lets him off. The article succinctly describes what a revolution this is, identifying correctly that two systems of justice exist there: one, benevolent and even-handed, nay, even enlightened, for Jewish citizens, and the other malevolent and backhanded and extraordinarily harsh for Arabs, Palestinians, Muslims and Christians.
Will this shake the confidence of the current rulers of Israel in the invincibility of their own false narrative? Hardly. But it does much to show the rest of the world that Jews the world over remain in the vanguard of those seeking social justice for all, the world over.
And that will be the hardest thing for Kenney, Cotler et al to ignore. All that remains is to have it shoved into their faces a few more times. And a few more times after that. And again, until they tire of it, or wake up and see what the world looks like outside the pages of a Leon Uris novel.
I'd like to hear that apology now, Dorothy.
zalm
20-11-2009
One Canadian travesty
...that remains unaddressed is the disgusting support for a mythical Israel espoused by Canadian Christian Zionists. Not above open war-mongering totally at odds with Christian doctrine, these churches provide funds, travel and media coverage of unqualified cheerleading for every official act of Israel's governments if it even looks like it might bring them one step closer to the world-ending Armageddon so beloved of this hopeless set of believers.
This is one Christian group I will take particular pains to insult, mostly for abusing Christian scriptures so abominably, and for being such sheep to their pastoral leaders who themselves are demagogues of the worst order, putting the loudest of the Pharisees of Jesus' time to shame. Some of them are politically active in this area, and as a result, should have their charitable status with Revenue Canada revoked just as dozens of other organizations do every year, from Tamil Tigers funders to white-supremacist groups.
I would have provided an example from my own (Mennonite) tradition of a church in Langley that, with the hiring of an American Christian-Zionist pastor a few years ago, took the church deep into Christian Zionism, so deeply that they would fly the Israeli flag at the front of the church hall. Half the church left, and it would appear that some wise words of counsel from the community at large may have penetrated some thick skulls, because the blatant Israeli propaganda and flags are now removed from their website, and they seem to be engaging more in the normal kinds of things that churches do for each other, if not for the oppressed.
So much more should be done to all other Christian Zionist churches still enjoying tax-free status in Canada. This might kick one more crutch out from under Senator Kenney's wheelchair and force him to do his own thinking for once.
R.B. Glennie
20-11-2009
This column is...
dross, like everything else that Murray Dobbin writes.
And, as I anticipated, I only had to skim to discover errors -
quote - "For the first time in decades, the unquestioned dominance of Israel's public relations machine and lobbying juggernaut is being seriously challenged."
For the first time in decades!!!!????
For the first time in decades it is anti-Israeli propaganda that is being challenged at the MANY (most, not a `handful') of universities where the Palestinian `narrative' (ie. propaganda) goes unchallenged and we get travesties like `Israeli Apartheid Week', the closing down of Netanyahu's speech by latter-day descendents of the brownshirts, the cancelling even of the leftists Israelis (oh, but I forgot, all Israelis are `right-wing Lukidnites...', how terrible of me...)
quote - *Last December's brutal assault on Gaza by the Israeli army and air force -- and the deliberate targeting of civilians (as publicly confessed by the soldiers who did it)*
Of course, Israel has been `brutally assaulted' by Hamas rockets for years, all to the silence of people like Murray dobbin, not to mention all the `Israeli apartheid activists' on campus...
As for `soldiers admitting they targetting civilians', in a word, bullshot: there were allegations that this was the case; they were investigated; they turned out be false and hearsay.
As for Jason Kenny cutting off Arab federation money `with no justifcation', it was exactly bec. the Arab Fed. referred to Kenny as a `whore'. This is not the kind of garbage that taxpayers' money should be supporting - an organization that acts like a shill for terrorism.
what's hilarious is this line: "There is no evidence or links to any evidence to support the claim."
Which is, of course, exactly the case with this piece of yellow garbage...
Wanna see anti-semitism: just go to a demonstration where you'll see signs `Death to Jews' (or in one famous case, `Death to juice..')
go to the comments section fo babble, the Puffinton Host, daily kos or any other outlet of the Left-Wing noise machine.
Let's remember all the other libels that have been lodged against Israel and Jews over the last few years:
-the Jenin `massacre'
-the murder of the little boy
-the murder of a family on a Gaza beach
-the unsubstantiated smears that find their way into pieces like one above...
ps - I know this posting will last about two and a half minutes before it is flagged `inappropriate' and removed - wouldn't want anyone to have a different opinion now would we?
R.B. Glennie
20-11-2009
no anti-semitism here, I guess
@ janie jones -
"An Israeli student finishes high school without ever hearing the name "Genrikh Yagoda," the greatest Jewish murderer of the 20th Century, the GPU's deputy commander and the founder and commander of the NKVD. Yagoda diligently implemented Stalin's collectivization orders and is responsible for the deaths of at least 10 million people. His Jewish deputies established and managed the Gulag system."
Excuse me...
why is that Israeli children, or any Jewish children, should know the name of this individual?
What does his being Jewish have to do with the fact that he was a Bolshevik?
This is, I'm afraid, dangerously close to the Nazi formulation that bolshevism is a `Jewish movement...'
Some news for you, one with the Russian name of Janie Jones -
Stalin - not Jewish. In fact, in the closing days of his life, planning to exile or wipe out Russia's Jewish population..
Leinin - again not Jewish.
Trotsky - a Jew, of course - one who had long forsaken his Judaism, and put his lot with the religion of Marxism. And, as we know, was exiled from Russia in 1929 and murdered by Stalin in 1940.
In fact, Stalin pretty much killed off or exile all Jews who had belonged to the Bolshevik movement when it came to power...
Yeah, but no anti-semitism in the `anti-zionist' movement... nope, not here, not us, no way...
And yes, I know again: will be flagged as inappropriate and removed.