January 31, 2007

The Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians condemns B'nai Brith's attempt to stifle debate about Israel in our classrooms

B'nai Brith is a lobby group that has attempted to prevent the consideration
by Ontario secondary school teachers to have their union support an
international boycott of Israel and endorse Amnesty International's report
on the Israel-Palestine conflict, "Road to Nowhere". B'nai Brith executive
director Frank Dimant calls this "bringing hate into the classroom" and
suggests it is an invitation to antisemitism. If so, many Jews in Israel -
where debate on the Israel/Palestine conflict is much freer than in North
America - would seem bent on encouraging antisemitism: in Israel, the
policies of its government and the very bases of Zionism are frequently and
sharply criticized in the press and in academia. In fact such a debate is
not about encouraging antisemitism, but about encouraging democracy. In a
free society, no country and no policy should be immune from criticism or
even condemnation. To make Israel an untouchable exception is to assault the
freedom of all Canadians, including Jewish Canadians.

The CBC has reported that our teachers are coming under fire from "human
rights groups". Others will view the attack as the response of "Jewish
organizations" or even "the Jewish community". B'nai Brith is not a human
rights organization; it is a narrowly partisan pro-Israel lobby group which
defend activities the most bona fide human rights organizations condemn. Its
efforts by no means represent the Jewish community as a whole. Many Jews,
including the ACJC, strongly support the drive to bring real debate about
Israel's policies, so long immune from critical examination, into our
classrooms and into our press. We congratulate the Ontario Secondary School
Teachers' Federation for having allowed such a debate take place. It is
equally important that the sponsor of the resolution Dr. Jason Kunin who is
a member of our Administration Council on behalf of the Yosher Jewish
Network for Social Justice is reinstated since he was removed from the
classroom by administration fiat the day the motion was to be presented. He
is currently barred from school property altogether, even after school
hours.

The instances of Jewish dissidents who have been harassed, threatened and
suppressed in their work are numerous. We therefore call upon the Canadian
Jewish Congress to affirm the legitimate right of criticism, as a
fundamental right for Jewish Canadians.

For further information please contact;

Abraham Weizfeld
Administrative Secretary
514.284.66.42  office