January 10, 2010

Intimidation of SAIA (Students Against Israeli Apartheid) by JDL at York University


On Wednesday February 3rd, 2010 SAIA held a tabling session at York University.
During that session, two pro-Israeli apartheid advocates approached the table
and proceeded to provoke arguments with the members at the table, accusing all
non-Palestinian members of SAIA of being anti-Semitic and making many racist
comments. They especially singled out women who are visibly Muslim or Arab
during their sexist and racial intimidation. Despite SAIA's calls to York
security, security was not quick to intervene.

Later on, a number of individuals were noticed wearing sweatshirts with the
logo of the well known hate group “The Jewish Defense League” (JDL). After
walking by the table a few times, an additional ten to fifteen Israeli
Apartheid supporters congregated around SAIA's table. The previous agitators
also returned to the table, and continued to provoke SAIA members and general
student population who support the Palestinian struggle. Among that group,
there were identifiably four to five JDL members who are not students or
related to York University. They were also sitting across from the SAIA table
in a very intimidating and threatening fashion. They had no intent to even hide
their identities, wearing JDL t-shirts and approaching the table to let their
picture be taken. It is important to note that the intimidation was so intense
that York Security had to call the Toronto Police.

In addition to their intimidating presence on York campus, members of the JDL
were conducting what could only be described as policing activities on campus.
They were roaming the campus and interrogating students about an alleged
accident that happened earlier in the week. The JDL's assumption of this
policing role with no intervention or objection on the behalf of the University
is extremely alarming. It is important to note that in the past year, York
University has issued a trespass notice to the JDL and banned its members from
campus [for more details about the JDL, see below].

The provocations and intimidating presence of the JDL is no coincidence. These
provocations, trespassing of the JDL and students affiliating themselves with
this hate group increase as the approach Israeli Apartheid Week draws nearer
(March 1-7th, 2010). Last year at York, Palestinian solidarity activists and
Palestinian students/activists had to face the same forms of intimidation.
These provocations are intended to create the false impression that York campus
is not safe for Jewish students because of Israeli Apartheid Week. As an
anti-racist human rights group, SAIA upholds the right of all students to their
physical safety, and calls on the University to ban the hate group, Jewish
Defense League, from its campus, and monitor the provocations of the pro-Israel
groups which are the source of the perceived tension.

TO VIEW A PHOTO AND VIDEO OF THE JDL ON YORK CAMPUS:

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWQ6FWgTw14

Photo: http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/9384/img1794q.jpg


*The Jewish Defense League*

The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a well-known hate group. They were founded
by Meir Kahane, an extremist who advocated violence against, and even the
mass-murder of Palestinians and Arabs. In Toronto each year, the JDL holds a
memorial for Meir Kahane – organizers proclaim “Kahane was Right!” and
celebrate the legacy of a man who called for the death of Palestinians and Arab
people(i).

The racist, violent ideology advocated by Kahane and embraced by the JDL has
motivated hate crimes against Palestinians and other Arab people. The most
notable incident took place in 1994 when Baruch Goldstein, a follower of
Kahane, and a member of the Jewish Defense League in the United States, walked
into the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron and killed 29 Palestinians while they were
praying. Kach and Kahane Chai (ii)– two groups associated with the Kahanist
movement – were banned in Israel for their extremism. According to a 2007
report, the JDL in the US continues to raise funds for the outlawed Kahane Chai
.  The JDL have been profiled by the FBI because of their violent extremism. An
FBI report identifies the JDL as "a right-wing terrorist group" and "a violent
extremist Jewish organization." They are included in the report because on
December 11, 2001:

    Irving David Rubin and Earl Leslie Krugel were arrested by the Los Angeles
Joint Terrorism Task Force for conspiring to build and place improvised
explosive devices (IEDs) at the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, California,
and the local office of Congressman Darrell Issa...Statements by Rubin and
Krugel indicated that they had planned the attack against the mosque to
demonstrate the militancy of the JDL. Krugel further indicated that the attack
was planned to provide a “wake up call” to the Muslim community. It was
determined that Rubin and Krugel had already acquired the necessary components
to build an IED, including pipes, fuses, and smokeless powder.(iii)

In Canada, the JDL is led by Meir Weinstein – a longtime follower of Kahane,
who was once a spokesperson for the Kahanist movement and, in 1994, refused to
condemn the massacre at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.(iv) Last year, Weinstein
joined a Facebook group called ‘Death to the Arabs'. When questioned about
it by the CBC, he claimed he received it in Hebrew and did not understand what
it meant – a ridiculous claim given that Weinstein speaks and understands
Hebrew, having lived in Israel for 10 years and served in the Israeli military.
For more detailed information about Weinstein's violent, racist views, there
is a comprehensive interview with Front Page Magazine in 2008, where he says:

We don't believe there's a peace plan out there that's viable. We don't
believe that any of these plans have provided peace. They provided bloodshed.
The best you can do is have a security plan. We also back the right of Arabs to
leave Israel and to go to other countries. The government should make
incentives. This is so that Israel doesn't find itself in a demographic
nightmare. It's so that a Palestinian country will not be a threat to Israel
and a war ground from which to target Israel. It was the case with Gaza, and
Lebanon… Israel needs to flex its security muscle.

The land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people, not the Arabs.(v)

By expanding the definition of anti-Semitism to include any and all criticism
of Israel, the JDL labels anyone advocating for justice for Palestinians as
their enemy. The JDL publicly advocates for violence against its perceived
enemies. Their Facebook page clearly outlines their philosophy and is explicit
about the use of violence: “JDL upholds the principle of Barzel – iron –
the need to both move to help Jews everywhere and to change the Jewish image
through sacrifice and all necessary means – even strength, force and
violence.”(vi) The JDL frequently organizes martial arts classes for their
members, which makes them even more dangerous.

It is no surprise that at last year's Israeli Apartheid Week, there were
several incidents of harassment and physical violence against event organizers
and attendees. During a pro-Palestine event at Ryerson University in September
2009, several members of the JDL attempted to storm the event, but were denied
entry because the room was at capacity. Ryerson security had to be called to
remove them from the premises. In June 2009, after nearly a year of JDL
protests at York University, the administration, on advice from the Toronto
Police, issued a trespass notice against the JDL.

TO VIEW A PHOTO OF RACIST GRAFFITI BY THE JDL IN HEBRON (PALESTINE):

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/7343/800pxgasthearabspainted.jpg

------------------------------------------------------------------------

[i]http://www.jdlcanada.ca/reference/events/notice-110308.html
[ii]http://www.washington-report.org/archives/November_2007/0711030.html
[iii]http://www.fbi.gov/publications/terror/terror2000_2001.htm
[iv]http://www.rabble.ca/news/whos-terrorist-jdl-and-galloway-ban
[v]http://www.frontpagemag.com/articles/Read.aspx?GUID=20CAC62D-65C2-4DEC-94BF-BC66D2994E8D
[vi]http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2225364895

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