May 9, 2008

Originally published in the Ottawa Citizen

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Harper condemns criticism of Israel as thinly-veiled anti-Semitism

Mike De Souza, The Ottawa Citizen,

Some of the criticism brewing in Canada against the state of Israel, including from some members of Parliament, is similar to the attitude of Nazi Germany in the Second World War, Prime Minister Stephen Harper warned yesterday.

“I guess my fear is what I see happening in some circles is (an) anti-Israeli sentiment, really just as a thinly disguised veil for good old-fashioned antiSemitism, which I think is completely unacceptable,” Mr. Harper said in an interview with CJAD/CFRB radio.

“We learned in the Second World War that those who would hate and destroy the Jewish people would ultimately hate and destroy the rest of us as well, and the same holds today.”

Mr. Harper, who was to deliver a speech in Toronto marking the 60th anniversary of Israel in the evening, blamed some of the opposition for encouraging anti-Semitism in the midst of an escalating conflict between the Jewish state and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006 in Lebanon. Mr. Harper was criticized in some circles then for being pro-Israel when he defended controversial military strikes in Beirut.

“Canada, under this government, is never going to cater to that kind of opinion,” Mr. Harper said.

The prime minister also stressed that Canada would continue to defend Israel, because it is a beacon of freedom and democracy in a land where those values are under attack.

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OPEN LETTER from London, Ontario Lawyer Ed Corrigan to the Montreal Gazette regarding Stephen Harper's comment that criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic

Letter to the Editor:

Re: "Criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic, Harper says," By Mike De Souza, Canwest News Service, May 9, 2008

Prime Minister Harper just what criticisms of Israel are permissible and what criticisms are not anti-Semitic?

Does it include criticism of the Israeli attack on the UN Peace keepers where a Canadian officer was killed and according to UN and other investigations was a deliberate Israeli attack to cover up war crimes?

Are Israeli human rights organizations criticisms of Israeli policies towards the Palestinians anti-Semitic?

When the Israeli Supreme Court says that the Jewish National Fund has racist policies towards non-Jews is that anti-Semitic?

Is Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch anti-Semitic when they criticize Israel's human rights violations?

What about the thousands of Israeli and Jewish academics, journalists and activists who criticize Israeli policies are they all anti-Semites?

Many Jewish intellectuals including Albert Einstein even question Zionism and the need for "Jewish State" are they all anti-Semites?

Are the Orthodox religious Jews who are anti-Zionist and oppose the creation of Israel are they anti-Semitic?

Also Prime Minister please tell us just what rights do the Palestinians have?

Edward C. Corrigan
Barrister & Solicitor
Associate Editor ImmQuest
Associate Editor Immigration Law Reports
Certified as a Specialist by the Law Society of Upper Canada
Citizenship and Immigration Law and Immigration/Refugee Protection Law
383 Richmond St. Suite 902
London, Ontario, Canada
N6A 3C4

See also letter from Independent Jewish Voices

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