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Jennings tied to Liberal Parliamentarians for Israel Tuesday, March 01, 2005 @07:00AM by Macdonald Stainsby, Concordia University Dear editor, Marlene Jennings was featured recently in The Link for her work dealing with racism (News, "Barriers exist and must be over," Feb. 15), including lending her support to Black History Month and applauding the ongoing struggle against anti-Judaism in Montreal. And that's very commendable. Her stance as an anti-racist, however, does not seem to be clear across the board. Marlene Jennings is a part of a renegade group of parliamentarians called "Liberal Parliamentarians for Israel." This organization has made it clear that they exist in order to push Canada to join the U.S., Israel and a few small neo-colonies in the South Pacific (such as Micronesia). They also abandon the position of most of the planet, even Britain and Germany, which is to vote neutrally at the United Nations with regards to any resolution condemning racism. That position has repeatedly noted that Israel exacts the harshest penalties on Palestinians and Arabs, in a systematically discriminatory manner. The greatest anti-racists of note in the 20th century include such names as Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, both of whom have stood strongly against the occupation of Palestine, and for the rights of all peoples, including Arabs, to not be second-class citizens in their homeland. Tutu directly equates the struggle of the Palestinians to his struggle in Apartheid South Africa. Such a position is not popular. The great resistors of racism never took shortcuts or abandoned principle for popularity, campaign contributions and keynote speaking engagements. Jennings might be popular; she certainly has a nice smile. But she is not an advocate for full, dignified human rights, and should not be treated as a heroine while she justifies the repression of those who resist racism in the Holy Land. Macdonald Stainsby, Sociology Your Comments |
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