And, just in time for Israeli Apartheid Week

The 18th Knesset has been sworn in and I would just like to post a picture of Kadima MK Shlomo Mula so the next time you read or hear the phrase ‘Israeli Apartheid’ you remember him.


MK Shlomo Mula has a rather poignant and compelling life story which only underscores why Israel was founded and must remain the Jewish homeland. I don’t mean to suggest Israel is a land free of prejudice or bigotry but it is also a land where the dreams and aspirations of a exile can be met with hope and opportunity.

Fruit of the Poisoned Tree - Part 2

Last night was parent-teacher interviews. It was not one of my more stellar parenting moments. My son and I ended up in one of those parent-teen rip-roaring agruments which I have learned from experience just doesn’t go well for anyone. We were in one of his teacher’s office discussing what she felt was impeding my son from progressing academically in her class. She characterized his attitude towards the subject material as being one of constant mockery and ridicule. He claimed he was just expressing and exercising his critical thinking skills.

I made, what I thought was a rather benign statement, suggesting that mockery and ridicule, while critical in nature, is not necessarily observing any given issue with a critical eye. Mocking and ridicule are about taking sides or positions on any given issue while critical thinking requires an objective eye to observe and examine an issue from inside out, and therefore, requires one maintain a degree of objectivity. We haven’t had an all-out, rip-roaring argument like this since he took to reading the Talmud in secret last year and we got into an argument which lasted weeks concerning whether it was necessary to lie to be dishonest.

Yes, this kind of argument and hairspliting, which passes as standard fare at Chateau Kateland. Welcome to my family. Honestly, somedays its like living with the entire Law Society of Upper Canada contained within 8 rooms. So what brings this on? Well, Dr. Dawg, has this to say on his blog about something I wrote and I quote.

And do check out Kateland's riposte at Dust My Broom. I'd like to respond, but I'm banned there.* Suffice it to say that her account is flawed in a number of respects: it uses dubious testimony, and incidents elsewhere, to justify the suppression of a poster on the campus of Carleton University. One doesn't have to be a free speech absolutist to see where that kind of argument leads us.

Now to give the good Dawg credit, he does tack on a small note at the bottom of his post stating he is not banned from commenting at The Last Amazon where I run my own blog. But what irks me is how quickly he rushes into judgment and hints at mockery. For example, “dubious testimony” and “incidents elsewhere to justify the suppression of a poster”.

What dubious testimony? I hardly think two video links showing some pro-Palestinian demonstrators in action last month in Toronto and Montreal can rightly claim the mantle of dubious testimony – unless he means to imply one should never observe those tapes and make the mistake using one’s lying eyes and ears while watching.

Or perhaps, he is calling the eyewitness account of Sara Ahronheim who experienced the riot at Concordia University first hand and her experience as reported at Aish dubious. I did a summarily search this morning on Sara Ahronheim and found absolutely nothing which would cast doubt on her character or her experience at the Concordia riot or Aish. If anyone can find evidence to the contrary – do share.

So if there is no evidence to presume the character of Sara Ahronheim is dubious, I’m not quite sure what Dawg is implying here, unless it is because Sara Ahronheim is a Jew, and therefore, her character should be assumed to naturally be dubious or was it because her account was reported in a well-known Jewish online journal, and without evidence supplied to the contrary, is he suggesting the Jewish journal should be innately suspect and therefore judged dubious. Then there is the report carried in Hillel of Greater Toronto and penned by Daniel Ferman concerning recent events at York University in Toronto. It was also widely reported in other news outlets but I choose Hillel, because it is a well-known Jewish campus community group. It is Hillel or Daniel Ferman whose nature and character are deemed to be ‘dubious’, and again for what reason? Either way this doesn’t smell good on the Dawg’s behalf.

Now as far as the events from elsewhere charge goes, I decided to do a little online summary research into the state of relations for Jews at Carleton University and found this article at the Canadian Jewish News and written by someone who was a Jewish student at Carleton.

Staring at the swastikas drawn on my campaign posters, my first reaction was sadness and regret. It was February 2007, and I was running for student body president at Carleton University. Another one of my posters had a Hitler moustache drawn on my face. I had two options at the time. One, take the posters down and replace them without raising a ruckus. Two, lodge an official complaint with the chief electoral officer, go to the media and make it an issue. I chose the first option.

I decided from the outset that I did not want my religion to be an issue. I did not want my positive campaign for change in student leadership to be defined by anti-Semitism. It was a missed opportunity on my part to shed light on an emerging problem on campuses across Canada: a rise in anti-Semitism.

(…)Most of my colleagues at Carleton either don’t think anti-Semitism is truly a problem or don’t see the point of raising it as an issue. At one Shabbat dinner I attended with three members of the Jewish fraternity in Ottawa, I speculated about ideas for my next column. I suggested anti-Semitism on campus, and one friend immediately stated his opposition to the idea, before recalling his own brush with anti-Semitism in first year when someone drew a swastika on his dorm room door. The sudden flashback gave him pause.

The desire on the part of many Jewish students is to move on. Our society is for the most part accepted on campus, and quite simply, we are sick of playing the role of victim. Our community is so strong in so many ways, it almost feels like sour grapes to get up in arms over a piece of childish graffiti. Meanwhile, on campuses today, it is a fear of racism against Islamic students that dominates campaigns to end hate. But the truth is, the number of Muslim students is vastly greater than the Jewish population, and I have found anti-Muslim sentiment to be nearly non-existent on campus. In fact, Muslim students have their own prayer room at Carleton and have been allowed to use other spaces to pray and hold events. No such permanent space exists for Jewish students.

At Carleton, I constantly hear stories about how professors teaching Middle East history courses have started to make anti-Israel and anti-Semitic dialogue part of their lectures. I tell people who experience this to go to the university Senate, the top academic body at the school, and raise their concerns. But again for the most part I get shrugs, as if there is nothing we can do and this must be accepted as the norm. It’s suggested that these types of professors will simply always exist, and it isn’t worth our breath to protest because then all we will be seen as is a bunch of complainers. This is a dangerous view and must be disavowed by Jewish student leaders.

We are a small community on the campuses in Ottawa, and as a result some students, especially younger ones, are hesitant to speak up about their faith. After all, when you walk through the famous tunnel system linking all buildings at Carleton and see that it is the Jewish Students’ Association mural that is almost always vandalized, then what is one to think? (...)One day I want to come back to Carleton and walk through the halls and see a Jewish Students’ Association mural untouched, a symbol that we are accepted on campus.

So what would Dr. Dawg make of this account? And should we just make the blanket assumption that there is an innate dubious quality to the character of Mark Masters and/or the Canadian Jewish News? Or both? Are we to just sweep away this account under the ‘dubious testimony’ defense? But the larger question is; why Dawg and his ink do not believe a University Administration owes a duty of care to protect a small minority group on campus from unnecessary incitement and potential acts of violence and intimidation?



Reminder: Full comment moderation will commence from tonight until Saturday evening/Sunday morning.

Fruit of the Poisoned Tree: Israeli Apartheid Week

Spring is in the air and once again the Israeli Apartheid Week is being held on university campuses throughout the country. This year, Carleton University has banned this poster from display.

Now this was brought to my attention by Dr. Dawg, and as a source, he quotes is Canadian Dimension, who subsequently quotes Carleton University administration which banned the display of this ad and I quote CD quoting CU, (the) “image could be seen to incite others to infringe rights protected in the Ontario human rights code.” So I am not vouching for the accuracy of the quote or even the article and am taking it all strictly at face value.

Less than two months ago we saw Palestinian supporters hit the streets of Montreal chanting death to the Jews and other timeless slogans at a pro-Palestinian rally, and in Toronto, a Palestinian supporter was quoted as saying Hitler did not do a good job, and when the videographer asked said individual to clarify his remarks - the videographer was physically attacked by the pro-Palestinian supporter for his question. And this was in an ' public setting' outside university control.

Now, it’s not as if Carleton University Administration doesn’t have a valid point or concern. Just think of the situation Concordia University found it self in when the pro-Palestinian fraction ended up rioting in order to prevent a speech by former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Sarah Ahronheim:

To enter the Concordia building we had to walk right through a volatile protest of hundreds of pro-Palestinians and their supporters in keffiyehs, with flags, screaming vitriolic hate. Once having run this gauntlet, we waited patiently outside the Bishop street entrance, held back at the gate by security and police. After about an hour they started admitting us inside, but it was too late because a huge group of pro-Palestinian 'demonstrators' had appeared in our midst.

I was fortunately right at the entrance, and as dozens of violent protesters pushed their way to the front, I tried to get through. Right next to me appeared the ringleader, who tried to push his way in. The cop in front of me punched him in the face while pulling me through the gate at the same time.

I rested against the wall and watched as at least a hundred (I think) red-and-green colored protesters attacked the barriers and tried to get in. Riot cops appeared, dozens of them, and went to the gate as I and a few others were herded into the building. There was yelling and chanting, drumming and fighting going on outside the doors, with hundreds of our people stuck behind the gate being abused by hundreds of violent demonstrators.

A few of us were waiting after the metal detectors for our friends to come through, when all of a sudden we heard loud chanting and yelling inside the building. The riot cops came storming in and up the stairs beside us, and we began hearing fighting, crashing, yelling, punching. Chaos broke out and riot cops made us run for the door to the auditorium -- I thought we were going to get killed, I swear. It was the scariest feeling, because I knew that these people wanted to hurt me and anyone who supports Israel or is Jewish.

Once inside the auditorium, we were told to be patient as more people would drift in from the insanity outside. We waited inside for three hours, as the commotion outside grew increasingly loud. We could hear chanting and yelling, and the protesters began trashing the university building. The police tear gassed and pepper sprayed the entire building and outside, and we began to feel the effects if we stood too near the doors.

After hours of waiting, and bomb searches by RCMP sniffer dogs, we were informed that Bibi Netanyahu could not speak after all -- too much danger to him and to us. This was an incredible disappointment and we were naturally upset. We however managed to maintain a kind of composure and instead of fighting, the 650 of us inside began to sing Hatikvah, the national anthem of the State of Israel. We sang peace chants and then just waited to be let out, in groups of 10, escorted by police.

The scene as we exited was disgusting. Benches were overturned, papers and garbage streaked across the hallways, and broken windows. We were shoved outside directly into a huge pro-Palestinian riot, where some of our people were apparently attacked... On their side, they threw bottles at people's heads, screamed hatred, and tried to break the barriers down to hurt us. They started tossing pennies and coins at us -- one of the oldest ways to taunt Jews by saying we're all "money-grubbing." While we sang Hatikvah arm in arm, they spat at us. Finally we decided to disperse and leave them to their hatred...

Or even the most recent disgraceful turn of events at York University.

For the second time in a week, Toronto police were called on campus as anti-Israel organizers isolated and threatened Jewish students. During a news conference held by a coalition of diverse students to impeach the York Federation of Students, anti-Israel organizers shut down the announcement, yelling anti-Semitic slurs and physically intimidating Jewish students. Shortly after, they barricaded Jewish students at Hillel’s lounge on campus, continuing to threaten students. Toronto police officers escorted the students out of the office to ensure their safety.

Among the slurs shouted by those barricading Hillel’s office were “Die bitch, go back to Israel”, “Die Jew, get the hell off campus”, “Fucking Jew” “racists off campus”. Last week, police were called during a physical altercation by an anti-Israel activist.

Is it the merest of coincidence that whenever Canadian universities allow unchecked and unfretted access to groups on campus promoting the Palestinian cause it eventually turns into a hate the-Jews-fest whereby Canadian Jewish students come under attack for the alleged crimes of the Israeli state? And don’t universities in Canada have not only the right but a duty to protect Jewish students from the tactics of intimidation and threats of violence?

There is an irony in this poster which seems to be lost on the Israel Apartheid crowd. The child in the poster stands on ‘Gaza’ which is depicted to represent the so-called state of Israeli apartheid, and yet, Israel left the Gaza Strip in 2005.

There is only one Jew in the entirety of the Gaza Strip and he is not even in charge. In fact, Hamas through the PRC had to abduct him in 2006 out of the 1949 Armistice borders of Israel to get him. His name is Gilad Shalit and he is being forcibly detained and held for ransom by the governing authority of Hamas who controls the Gaza Strip. The Red Cross has been repeatedly denied access to visit Shalit which is contrary to the umpteen international rules governing prisoner’s rights. In fact, no one in the international community knows with any measure of certainty if Shalit is alive or dead.

It occurs to me there is a deeper irony which the Israeli Apartheid supporters completely miss in their bid to demonize to Israel as a rogue state among nations; which is what occurs daily by either the Palestinian Authority or Hamas in the Gaza Strip is nothing less than the grossest of violation of human rights, but this is state of nationhood for which they are actively clamoring for. Go fracking figure.

Haram Alekem

This is too rich for words. The Globe and Mail is reporting that a speech being given today by Dr. Daniel Pipes at St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, has some student groups and faculty members in an "uproar". Over 80 professors and graduate students have banned together to protest Dr. Daniel Pipes speech at University of Toronto with an open letter pointing out that Dr. Pipes has a "long record of xenophobic, racist and sexist (speeches) that goes back to 1990"; though I personally would to love examine the evidence of the alleged record of Dr. Pipes’ racism, sexim and xenophobia.

Apparently "hate, prejudice, sexism and fear-mongering" do not have a place on campus unless you are the Arab Student Collective or the Institute for Women’s Studies & Gender Studies at University of Toronto; then you can sponsor and/or host all the "Israel = Apartheid Week's" on campus that your heart desires.

To the 80 professors and graduate students who signed that open letter of protest and to Ahmad Shokr, organizer and public bullhorn of the Arab Student’s Collective, I say "Haram Alekem" or shame on you!

(tipped off via Neale News)

Live from University of Toronto: Israeli Apartheid Week

University of Toronto will play host to the Israel=Apartheid Crowd from Monday, January 31 to Friday, February 4, 2005 organized by the University of Toronto Arab Student Collective and sponsored by Institute for Women’s Studies and Gender Studies.

John Clarke of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty makes a guest appearance and will host the forum on Palestinian Migrant Labour in the Apartheid State – has this man ever held a real job in his life - let alone one in the Apartheid State? I suppose suicide bombers could be considered a kind of migrant worker – it did tend to be lucrative under Saddam and the on the job promotion to heaven is/was seen as a kind of perk.

Unfortunately, there have been no scheduled speakers to discuss women’s equality issues either in the workplace or before the courts in Palestinian society. There will be no discussions on honour killings; and no one will update the crowd on how the battle goes to end the barbaric practice of female circumcision. Finally, don’t look for anyone to discuss the lack of rights and brutal treatment meted out to the Christians, Druze, Domi or homosexuals in Palestinian society. Though there is a lecture planned to discuss the Illegality of the Apartheid Wall and Canada’s responsibility. No doubt that should be informative.

The lecture series opens with a discussion on the Right of Return on the 31st though I do see that no one from JIMENA will be speaking.

Now all I have to do is clean my "Six Days, Bitch" T-shirt and I will be good to go. And to the Institute for Women’s Studies and Gender Studies at University of Toronto, I say, "HARAM ALEKEM!"


(Tipped off by Little Green Footballs)