Mikey Ignatieff might prefer the easy way out and blame everything on Hamas but some prominent Canadian Jews have the courage to stand up for the people of Gaza. From Sun Media:
Canadian Jews called on Ottawa today to speak out against Israel’s assault on Gaza. Israel launched an offensive into the Palestinian territory Dec. 27 to halt rocket attacks on its southern towns. Nearly 800 Palestinians have been killed — almost half of them civilians, according to area officials — while 10 Israelis have died.
“We are calling for an immediate ceasefire and the halt of gunfire,” event organizer David Orchard said. “The borders have to be opened to allow food and other necessities to go through.”
Anton Kuerti, an internationally acclaimed concert pianist and human rights activist, called the Israeli attack “a war crime.
“Israel has attacked the people of Gaza with utter contempt,” Kuerti told a news conference.
“The unbelievable war crimes that Israel is committing in Gaza ... it makes me ashamed to be a Jew.
“The servile way in which Canada is supporting the U.S. position — basically it’s all Hamas’s fault because of missiles that they throw over in desperation — I think this reluctance of Canada to use its influence makes me ashamed to be Canadian.”
Osgoode Hall Law School professor Michael Mandel said Canadians are being told Hamas are the aggressors. “It is the exact opposite,” he said.
Judith Deutsch, president of Science for Peace, said the Israeli military action is a crime against the people of Gaza. “Israel has returned to openly committing war crimes,” Deutsch said.
It's discouraging to read prominent members of the Jewish community showing more honesty and integrity than the leader of our party. Now, for Christ's sake don't tell that horse's ass Levant about this. I don't want these good folk being smeared as "anti-Semites."
7 comments:
Thanks!
I would have liked to be there to hear these good folks speak.
Why is it that the more intelligent and compassionate people don't run our governments?
These are the sort of forums a real democracy promotes.
Since when was David Orchard Jewish?
Sorry Jason but I don't track individual's religions. That reference was quoted from that patently pro-Hamas news service, the Sun media chain. Jason you're hyperventilating. Give it a rest.
If you have anything useful to add, why not address the substantive remarks quoted in this piece?
David Orchard is mentioned as the ORGANIZER of the event. One does not have to be Jewish to organize an event. He is a concerned citizen trying to do something in which he believes.
Since when was David Orchard Jewish?
But you see to Jason it is all about religion...
He is guilty of the same fanaticism that he accuses the "evil-doers"... Israel right or wrong but always right...
Thanks for the blog--I felt good, as a Jewish writer, to see Jewish thinkers like the ones mentioned taking a stand. I also thought (from the context) that Orchard was Jewish--and wondered that I'd never known. But was happy to claim him as one of "ours." Bummer.
Hi Lilian. When is this miserable business going to end? Israel can't be vanquished, Hamas can't be crushed. As the protagonists indulge each other's need for meaning, the Israeli and Palestinian people always wind up paying for it. Six decades on, it's no wonder that the mutual hatred and distrust reaches generational depths.
I'm no convinced that these parties simply can't be expected to negotiate a peace. I think they need to be kept safely separate and apart for 2-3 generations at least until they can grow into a peace.
Only the international community can step in to do the job but this conflict has repercussions throughout the region that can no longer be sustained.
Ending the fighting doesn't necessarily bring real peace but there isn't any hope of real peace until the fighting is ended for a good many years.
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