Open letter from anti-Zionist Jewish youth in Canada

January 5th, 2009 | Posted in Boycott, Canada, Palestine
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    January 5th, 2009. original on-line.

    Photo: Sabrien Amrov protesters gather in downtown Montreal.

Like much of the world, we have spent the last week watching in shock and disgust as Israel continues its assault on the Gaza Strip. With the body count rising and a new tragedy in full bloom, we feel that it is important to speak out as Jewish youth in Canada and to denounce what Israel is doing in our name. The Jewish diaspora is diverse and divided on its positions on the state of Israel’s policies. At this juncture in history, as Israel has committed its worst massacre in Gaza since it began its illegal occupation in 1967, we feel that it is crucial that Jews speak out and denounce Israel’s actions that amount to no less than war crimes committed by an apartheid state.

As Jewish youth, we are diverse, but we are unified in our solidarity with our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Gaza.

Some of us are students. We are outraged by the bombing of the Islamic University in Gaza city, as well as other civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and mosques.

Some of us are Arab-Jews and people of colour. We stand against Israel’s racism, which has been enshrined in Israeli law, and privileges its Jewish citizens over its non-Jewish ones.This apartheid state views Palestinians as an expendable people, no more than collateral damage.

Some of us are queer. We reject Israel’s branding of itself as the only safe place for queer people in the Middle-East while it targets gay and lesbian Palestinians and renders life unsafe for millions of others.

Some of us are Israelis living in Canada. We are calling for a solidarity that stretches beyond borders and nationalities. Israel’s violent actions will only serve to further isolate the state and its citizens from the rest of the world. By calling itself a Jewish state and committing war crimes in the name of Jews everywhere, Israel makes the world even less safe for Jews, leading to an increase in animus towards Jewish people around the world.

Even though there have been approximately 100 Palestinian deaths for every Israeli killed by rocket fire, we recognize that Israeli Apartheid also leads to Israeli casualties. The blame for these deaths lies with Israel – if there were no occupation and no apartheid policies, there would be no rocket fire. If Israel, the world’s fourth largest military power, is concerned about its citizens, it would abandon its apartheid policies and seek out justice for the Palestinian people.

In 2005, Palestinian civil society put out a clear call for international support through a non-violent campaign of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) similar to that carried out against the apartheid regime of South Africa. Now, with the people of Gaza being crushed by Israeli bombs, manufactured in the USA and launched with Canada’s blessing, it is more important than ever for Jewish communities throughout the world to take up this BDS campaign in order to end Israel’s apartheid system, which makes life unsafe for millions of Jews and Palestinians alike.

Let us not be silent bystanders while humanity suffers. Let us raise our voices, as Jewish youth, and demand a single, democratic state, with equal rights for everyone in Israel/Palestine.

Ours is a generation that is committed to ending Middle-East violence by opposing all forms of discrimination, calling for a just peace within the entire region, and condemning Zionism to the dustbin of history.

If you would like to sign on to this letter, send an email to antizionistjews(at)gmail.com with your name and city.

Free Gaza, Free Palestine,

Jenny Peto, Toronto
Aaron Lakoff, Montreal
Max Silverman, Montreal
Rachel Gurofsky, Peterborough
Simon Gurofsky, Ottawa
Zohar Melinek, Montreal
Claire Hurtig, Montreal
Ben Saifer, Ottawa
Brook Thorndycraft, Toronto
Joel Balsam, Montreal
David Mandelzys, Toronto
Reena Katz, Toronto
Mia Amir, Vancouver
Matthew Shuster, Kingston
Avi Grenadier, Kingston
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, Waterloo
Melissa Harendorf, Montreal
Jeff Hiemstra, Toronto
Sacha Moiseiwitsch, Vancouver
Jake Javanshir, Toronto
Noam Lapid, Montreal
Stephen Kamnitzer, Toronto
Naava Smolash, Vancouver
Tamara Herman, Victoria
Ryan Katz-Rosene, Ottawa
Sarah Fuchs, Montreal
Daniel Thau-Eleff, Winnipeg
Deborah Rachlis, Ottawa
Marie L. Belliveau, St. Catharines
Sarah Kardash, Sackville
David Taub Bancroft, Vancouver
Kinneret Sheetreet, Montreal
Rachel Marcuse, Vancouver
Lisa Barrett, Bowen Island
Maisie Jacobson, Montreal
Max Tennant,Vancouver
Noah Fine, Vancouver
David Hill, Vancouver
Corey Balsam, Ottawa
Lee Skinner, Vancouver
Britt Lehmann-Bender, Toronto
Alexis Mitchell, Toronto

8 Comments »

Il est certain que l’attitude d’Israel envers les Arabes n’aide pas la cause des Juifs de bonne volonté à travers le monde.

Si votre déclaration permet de bien voir une désaprobation des actes commis par Israel, elle ne changera rien sur le terrain.

Je suis désolé de voir tant de gens à la fois outrés et si impuissants.

Notre opinion ne vaut pas plus que celle d’une fourmi si nous ne sommes pas capables de la suporter par des actes co-ordonnés et efficaces.

Ce n’est pas par ce que nous disons mais bien par nos actes qu’on exprime vraiment ce que l’on pense.

Jusqu’à maintenant, c’est pas fort. Nous me décevons grandement.

Paul Dooley, Kelowna, B.C.

Comment by Paul Dooley — January 6th, 2009 @ 6:12 AM

Respect!

Comment by Nidal Ahmar — January 6th, 2009 @ 10:51 AM

Aujourd’hui, une école de l’ONU a été frappée par les Israéliens, un massacre total, corps de bébés et enfants déchiquetés dans la cour de l’école. DU JAMAIS VU! Je n’ai jamais pensé qu’en 21ème siècle, nous allions assister à un génocide et extermination raciale en direct! Ces israéliens ce ne sont pas des humains! Ces soldats qui lancent des bombes sur des civiles dans des quartiers résidentiels, est ce qu’il arrivent à dormir le soir? est ce qu’ils sont capable de se regarder dans un miroir?! Non seulement ils leur ont volé leurs terres, détruit leurs maisons, tué leurs familles, et ceci tous les jours depuis 1948, ceci nous dépasse nous les humains!
Malheureusement, sont pas beaucoup les juifs qui condamne ces actes!
Ce qui est grave, c’est que les juifs ailleurs dans le monde, surtout au USA, Canada, Europe continuent à envoyer des aides à ces criminels d’Israéliens et je parle de millions de dollars tous les jours, tout cela pour vous dire vous les juifs, vous devriez vous mobilisez car nous sommes arriver à un point très dangereux pour tout le monde, ce qui se passe sera à jamais gravé dans la mémoire des gens, je parle des humains bien sûr, et constituera une partie intégrante de l’histoire noire de l’humanité, que personne ne serait capable de pardonner même les plus naïfs. Tout silence sera considérer un crime, et complicité, à vous donc de bouger!!!

Comment by Imane — January 6th, 2009 @ 8:34 PM

I would like to say that I have strong hope that the voice of justice would overcome the massacre desire one day.

Together we can build a better future for the rest of us

Comment by A Lebanese — January 6th, 2009 @ 8:58 PM

Instead of decry Canada’s foreign policy with respect to its unabashed, shameless support of ISRAEL,we should demonstrate her totally consistent behaviour in her treatment of our First Nations Peoples for all the world to see.
After brutally annihilating many Native Peoples Canada’s politicians also hung Louis Riel to clear the way for her Westward expansion. To this day Canada holds the legitimate aspirations of its Great Indigenous Peoples in a limbo of horrendous suffering causing both their Elders and most painfully their children to lose HOPE in the future. We Canadian’s have broken the SPIRIT of the pride of the progeny of our Great First Nations much like Israel has broken the SPIRIT of the Palestinians.
Canada is showing very consistent behaviour. It learned this way of behaving from Britain which held India in subjugation for two centuries. Being an IMPERIALISTIC nation Britain also very generously gave away land it did not own,namely a piece of Palestine ( with complicity of Churchill,France,League of Nations, etc.).
Britain was shamed by Mahatma Ghandi to set India free. Canada has been shamed into apologizing to its Native Peoples,but hesitates to fully compensate First Nations for the theft of their land. ISRAEL has managed to never stop STEALING with the complicity of the LAND of the FREE and Britain and Canada.ISRAEL is an ARROGANT nation. It will only be humbled when the U.S. of America stops giving it over 5 BILLION dollars a year and the most modern weapons in the world. The ONLY reason why Americans are so HYPOCRITICAL is because the ISRAEL LOBBY will ensure that any politician who frustrates the LOBBY from giving ISRAEL what it wants will surely be defeated.Canada’s reason for HYPOCRACY is its fear of the U.S. Remember, he who has the gold makes the rules.

Comment by Gary D'Orazio — January 7th, 2009 @ 12:26 AM

Bonjour à tous
Tout combat commence par la parole. La parole est déjà action. Pour gagner la guerre il faut commencer par la guerre des idées. En même temps il y a la guerre de l’information vs la désinformation et le mensonge. Les monopoles médiatiques avec leur soit-disant neutralité ne distinguent pas le vrai du faux. Leur but n’est pas de dire la vérité mais de défendre leur propre intérêt en se moulant sur l’orthodoxie des agences de presse.
Pour faire de l’information il faut diffuser la vérité sur les faits. Cela s’appelle de la propagande. C’est le seul moyen de diffuser la vérité sur la situation. Mais la presse monopolisée utilise ce terme pour discréditer tout parti pris en faveur de ce qui est vrai pendant qu’elle-même diffuse le mensonge de toutes les façons possibles en se donnant des airs d’objectivité. Cependant, rien n’est moins «objectif» que le mensonge, le silence, la parole qu’on accorde aux partisans des politiques criminelles, etc. etc.
Nous devons continuer de prendre la parole, d’informer, de se rassembler, de s’organiser, de protester, de collecter le soutien matériel, etc. etc.
Nous ne devons pas nous laisser entraîner par ceux qui tentent de nous démoraliser en disant que ça ne changera rien sur le terrain. Les guerres ne se gagnent pas en claquant des doigts ni en disant des choses pareilles. C’est souvent une excuse pour justifier de ne rien faire de positif.

Comment by Jean-Yves Rioux — January 7th, 2009 @ 5:21 PM

This article is a shameful piece of propaganda full of lies. Israel “occupied” the West Bank and Gaza in a war of survival in 1967. Numerous attempts to make REAL peace and return the territories have been violently rebuffed. Gay Palestinians flee to Israel for safe haven from the Hamas maniacs who throw them from rooftops.Israel has learned the hard lessons of history. Jews cannot rely on the goodwill of other nations to protect Jews. Israel reacts to violence from the other side. The so-called “apartheid wall” was built to protect Jews from Palestinian suicide bombers. It has been very successful. israel withdrew from Gaza and only closed it’s borders with Gaza when it became obvious that the Palestinians had no intention of living in peace with Israel. Israel is a sovereign nation that has a responsibility to protect her citizens. This is a tragedy for which Hamas is solely responsible. How would any sovereign nation respond to the continuous rocketing of her towns and citizens over a period of years?

Comment by odele — January 10th, 2009 @ 5:08 PM

Qui croire de cette propagande? Toutefois j’ai confiance que les groupes de solidarité peuvent à long terme influencer nos gouvernements pour qu’ils posent des gestes humanitaires et que cesse cette violence.

Comment by Chandonnet Madeleine — January 15th, 2009 @ 11:48 PM

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