Archived Articles for January and February 2011

February 19, 2011

Ottawa Sun - Harper hypocrisy on dissent

Kairos’s recognition of the fact that the Palestinians too deserve a country may have been their real offence.  Speaking to the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism, the prime minister said that Canada would support Israel “whatever the cost” against what he described as the “ideology of the anti-Israeli mob.”
 
He means presumably all those who believe that countries can’t extend their territory by war ought not to forget Article 242 of the Camp David Accords, and that the right of return is guaranteed under international law - exactly the way it was for the Kosovar-Albanians.

More on this story from CBC - Oda admits she had CIDA document altered
Including 1188 reader comments.

Comment - The trend continues, organizations that are critical of Israel will lose funding and/or  be refused access to even talk to this government, e.g., , the Canadian Arab Federation, the Canadian Islamic Congress and now KAIROS the umbrella group for the good works of the Anglican, United, Presbytarian, and Catholic churches among others.

Those who argue that religions organizations should fund their own work are sorely misinformed as to how aid is administered.  CIDA helps fund a number of aid agencies with experience and existing programs  in various parts of the world.     It is the charitable version of "contracting out" except that there is no need to pay numerous high salaries as a great deal of work is done on a volunteer basis.  KAIROS has a long and excellent record of service working with CIDA to deliver Canadian aid funds in an efficient manner.

February 14, 2011

Torstar - Harper follows Israeli line on Egypt

While the world is cheering on the Egyptian uprising, Harper is siding with the despotic regime.

Even the United States, long a proponent of the dictatorial model for the Arab Middle East, is speaking out for the protesters.

[Harper's support for Mubarak is based on his Christian evangelical beliefs which put Israel's interests above all else. Renowned author Marci McDonald's book, The Armegeddon Factor describes in detail the rise of the Christian right in Canada and its links to the Harper government.

QUOTE FROM THIS BOOK:  “What drives that growing Christian nationalist movement is its adherents’ conviction that the end times foretold in the book of Revelation are at hand. Braced for an impending apocalypse, they feel impelled to ensure that Canada assumes a unique, scripturally ordained role in the final days before the Second Coming — and little else.]

February 8, 2011

Briemberg - Falling Arab dictatorships and Israeli government panic

The walls are crumbling. The walls behind which dictators indulge in decadent opulence while "their" people are mired in wretched circumstance. The walls behind which "leaders" secretly sell -- for personal gain -- the rights of the people they claim to represent.

Across North Africa and the Middle East, across the Arab world, for decades dictatorship and deepening corruption, firmly supported by imperial powers, seemed beyond challenge. Today, once "stable" regimes are now facing a popular reckoning.  From the vantage point of Palestine, there are three new dynamics.

Counterpunch - Critical Connections Egypt, the US and the Israel Lobby

The Egypt-Israeli peace treaty of 1979 has occasionally been mentioned in news reports on the current uprising. That treaty was an arrangement in which the Egyptian leader of the time, Anwar Sadat, stopped opposing Israel's previous ethnic cleansing of close to a million indigenous Palestinian Muslims and Christians (at least 750,000 in 1947-49 and an additional 200,000 in 1967). This removed the most populous and politically significant country from the Arab front opposing Israel's illegal actions and led the way for other nations to "normalize"relations with the abnormal situation in Palestine.

January 31, 2011

[While most countries have tried to maintain some measure of neutrality in regards to the Egyptian people's struggle for freedom against a brutal dictator, Israel has no reservations about meddling in the affairs of others.   Not only has Israel stated its own preference but is attempting as usual to influence the position taken by other countries.]

Op-Ed News - Things Have To Change In Order To Remain The Same

Israeli prime minister Netanyahu told the US and Europe that criticism of Mubarak must be curbed in order “to preserve stability in the region.”

By “stability” Netanyahu means the unimpeded ability of Israel to continue oppressing the Palestinians and stealing their country. Mubarak has been for three decades the well-paid enforcer for the US and Israel, sealing off Gaza from the outside world and preventing aid flows across the Egyptian border.

January 29, 2011

Rabble.ca - At long last, Farber forced to denounce JDL

After years of treating the Jewish Defence League as if they were a roguish but loveable younger brother, Canadian Jewish Congress supremo Bernie Farber has finally said something about the JDL that's stronger than "they're not my cup of tea" or that he's "disappointed" by them. Farber's epiphany, in the form of an opinion piece in the Toronto Sun, is a response to the JDL's rally last week in support of Britain's extremist English Defence League.

[Note: The JDL is considered a terrorist organization in the US but has not been designated as such in Canada.  It freely roams Canadian streets and campuses stirring up hate.]

G&M - Israel rejected historic concessions, ‘Palestine Papers’ reveal

....While the leaked documents so far released provide a glimpse into some Israeli concessions, the overwhelming picture that emerges from these leaks is of Israel’s intransigence. Time after time, Palestinian proposals were greeted negatively by their Israeli counterparts.

[Now we know for sure that it is the Palestinians who do not have a peace partner.   As usual reader comments on this article clearly indicate that Canadians have not been fooled by Israeli propaganda and media bias in favour of Israel.]

More on the Palestine Papers:
The Guardian (UK)
Al-Jazeera English

January 17, 2011

Haaretz - Guyana becomes 7th South American state to recognize Palestinian independence

The country's foreign ministry says decision comes in keeping with Guyana's support of the 'legitimate aspirations of the people of Palestine for the exercise of their right to self-determination.'


Dissident Voices - Canada’s Double Standards
 
Canada’s tax system currently subsidizes Israeli settlements that Ottawa deems illegal; however, the Conservative government says there’s nothing that can be done about it.

In June of last year, Guelph activist, Dan Maitland, emailed Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon concerning Canada Park, a Jewish National Fund of Canada initiative built on land Israel occupied after the June 1967 War. Three Palestinian villages (Beit Nuba, Imwas and Yalu) were demolished to make way for the park.

A few weeks ago Maitland received a reply from Keith Ashfield, Minister of National Revenue, who refused to discuss the particulars of the case but provided “general information about registered charities and the occupied territories.” Ashfield wrote that “the fact that charitable activities take place in the occupied territories is not a barrier to acquiring or maintaining charitable status.”

Boycott Victory Update - Ahava is rebranding

It seems that B’nai Brith jumped to conclusions.  The Bay did not pull Ahava
because of BDS actions in Canada but because Ahava is being discontinued
GLOBALLY and is going to be relaunched at a later date.  Apparently Sears
has also pulled AHAVA from its shelves. 

So although this is not a BDS victory in Canada, it may well be a worldwide BDS victory; the Ahava image is tainted.  The campaign against it has been so successful thatthe distributor has to re-brand the product just like Israel is seeking to re-brand itself.    [ Read more]

January 13, 2011

BDS Victory - The Bay drops Ahava! ACTION REQUIRED

We have just been advised that the United Jewish Appeal Facebook page has announced that:

The Bay has discontinued sales of all Ahava products from Israel. Although company spokespeople have not officially explained their decision, it follows an intense boycott campaign by anti-Israel activists. In response, we suggest that you visit your local Bay store (http://is.gd/e8WG2h ) request  AHAVA products and inquire why they are not available.

Please consider writing a quick note of thanks to the Bay to counteract the avalanche of angry emails from Israel backers.

THIS IS THE FIRST BDS VICTORY IN CANADA. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE SUPPORT THE BAY.

Email: Richard Baker, Chairman - richard.baker@hbc.com
Email: Bonnie Brooks, President and CEO - bonnie.brooks@hbc.com
Email: Shelley Rozenwald, Director of Beauty Products - shelley.rozenwald@hbc.com      [Sample letters]

January 8, 2011

IJV -Open letter in reply to David Matas' article "Banning Israel anti-apartheid weeks at universities"

Your ongoing attempts to ban Israel Apartheid Weeks at Canadian universities represent a threat to a democratic society that cherishes freedom of expression and the right to peaceful dissent. In the face of an extensive discourse about Israel and apartheid by prominent Israel politicians and academics in and outside of Israel, you persist in claiming that apartheid in Israel is nothing but a malicious “fantasy” propagated to foster anti-Semitism.

Manitoba MLAs urged to allow free debate on Israeli apartheid

Last April, the Manitoba Legislature debated a resolution calling on the provincial government to “denounce Israeli Apartheid Week as divisive, promoting intolerance and undermining a balanced debate of the Israeli-Palestinian question.” The resolution was never put to a vote, but the debate was enlightening – perhaps in ways unintended by some of the debaters.

canpalnet-ottawa.org