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| October 19, 2006
Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians versus the Canadian Jewish Congress
The Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians would like to let people know about a dispute we are having with the Canadian Jewish Congress. The ACJC has about 115 members across Canada. We joined together late last year to create a cross-Canada alliance of Jewish anti-occupation forces to try and contribute to a peaceful resolution to the tragic and seemingly endless Israeli - Palestinian conflict. We have since had occasion to weigh in on such matters as the CUPE boycott resolution and the Lebanon war. We wanted to make our contribution from within the organized Canadian Jewish community and so we applied for affiliation with the Canadian Jewish Congress. Affiliation is the prima facie right of any group of Canadian Jews, but the National Office of the CJC rejected our application on the basis of a statement we issued welcoming the CUPE resolution of last spring and criticizing the CJC for demonizing opposition to the policies of the government of Israel. The National Office cited a Bylaw (#66) but wouldn't let us see its contents! We have just sent the National Office a formal letter of protest that, among other things, calls into question the CJC's right to speak for the Jewish community if it excludes legitimate points of view, shared by many Jews in Canada and around the world. View relevant documents here. We thought this dispute might be of interest to you and your colleagues, so please feel free to disseminate the attached material as you see fit. Michael Mandel, Professor,Osgoode Hall Law School York University Telephone: 416-736-5039 Fax: 416-736-5736 |