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MP Libby Davies Under Attack PDF Print E-mail
Jun 16, 2010 at 11:52 PM

Today,  the House of Commons formed a virtual lynch mob demanding  the resignation of NDP MP Libby Davies' resignation for saying that the Israeli occupation began in 1948.  She was punked by a phoney blogger who was trying to trap her into saying something unacceptable.  Libby has been an outspoken critic of Israel since she visited Gaza and saw the horrors that Israeli is inflicting on the people there.  In her usual quiet courageous way, Libby is one of the few members of Parliament speaking for Palestinian rights and representing the thousands of Canadians who believe that Israel does not deserve the support of Canada.

It is a matter of debate whether the occupation started in 1948 or 1967.  If you are of the view that the expulsion of the Palestinians from their homes when Israel was founded was unacceptable than the occupation began there.  If you agree with the foundation of state of Israel whatever the costs to the Palestinian people then you think the occupation started in 1967.  Believing that the foundation  of the state of Israel was unjust does not mean that you think the state of Israel should not continue to exist.   I believe that the foundation of Canada was unjust but I don't call for the dissolution of Canada; although I am starting to consider it. 

I am Jewish and have always opposed Zionism.  It was a debate among Jews.  It is a legitimate debate.  Libby however is not of the view that the state of Israel should not have been founded in its current form.  She made a mistake and that was clear on the video.  Yet she was publicly criticized by her leader Jack Layton, ferociously attacked by her colleague Thomas Mulcair and now under sustained attack in the House.

And for whom are they speaking?  In a recent BBC poll, only 23 percent of Canadians had a positive attitude towards Israel and 52 percent had a negative view.  Libby is speaking for the majority of Canadians on this issue.

Libby is one of the best Members of Parliament.  She is firmly rooted in her community, one of the poorest in the countries.  She stands up for what's important and in these days of the rightward slide of the NDP, she is usually on the right side of most issues.  She is also a wonderful person and doesn't deserve this shit.

So why the lynch mob?  There is a campaign against freedom of speech on Israel.  Under McCarthyism, it wasn't only Communists who got attacked, it was friends, families and associates of Communiists, it was anyone who didn't think the capitalist system was the cat's meow.  And it's the same with Israel.  Anyone who proclaims their solidarity with the people of Palestine, is persona non grata with this government and now it seems with the Opposition as well. 

Please write to Jack Layton (laytoj@parl.gc.ca, info@jacklayton.ca) and Michael Ignatieff to tell them that you are outraged by their attacks on Libby Davies.  Libby has spent decades speaking up in the House for the issues we all care about.  Now it's time to speak up for her.
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Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians slams Canadian Jewish Congress exclusion

PRESS  RELEASE          For immediate Release            2007-07-03
 
The Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians responded today, to the decision by the Canadian Jewish Congress to deny membership to the progressive Jewish group. The CJC issued a letter which gave no reason for its decision.

“The decision by the Canadian Jewish Congress to exclude the Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians illustrates the sectarian orientation of the forces controlling that organization,” declared ACJC Administrative Secretary Abraham Weizfeld. “The rejection of our application to become a member of the Canadian Jewish Congress and the refusal seat our delegates at the CJC Plenary on June 17th amounts to a refusal to acknowledge growing Jewish opposition to the Israeli occupation and siege of the Palestinian territories.”

“CJC’s refusal to include all tendencies in the Jewish community should be seen as a futile attempt to marginalize growing Jewish opposition to Israel’s behaviour and to the exclusive character of the Israel State,” Weizfeld continued.

 He contended that this refusal also motivated the decision by the June 17 plenary of the Canadian Jewish Congress to annul the process of conducting elections to the Board of Directors. As a result of this decision, the Board will now have 25% of its seats reserved for the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy which controls the CJC funding agency, the United Jewish Appeal. Weizfeld explained that these organizations provide unquestioning support to Israel, regardless of what it does.

The resulting vote on a resolution to amend the CJC constitution with regard to election of officers may not have passed if the Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians’ delegates had been included.

“We do not share in the uncritical support for Israel,” Weizfeld stated. “It is our position that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, which began in 1967, must end immediately. This is the view that the ACJC wanted to bring to the Canadian Jewish Congress and that the CJC leadership was determined to ignore.” The refusal to hear our independent voice is proof that the CJC is not a body representative of diverse currents in Canada's Jewish population.

“It is essential that Israel and the Palestinians – including the duly elected Prime Minister Haniyeh – begin negotiations to conclude a lasting peace without prior conditions from either side. Only this approach can put an end to this ongoing tragedy for both the Palestinian and Israeli communities,” he concluded.

Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians
Alliance de Canadien/nes juif/ves concerné/es
68, av. Duluth est
Montréal QC H2W 1G8 Canada
(514) 284-6642

ACJC2006@yahoo.ca
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ACJC2006