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March 3, 2010 Letter to Leader Michael Ignatieff regarding his statement on Israeli Apartheid Week Dear Mr. Ignatieff: My jaw drops every time I read your statement of March 1, 2010 on Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW). For a man of reputed intelligence, the number of errors and red herrings in it are quite astounding. You must take us all for fools. My rebuttals to your points are in red below. “On university campuses across the country this week, Israeli Apartheid Week will once again attempt to demonize and undermine the legitimacy of the Jewish state. [No, IAW will once again focus on the need for justice and basic human rights for the Palestinian people . If anything, it is Israel 's policies that demonize it.] It is part of a global campaign of calls for divestment, boycotts and proclamations, and it should be condemned unequivocally and absolutely. [Oh, so people under illegal occupation should not be allowed to resist non-violently and to call for international solidarity to help them obtain justice and the basic human rights promised under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ? Are you afraid actually to mention Palestine ? Or that BDS is a cry for help from Palestinian civil society?]Apartheid is defined, in international law, as a crime against humanity. Israeli Apartheid Week is a deliberate attempt to portray the Jewish state as criminal. [No, it is an attempt to point out that policies of the state of Israel are criminal!] The activities planned for the week will single out Jewish and Israeli students. [Balderdash! Most of the week's activities have been planned BY Jewish students along with all sorts of non-Jewish students. In the finest of the Judaic traditions, these students are working for justice for the oppressed.] They will be made to feel ostracized and even physically threatened in the very place where freedom should be paramount -- on a university campus. [Only if the terrorist Jewish Defense League shows up.]Let us be clear: criticism of Israeli government policy is legitimate. Wholesale condemnation of the State of Israel and the Jewish people is not legitimate. [Repeat: it's about justice for Palestinians and condemnation of Israeli POLICIES .] Not now, not ever. The very premise of Israeli Apartheid Week runs counter to our shared values of mutual respect and tolerance, regardless of nationality, race or creed. [Garbage. Israeli policies towards Palestinians are what run counter to Canadian values.] It is an attempt to heighten the tensions in our communities around the tragic conflict in the Middle East . [It is an attempt to emphasize that there cannot be peace without justice for the Palestinians.] On behalf of the Liberal party of Canada and the Parliamentary caucus, I urge all Canadians to join with us in condemning Israeli Apartheid Week, and to reject, in principle, all forms of anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance, both within this country and around the world.” [Since IAW is not about anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance, why exactly is the Liberal party condemning it?] Perhaps you would be kind enough to explain to me how your conclusions (as evidenced in your statement yesterday re Palestine/Israel) have evolved since April 19, 2002 when you wrote the following in The Guardian : When I looked down at the West Bank, at the settlements like Crusader forts occupying the high ground, at the Israeli security cordon along the Jordan river closing off the Palestinian lands from Jordan, I knew I was not looking down at a state or the beginnings of one, but at a Bantustan, one of those pseudo-states created in the dying years of apartheid to keep the African population under control. [emphasis added] Keenly awaiting your response, sincerely, Ida C. Henderson, Ottawa View original statement at liberal.ca
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