Canadian Author and Activist
Amidst widespread anxiety over foreign interference in this country’s politics, Israel’s embassy recently mobilized its domestic lobby to strategize on shaping Canadian policy. The absence of media outrage, or even a little embarrassment, speaks loudly about which foreign governments are allowed to ‘interfere’ in Canadian politics. A couple of attendees highlight the remarkable cynicism of... Continue Reading →
The chair of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in Québec recently assaulted me and then claimed to be the victim of my aggression. Reuben Poupko’s lie was defamatory. After I called UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer an “anti-Palestinian bigot” who “promotes religious and ethnic supremacy in Israel” I was punched, illegally detained... Continue Reading →
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs’ recent attack against Elizabeth May is farcical. Canada’s leading mouthpiece for Israel criticized the Green Party leader for saying she takes her direction from the representative of the Palestinian Authority, which actually serves as the subcontractor for Israel’s occupation. At an event marking International Day of Solidarity with... Continue Reading →
Recently there’s been significant attention devoted to purported foreign interference in Canadian politics. But there’s been little discussion of Ottawa’s far more significant interference abroad. The front page of Tuesday’s National Post noted: “Alarming escalation of espionage, foreign interference”. The story reported Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) analyst Noura Hayek saying foreign interference is one... Continue Reading →
From refusing to mention “Palestinians” to being labeled “dangerous to Jews” for supporting their cause Jagmeet Singh has undergone a remarkable turnaround. The shift over the past 18 months has been propelled by internal party organizing, outside leftist criticism, growing Palestine solidarity and cynical party calculations. On August 26 Singh emailed a small number of... Continue Reading →
“Jagmeet Singh: Your Middle East Policy is Dangerous for Jews” read a recent title of a Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs email campaign responding to a message supporting Palestinian rights from the leader of Canada’s third party. In an email to members last week CIJA noted, “Thousands and thousands of you joined in... Continue Reading →
On Friday Israel launched its latest outburst of violence against Gaza. Over 72 hours at least 44 Palestinians, including 16 children, were killed. More than 300 Palestinians were injured while many more lost their homes, businesses or other property. Children in Gaza have also been psychologically scarred by the bombings and, in another form of... Continue Reading →
The Israel lobby has launched another odious and hypocritical attack. They’re calling on the government to expel Palestinian-Canadian activist Khaled Barakat and criminalize the Canadian branch of the Samidoun Palestinian prisoner solidarity network. Last Saturday the front page of the right-wing National Post was largely covered with Barakat’s face. Columnist Terry Glavin reported that Barakat... Continue Reading →
The far right and far left are equally racist, Canada’s Liberal prime minister said last week. Mimicking Donald Trump’s “fine people” on both sides statement after white supremacists rampaged in Charlottesville in 2017, Justin Trudeau bemoaned “a rise in intolerance” in Canada and elsewhere. “We see the organizations of extremist groups on the far right... Continue Reading →
The Israel lobby regularly torments people and seeks to undermine their ability to make a living. While increasing numbers of Canadians are wise to their slander campaigns, some progressives still end up aligning with the bullies who have misused the term anti-Semitism to intimidate and silence. The list of good people who have been put... Continue Reading →
Last week the Trudeau government announced it would hold an emergency National Summit on Anti-Semitism. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and B’nai B’rith (BB) were delighted as they’ve campaigned for the summit since the upsurge of pro-Palestinian activism last month. That the objective of the summit all along was to discredit antiracist... Continue Reading →
In response to the recent upsurge in pro-Palestinian activism basically every major Canadian media outlet has published stories about rising anti-Semitism. Many politicians have made statements on the matter and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) has called on “our federal government to convene an emergency summit to address growing antisemitism.” B’nai B’rith... Continue Reading →
Was he a victim of an anti-Semitic attack or a violent, racist, right-wing provocateur? On Saturday evening some 5,000 international justice minded individuals packed Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square. Dozens, maybe hundreds, within the pro-Palestinian crowd were Jewish. At the same time a counterprotest was held by Canada’s most influential and best organized fascistic group. About... Continue Reading →
What are the primary Israel lobby groups in Canada afraid of? When their favoured colonial outpost in the Middle East is maligned the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, B’nai B’rith and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre (FSWC) are usually quick to attack. In recent months they’ve put out statements labeling a modest NDP resolution... Continue Reading →
On Saturday New Democratic Party members delivered a victory for Palestinian rights and a blow to the Israel lobby in Canada. Over 80% of convention delegates voted for a resolution calling for “Ending all trade and economic cooperation with illegal settlements in Israel-Palestine” and “Suspending the bilateral trade of all arms and related materials... Continue Reading →
On CBC’s The House on Saturday Jagmeet Singh was asked about resolutions submitted to next week’s NDP convention regarding “Canada’s relationship to Israel and the Palestinian territory”. Instead of responding to the question, he mentioned “anti-Semitism” four times. Asked again about “resolutions that in a sense condemn Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians”, Singh again failed... Continue Reading →
At the upcoming NDP convention the social democratic party’s members should have the opportunity to vote on two widely endorsed pro-Palestinian resolutions. But Canada’s pro-Israel lobby groups are pressuring the party leadership to suppress debate regarding a resolution critical of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) anti-Palestinian working definition of antisemitism. They want to suppress... Continue Reading →
It’s heating up. With a month to go before the NDP convention the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) has twice attacked Palestine solidarity and the left of the party. In a Twitter thread on Tuesday the official advocacy arm of Canada’s Jewish federations promoted the idea that Canada’s first ever openly gay... Continue Reading →
Even the appearance of a conflict of interest should be enough to dissuade any prudent public official, especially a judge, from an action. As such, it’s baffling that former Supreme Court Justice Thomas Cromwell would accept an invitation to speak at two Israel lobby groups’ conference while overseeing an inquiry into whether a former official... Continue Reading →
On Sunday a demonstration is planned in Montréal against the Canada Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA). Under the banner “Against Israel’s annexation of the Jordan Valley. No to the Canada Israel Free Trade Agreement!”, the march is seeking to politicize CIFTA amidst Israel’s plan to formally annex parts of the West Bank. The march... Continue Reading →
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