Why would an opponent of genocide have someone who excuses genocide speak at their public memorial?
After a half century of aggressive Jewish supremacism Stephen Lewis was celebrated by many Palestine supporters for attending a single rally 20 months into the Gaza genocide. Will they say anything about an “unabashed Zionist” speaking at his memorial?
Three weeks ago I wrote about how “in word and deed Stephen Lewis was anti-Palestinian for almost his entire life…. Yet in a sign of the Jewish exceptionalism and disregard for Palestinian rights pervading our political culture some are lauding the deceased politician as pro-Palestinian for attending a single protest.”
I pointed out how Rabble’s Karl Nerenberg devoted an entire column to Lewis attending a single rally while Independent Jewish Voices sent its list a “Tribute to Stephen Lewis” claiming “he became increasingly critical of the State of Israel and its actions.” The basis for this claim was Stephen Lewis attending a single anti-genocide rally, which his son publicized as part of his bid to lead the NDP. (I became critical of Stephen Lewis when reading his narrow criticism of Stephen Harper’s policy towards Africa during the tour for my 2015 Canada in Africa: 300 Years of Aid and Exploitation. My 2018 Left, Right: Marching to the Beat of Imperial Canada includes a section on Lewis’ odious policy towards a continent he’s celebrated for championing.)
If Stephen Lewis and his family were truly apologetic for his half century of anti-Palestinian bigotry, which included pushing to cancel an important UN conference simply because a Palestinian representative might attend, would they/he have invited Rosalie Abella to speak at his highly political memorial?
Has anyone who lauded Lewis for attending a single rally 20 months into a genocide criticized the participation of a genocidaire at his memorial?
While the Globe and Mail noted Abella’s participation in the memorial, I only took note of it when Sidney Nestel posted a replay of Lewis’ memorial alongside a laudatory statement. An important player in IJV, Nestel wrote “I just watched the Stephen Lewis memorial. I found it incredibly uplifting: something we could all use in these times. … His legacy is not only a tribute to struggles for justice, equality and human dignity, kindness and caring, but also a lesson in how to win some of those fights.”
Nestel failed to comment on the participation of Abella, who called Lewis a “Jewish saint”, in the event. In response to South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, the former Supreme Court justice published a column in the Globe and Mail headlined “the genocide case against Israel is an abuse of the postwar legal order”. Abella argued, “Hamas’s explicit and unapologetic goal is to eliminate Jews. The elimination of Jews is genocide. … It is a legal absurdity to suggest that a country that is defending itself from genocide is thereby guilty of genocide.”
Published on the eve of the ICJ case, Abella’s thinly veiled incitement to genocide was widely shared by genocide advocates. It also drew significant backlash with rebuttals published by Judy Haiven, Davide Mastracci and other leftists. Canadians for Justice and Peace organized an email campaign “challenging a one-sided op-ed by Rosalie Abella that promotes false claims and blames Palestinians for their own suffering.”
Abella’s Globe column wasn’t a one off. In a slew of forums Abella has promoted colonial Jewish supremacy. She’s honorary co-chair of Irwin Cotler’s Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and “delivered a special tribute to Irwin Cotler” at a November 2024 fundraiser for Tel Aviv University. Supremacist fanatic Hillel Neuer moderated the event, which included Israeli Ambassador Iddo Moed. At the most recent US-sponsored Halifax Security Forum Abella led a session in which she described herself as an “unabashed Zionist” and claimed “antisemitism” had become a national security threat.
In response to my article documenting Stephen Lewis’ decades of Jewish supremacy several leftists criticized me. While Mathew Behrens and David Webster labelled me “antisemitic”, others suggested I was downplaying Lewis’ opposition to genocide (I’ve only found a single photo of Stephen Lewis at a rally.)
I’m curious if any leftist who lauded Lewis for attending a single rally against genocide will comment on Abella’s participation in his memorial. Will Independent Jewish Voices update its list or will Karl Nerenberg nuance his praise? (Rabble ignored my request to publish a rebuttal to Nerenberg.)
It’s unlikely. Despite all the horrors Israel has committed over the past two and half — going on 100 — years, there’s still little social or political cost for promoting Jewish supremacist colonialism. A form of Jewish exceptionalism prevails on the Canadian left. To understand it, imagine a half century long Nazi supporter being celebrated for attending a single protest against the Nazis and when a prominent Nazi propagandist eulogized them everyone just ignores it.
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