Montreal: university and college professors and employees call for Israel boycott

January 24th, 2009 | Posted in Boycott, Canada, Palestine, Quebec
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    Le Devoir. January 24 2009.

    Photo: Israel drops chemical weapons over a U.N. school in Gaza.

We are a group of teachers and employees at Quebec colleges and universities who stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, and with the people of Gaza who have suffered through the Israeli siege as targets of Israel’s brutal military attack. It will take more than ceasefires to bring a just and lasting peace in Palestine and Israel. We are acting in response to an appeal for support issued January 2, 2009 by the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees. In the wake of the Israeli bombing of the Islamic University of Gaza, the Federation of Unions has urged academics around the world to support a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

We support this call and place it within a wider campaign of boycott, divestment, and sanctions. The struggle against apartheid in South Africa was supported through boycotts, divestment, and sanctions. We support a similar strategy against the Israeli state.

We will undertake actions within our own institutions to promote education on this issue, to support students, faculty, and employees to speak out on this question, and to pressure the institutions in which we work to participate in a boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign that aims for a just and lasting settlement for the Palestinian people.

We strongly condemn the government of Canada’s position on the ongoing conflict in Gaza and for its bilateral trade agreements that help sustain Israeli military actions. The Harper government has condemned Hamas, an elected government, as a terrorist organization. Yet it consistently supports the government of Israel, which has used weapons causing mass destruction on a mainly civilian population, including attacks on children and schools, and has violated International prohibitions against collective punishment through its blockade of the Gaza strip.

We call on the Harper government to re-evaluate its policies and to unequivocally condemn the Israeli siege and assault on Gaza, which constitute serious violations of international and humanitarian law. We further demand that the Israeli government immediately cease its violence.

As well, we urge that all economic relations between Israel and the governments of Canada and Quebec — including trade agreements – be suspended until there is not only a just and lasting peace for the Palestinian people, but that Israel, in compliance with international law, recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

Brian Aboud, Vanier College
Sajida S. Alvi, McGill University
Rachad Antonius, Université du Québec à Montréal
Sima Aprahamian, Concordia University
David Austin, Concordia University
Gregory Baum, McGill University
Rachel Berger, Concordia University
Martin Blanchard, Université de Montréal
James (Jay) Brophy, McGill University
Peter Button, McGill University
Joel Casseus, Vanier College
Jean Chapman, Concordia University
Dolores Chew, Marianopolis College
Jennifer Chew, McGill University
Aziz Choudry, McGill University
Jocelyne Couture, Université du Québec à Montréal
Mary Ellen Davis, Concordia University
Caroline Desbiens, Université Laval
Martin Duckworth, Concordia University
Maurice Dufour, Marianopolis College
Arwen Fleming, McGill University
Roy Fu, John Abbott College
Monika Kin Gagnon, Concordia University
S. Gourlay, Concordia University
Wael B. Hallaq, McGill University
Jill Hanley, McGill University
Michelle Hartman, McGill University
Sumi Hasegawa, McGill University
Oscar Hernandez, Marianopolis College
Christina Holcroft, McGill University
Homa Hoodfar, Concordia University
Helen Hudson, McGill University
Adrienne Carey Hurley, McGill University
Andrew M. Ivaska, Concordia University
Sandra Jeppesen, Concordia University
Yasmin Jiwani, Concordia University
Steven Jordan, McGill University
Denis Kosseim, Cégep André-Laurendeau
Anna Kruzynski, Concordia University
Marc Lafrance, Concordia University
Thomas LaMarre, McGill University
Diane Lamoureux, Université Laval
Andrée Lévesque, McGill University
Charmain Levy, Université du Québec en Outaouais
Abby Lippman, McGIll University
Margaret Lock, McGill University
Richard Lock, Vanier College
Ehab Lotayef, McGill University
Gada Mahrouse, Concordia University
Chantal Maillé, Concordia University
David Mandel, Université du Québec à Montréal
Rosanna Maule, Concordia University
Mark Patrick McGuire, John Abbott College
Elizabeth Miller, Concordia University
L. Monet, Université de Montréal
Norman Nawrocki, Concordia University
Holly Nazar, McGill University
Devora Neumark, Concordia University
Greg Nielsen, Concordia University
Kai Nielsen, Concordia University
Marielle Nitoslawska, Concordia University
Samuel J Noumoff, McGill University
Marielle Olivier, McGill University
Anthony Paré, McGill University
Andrew Pearce, McGill University
James Pettit, Marianopolis College
Veronica Ponce, Marianopolis College
Najat Rahman, Université de Montréal
Frances Ravensbergen, Concordia University
Trish Salah, Bishop’s and Concordia Universities
Daniel Salée, Concordia University
Kim Sawchuk, Concordia University
Gale Seiler, McGill University
Eric Shragge, Concordia University
Lee Soderstrom, McGill University
Martha Stiegman, Concordia University
Miwako Uesaka, McGill University
Indu Vashist, McGill University
Julian Vigo, Université de Montréal
Sarwat Viqar, John Abbott College
Nadia Wardeh, McGill University
Thomas Waugh, Concordia University

33 Comments »

I wish I had seen a request for signatures or heard of this initiative before now, I would have gladly added my name. I wonder if that is true of many others as well? The organizers of this, whoever they are, should find a better and more open means of collecting signatures, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, not when I am at Concordia myself and even in the same department as a number of the signatories above.

Comment by Maximilian Forte — January 24th, 2009 @ 8:21 PM

I thank you for all your efforts and endeavors.
I wish you success and if you need any support in any shape or form I will try to help you in your good cause.
God bless you all and bless all the honost people.

Comment by Fawwaz Elkarmi — January 25th, 2009 @ 5:35 AM

Suite aux déclarations répétées de la victoire du Hamas dans la guerre qui vient de l’opposer à Israël, un écrivain et universitaire palestinien exige du mouvement islamiste qu’il tire des leçons des Israéliens et forme un comité chargé d’examiner ses performances.
____________________________

C’est pourquoi que je trouve cette pétition une vraie connerie

L’un des juges de la Commission d’enquête Winograd.Un universitaire palestinien souhaite un “winograd gazaoui”.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski , JPost
“Nous voulons que le Hamas forme un Winograd gazaoui”, a écrit Ahmed Abou Matar, se référant à la commission qui a examiné le gouvernement israélien et Tsahal après la seconde guerre du Liban en 2006.

“Nous voulons que cette commission d’enquête soit aussi courageuse que l’Israélienne”, ajoute-t-il dans un article publié dans un important journal du Fatah. “Nous voulons que cette commission nous dise si nous avons remporté une nouvelle victoire divine ou accumulé une autre défaite.”

Ce week-end, des responsables du Fatah et de l’Autorité palestinienne se sont de nouveau plaints du vol de convois d’aides humanitaires dans la bande de Gaza par le Hamas.
Ils ont également accusé le groupe terroriste de continuer à tirer dans les jambes des militants du Fatah.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, un haut responsable de l’Organisation de libération de la Palestine, proche conseiller du président de l’AP, a affirmé que le Hamas avait transformé des mosquées en centres de détention pour interroger et torturer des activistes Fatah.

De son côté, le Hamas accuse l’AP d’avoir engagé une “guerre totale” contre les membres du Hamas postés en Cisjordanie.
Par ailleurs, le professeur Abou Matar, né à Rafiah dans la bande de Gaza, s’en est pris au leader du Hamas exilé en Jordanie, Khaled Mashaal.

Durant l’opération “Plomb durci”, Mashaal a déclaré que le Hamas ne voulait que provoquer Israël et ne s’attendait pas à une telle réponse de l’Etat juif.

Abou Matar a expliqué que ces remarques lui rappelaient celles du leader du Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, durant la seconde guerre du Liban.
Nasrallah avait en effet déclaré qu’il avait été surpris par la décision d’Israël d’entrer en guerre après l’assassinat et l’enlèvement de soldats de Tsahal le long de la frontière libanaise.

“La question est de savoir quand nous verrons un Winograd gazoui”, a insisté Abou Matar.
“Je dis bien ‘gazoui’ et non ‘palestinien’ parce que cette guerre a eu lieu avec le Hamas qui a organisé un coup d’Etat en 2007 et a libéré la bande de Gaza du Fatah, de l’Autorité palestinienne et d’Israël. En tant que tel, le Hamas est responsable du million et demi de Palestiniens en période de guerre et de paix.”

Comment by Hélène Béland — January 25th, 2009 @ 12:09 PM

We live in a democracy and everyone has a right to their own opinions.
But, sometimes I feel that I must be living in a parallel universe.

Israel is attacked by rockets – 80 per day. Israel defends itself
against Hamas – a terrorist organization who is successful at
terrorizing its own people more than it is successful at anything else.
Hamas hides behind women and children. And, you want to reward
Hamas and boycott Israel. What is the message you send to Hamas? Shoot
more rockets and get more of your own people killed and we will help you
even more. I cannot believe that you have any interest in helping the Palestinians. If you really wanted to help them, then you would try and get rid of Hamas.

Israel has no choice in this situation. Israel has a right to exist, and – the Israeli government has a duty to protect its own citizens. All your boycotts against Israel will not make a difference. If you really want to bring peace to the area and help the Palestinians, then help in getting rid of the terrorists – Hamas.

Comment by Henry Wolkowicz — January 25th, 2009 @ 12:18 PM

Amazing, that last comment. If the boycott would make no difference, then indifference would be the appropriate reaction. Instead, the mere mention of the word raises a storm of hornets. Clearly this is a sign that the boycott is worth pursuing then.

Help in getting rid of “terrorists”? I thought that’s what this boycott was for, because if you come away from the scenes of carnage in Gaza and the atrocities committed by Israelis against civilians, in a consistent and recurring pattern, it’s clear who the really serious terrorists are in fact.

The completely absurd notion above is that Israelis can take what they want, control every aspect of Palestinian lives, shove them off their lands, dictate the terms for their survival…and that Palestinians somehow lose the right to resistance. I will remind that writer that the right to resist colonial occupation is universally recognized, as is the right to resist invasion. Israel is not “defending” itself any more than the Nazis “defended” themselves once they had become established in France.

And whatever you believe, on any side, what you NEVER ever do is slaughter defenseless civilians for any reason. If Hamas is terrorist, Israel responding that it has the right to do the same means that Israel admits to being terrorist by its own definition. The problem is that Israel is far more powerful, and has been the far more destructive party in this situation, consistently.

Comment by Maximilian Forte — January 25th, 2009 @ 2:27 PM

I agree 100% with Henry Wolkowicz.

Comment by Hélène Béland — January 25th, 2009 @ 2:30 PM

Now I know why the opinions of most academics matter not a wit. To quote George Orwell, your call for a boycott of Israel is “an idea so stupid that only an intellectual could believe it”.

Comment by Al Gordon — January 25th, 2009 @ 3:58 PM

Le sionisme, une forme religieuse de colonialisme..

”Le colonialisme, c’est maintenir quelqu’un en vie, pour boire son sang goutte à goutte.” Massa Makan Diabaté.

Nul besoin du Hamas pour envisager la disparition de l’État d’Israël. Ce pays âgé de 60 ans, s’active tout seul à sa propre disparition. Son comportement suicidaire répond à une logique de l’histoire bien démontrée. Celle de toute puissance coloniale qui avance inexorablement vers sa fin. Le compte à rebours est rythmé par chaque victime innocente, qu’elle soit palestinienne ou israélienne. La machine coloniale est animée par la mort, y compris par sa propre mort.

Israël doit son existence à des puissances jadis coloniales. En 1948, le colonialisme était encore à la mode. La plus part des pays du sud étaient occupés par une puissance ou par une autre. Faut-il rappeler que ce ne sont pas les juifs de Palestine qui ont crée Israël. Ce sont des juifs sionistes des pays d’Europe qui ont installé par la force un État religieux suite à une opération de nettoyage ethnique.

Pour caricaturer le discours colonialiste des sionistes d’Israël Tom Segev écrivait le 29 décembre dernier au journal Haaretz: ”Nous sommes les représentants du progrès et des lumières, évolués aux plans rationnel et moral, alors que les Arabes sont primitifs, foules violentes et enfants ignorants qui doivent être éduqués et se voir enseigner la sagesse. Bien entendu par la méthode de la carotte et du bâton, comme le charretier le fait avec son âne”. Le propre d’une occupation coloniale c’est de renier la dignité du peuple occupé. De le traiter et le considérer comme inférieur, voir inexistant.

Ainsi la thèse de ”La terre sans peuple pour un peuple sans terre” s’est inscrite au cœur du projet sioniste. Une forme de négationnisme qu’aucune loi au monde ne punit encore. Un négationnisme soutenu par une formidable machine médiatique pro-sioniste et par les déclarations des dirigeants occidentaux justifiant les attaques d’Israël par son fameux droit à se défendre. Mais après 60 ans de résistance palestinienne, une évidence s’impose. Tôt ou tard, les palestiniens auront leur pays. Un seul pays sur l’ensemble du territoire de la Palestine historique où juifs, musulmans et chrétiens seront des citoyens à part entière. Un pays démocratique et laïque, celui que l’OLP avait toujours envisagé.

De nombreux juifs d’Israël, dont Abraham Burg (Fils d’un dirigeant historique du Parti national religieux), arrivent à cette conclusion : ”Cela ne peut plus fonctionner. Définir l’État d’Israël comme un État juif est le début de la fin. Un Etat juif, c’est explosif, c’est de la dynamite”. Un État islamique en Palestine serait tout aussi explosif. La seule solution pour mettre fin à l’islamisme du Hamas, c’est de mettre fin au statut religieux de l’État d’Israël. Le sionisme est une forme religieuse du colonialisme. Un cadeau empoisonné que les sionistes se sont donné à eux-mêmes.

Indépendamment qu’on soit pour ou contre l’existence d’Israël, une lecture froide de l’histoire démontre que cet État ne constitue pas un fait historique accompli. C’est plutôt une parenthèse parmi d’autres parenthèses de l’histoire. La création d’Israël répond à une conjoncture particulière dont les racines remontent au début de l’industrialisation et la découverte du pétrole au Moyen Orient. Cela coïncidait avec la naissance du mouvement sioniste de Theodore Herzl à la fin du 19 me siècle.

Au cours de la Première guerre mondiale, le puissant lobby sioniste est parvenu en 1917 à obtenir de l’Angleterre la déclaration de Balfour qui promettait aux juifs d’Europe un État sur la terre de Palestine. Selon le juif antisioniste Benjamin Harrisson Freedman, l’Allemagne a vu dans les manœuvres sionistes une trahison qui lui a fait perdre la première guerre. La revanche allemande est sans nom. Après la découverte de l’horreur nazi, l’Europe devait soulager sa conscience. Israël s’est imposé et l’indépendance de la Palestine, qui devait suivre celles des autres pays arabes, a été retardée.

Après la reconquête de Jérusalem par Saladin en 1187, ce dernier, contre l’avis de ses généraux, avait ordonné que les juifs puissent rester chez-eux avec leurs biens et le droit d’accès à leurs lieux saints. Cela explique le lien naturel de plusieurs juifs palestiniens, dont Ilan Halevi, avec leur terre ainsi que leur participation active dans la résistance contre l’occupation sioniste.

Aujourd’hui le comportement criminel d’Israël envers une population démunie, rappelle tous les massacres qui ont précédé la libération des peuples occupés. Palestine, Algérie, Maroc, Inde, même histoire, même combat, même parcours vers l’indépendance.

La plus part des occupations coloniales ont fini par finir; c’est une question de temps.

Mohamed Lotfi
Journaliste et réalisateur radio.

Note: Abraham Burg a écrit en 2007 ”Vaincre Hitler”. Un livre qui a eu en Israël, l’effet d’une bombe. Lire l’extrait d’un entretient accordé par Burg au journal Haaretz en juin 2007. Cliquez c’est très intéressant. http://blog.mondediplo.net/2007-06-09-Abandonner-le-ghetto-sioniste-un-livre-bombe-d

Comment by Mohamed Lotfi — January 25th, 2009 @ 4:11 PM

@ Wolkowicz
Vous les israéliens terroristes de haute gamme, vous êtes les derniers à parler de démocraties dans ce monde. Selon le droit international (que vous violez), les palestiniens ont le droit de combattre l’occupant et l’installation illegales des colons juifs sur les terres palestiniennes, si vous voules des terres achetez! et payez l’hypothèque comme le reste des humains! Depuis votre création illégal en 1948, vous ne faites que semez la guerre et le malheur dans le monde des humains, vous êtes un cancer pour l’humanité entière. Des pirates, voleurs de terres palestiniennes, vous êtes un état hors la loi, qui viole les droits de l’homme, les conventions de Genève et qui n’applique aucune résolution de l’ONU. Bande de criminels!
Hamas a été élu démocratiquement par le peuple, mais comme il ne plait pas aux terroristes de l’état hébreux vu qu’il représente la RÉSISTANCE à L’OCCUPATION, vous les appelez des terroristes. Le carnage de Gaza, et ceci selon un journal israéliens a été préparé depuis plus que 6 mois pour aménager les élections, ce n’est pas un riposte aux roquettes comme vous le pretendez bande de menteurs, de plus un ministre israéliens s’était avancé en déclarant à un journaliste que Gaza allait vivre un HOLOCAUST! Le titre de l’article est :
Israel threatens to unleash ‘holocaust’ in Gaza:
An Israeli minister gave warning that the Gaza faces a “holocaust”
As Israeli media relayed his controversial comments, Mr Vilnai’s spokesman was forced to issue a clarification. “The minister used the Hebrew term ‘shoah’ which means ‘catastrophe’ and in this context does not refer to the ‘the Shoah’ – the Holocaust,” he said

Gaza avant ce holocaust de 2009 infligé par Israéliens à une population civile sans défense, présentait déjà la plus grande prison à ciel ouvert dans le monde, un million et demi d’innocents que vous avez laissé sans eau, sans électricité, sans médicaments, sans aides humanitaires. Le monde a vu les israéliens interdire aux bébés nécessitant des chirurgies cardiaques de traverser pour se faire opérer, et tu viens toi stupide sadique pour nous parler de démocratie! Vous avez créer des camps de tortures qui rappellent le monde aux ceux crées par les nazis!

Vous avez la mémoire courte, pendant la 2ème guerre mondiale, ce sont le roi du Maroc et les turques qui ont courageusement sauvé des juifs promis aux camps d’extermination nazis. Aujourd’hui, il y a plus que 250 000 juifs qui vivent toujours au Maroc, pays arobo-musulmans, à part les 700 000 qui sont partis en Israel, alors à ton avis pourquoi est ce que nous les avions pas coupé en morceaux et brûlé vivant comme vous faites vous aux arabes et aux musulmans de la Palestine, parce que tout simplement nous sommes des HUMAINS et nous voulons vivre en paix avec tout le monde sans tenir compte de sa race ou sa religion.
Tout cela pour te dire que vous n’allez nulle part avec votre cruauté et terrorisme, seulement vous risquez de périr seuls et dessiner votre fin, vous récolterez ce que vous avez semé pendant plus que 60 ans !
Et en passant libérez les plus de 2000 enfants palestiniens que vous détenez dans les prisons d’adultes en Israël!

Comment by Imane — January 25th, 2009 @ 4:55 PM

A Henry Wolkowicz

Vous êtes exactement comme tous ces ignorants, vous essayez de cacher le soleil avec un tami. Mais voilà, Israel est demasqué. C’est israel les terroristes qui tuent des enfants et des femmes. Et le fait de pleurer n’est pas nouveau. Ils ont toujours tué, attaqués puis ils dennoncent les autres et ils pleurent. C’est vraiment, machiavèlique et c’est typique à Israel. Qui a colonisé le territoire palestinien en 48? qui a tué et exproprié des millions de palestiniens? qui parque les palestiniens dans des petites parcelles de terre? qui impose le blocus privant les palestiniens du strict minimum? Non, vous voulez étouffer toute une population et quand celle-ci se revolte, vous la traitez de terroriste. Et bien non monsieur, vous ne les tuerez pas comme des rats avec un blocus. Hamas est une resistance et heureusement que Hamas existe, sinon le peuple palestinien n’existerait plus. Parce que Israel l’aurait anéanti en pretendant comme d’habitude que ce sont eux qui se seraient tués. Sachez monsieur que dans tous les soulevements populaires et dans toute lutte pour la liberté, les resistants ont été traités de terroristes. Je sais ce que je dis car je suis Algerienne et ceux qui ont liberé l’Algerie étaient traités de terroristes aussi par l’occupant et pourtant ils ont libéré le pays. Ce qui ne saurait tarder pour la PALESTINE.
Prenez le temps de lire l’histoire et du fondement du sionisme, qui est le pire ennemi des juifs et du judaisme, avant d’être l’ennemi des musulmans et de l’humanité. L’ignorance est complice des assassinats. Regardez, par exemple : http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/

Comment by Lila A — January 25th, 2009 @ 10:56 PM

How can anyone claim that Israel has a right to exist unless that right is supported by overwhelming military power? Under any other humanitarian circumstances Israel should be begging the international community for mercy to be delivered from its sins. The world had mercy on Israel after WW2, but since then it has been an unappreciative,unrepentant rogue state.No day goes by that it does not cheat, steal, lie,deceive,murder, prevaricate, veto, assassinate , torture,humiliate,destroy,plot,brainwash,blackmail, bribe, or break a truce. It has American politicians in its pocket. Its religion is fanatically pursued by zealots who believe that only Israel has a right to THE WHOLE LAND. Israel lost its conscience. It engineered a Palestinian Kristallnacht(Dec.-Jan.; 2008-2009), but did not require the inhabitants to wear identification because death reigned down on all equally.

Comment by Gary D'Orazio — January 26th, 2009 @ 12:04 AM

The opinions of academics matter not a wit, and yet here they rush to comment on the opinions of academics. Make up your minds: if we are irrelevant and ineffective, then the only appropriate response is indifference and silence. The outrage, and the snide, smug, superior tone of the anti-intellectualist “man of the people” (who misappropriates Orwell…but you would have to be an intellectual to know that), tells me that we matter rather more. And with a boycott, the academics of the Israeli terror state will be made to matter rather less.

Comment by Maximilian Forte — January 26th, 2009 @ 12:55 AM

Thank you for doing the right thing and I am sure that many others would like to join you. As an Israeli Jew, I believe this is one of our only hopes to save us from ourselves. If the people around the world will not take steps to stop the monster Israel has become, we will all suffer. Israel’s main export is arms and technical training to control populations while using the occupied territories as their lab. Universities are used to develop and research. This has got to be stopped..
Keep up the good work!

Comment by Smadar Carmon — January 26th, 2009 @ 1:50 PM

I hear you people ALL of you including Henry Wolkowicz. Did you At all THINK???? A people who went through HOLOCAUST should commit these atrocities??? These are totally INHUMANE. To think that one human being could inflict such horror on another. Henry Wolkowicz do NOT be niaive by being the victim just OPEN your eyes to see what arrogance Israel shows towards others that it occupies yes OCCUPIES. Do NOT forget that there IS a God.

Comment by Shaheen — January 26th, 2009 @ 4:07 PM

Hey mr Wolkowicz

Take a look at this. And be verry proud of your nation and its greet democracy.

http://stopthesiegeongaza.blogspot.com/

Lila.A

Comment by Lila A — January 26th, 2009 @ 6:49 PM

Ok people,

The “one million’ zionist “virtual” soldiers, promised by the terrorist leaders of Tel Aviv regime, are at work on the net, including here (“Hélène Béland”, “Henry Wolkowicz”).
Les interventions colonialistes, racistes de ces êtres rongés par la haine et le déni, sont construites autour du même schéma: détourner l’attention des crimes de l’entité sioniste, jouer à la victime, nier le fait colonial, donner l’illusion d’un soutien à l’entité coloniale (en dehors de leurs cercles sionistes fanatiques), faire perdre du temps et de l’énergie, pourrir les forums.

So stay focused on what matters…
Love and solidarity

ALL Palestine will be free !

Comment by Zionist Watch — January 26th, 2009 @ 7:12 PM

I hold no illusions that we, the millions, perhaps even billions, of ordinary people who are aghast at the demonstration of Israeli brutality towards Palestinians can do anything that will be immediately effective in halting the Israeli narion-state’s ongoing conquest of the Palestinians under its control, a conquest fully supported by the U.S. and its craven ‘allies’. But in the long term I believe there is solid reason to be hopeful we can make a good world for all peoples.
My short essay, “Doing away with the Zionist state of Israel, an earned fate” is being posted on my new website at http://georgesalzman.org/2009-01-24.htm. The fourth point is:
4. I start from the basic assumption that the entire Zionist project to plant a Jewish nation-state in the land of Palestine was illegitimate from its inception, based, as we know, on the premise that the land would be taken from its indigenous population, a conquest to be rationalized on grounds of ancient history and religious dogma, and to be achieved by serving the imperial interests of major Western nations.
If you cannot see the essay on the website (which is still not completely in working order), simply drop me a note at george.salzman(at)umb.edu and I’ll e-mail you a copy. We need a humane world where peoples of all ethnicities can live in dignity and peace, with security. Another world is possible, but only the ordinary people can make it. No government can achieve this goal.

Comment by George Salzman — January 26th, 2009 @ 7:38 PM

Commentaires sur un commentaire, voir les numéros plus bas :

“Israel is attacked by rockets – 80 per day (1). Israel defends itself
against Hamas (2) – a terrorist organization (3) who is successful at
terrorizing its own people more than it is successful at anything else (4).
Hamas hides behind women and children (5). And, you want to reward
Hamas and boycott Israel. What is the message you send to Hamas? Shoot
more rockets and get more of your own people killed and we will help you
even more (6). I cannot believe that you have any interest in helping the Palestinians. If you really wanted to help them, then you would try and get rid of Hamas (7).

Israel has no choice in this situation. Israel has a right to exist, and – the Israeli government has a duty to protect its own citizens. All your boycotts against Israel will not make a difference. If you really want to bring peace to the area and help the Palestinians, then help in getting rid of the terrorists – Hamas (8).”

(1) On veut des preuves de ce que vous avancez.
(2) Je crois que vous malinterprêtez les mots. Regardez la définition du mot “défense” dans n’importe quel diccionnaire et regardez ensuite les faits: Qui s’introduit dans le territoire de l’autre? Qui fait le plus de victimes? Est-ce demesuré? Quels sont les moyens techniques utilisés par les deux partis? Est-ce démesuré?
Maintenant, regardez le mot “aggression”. De nouveau, comparez les définitions, regardez les faits, analysez, faite-en une conclusion objective.
Vous voulez une définition objective: presonnellement, je ne crois pas que Hamas se défende, les fait démontrent bel et bien une “riposte”. Maintenant, est-ce que la riposte est équivalente? Qui possède le rapport de force? À vous d’y réfléchir.
(3) Encore une fois, regardez les définitions… Si on s’en tiens à votre logique, le gouvernement de Bush et de Olmert sont également des états terroristes.
(4) “anything else” = Belle tactique pour évader votre argumentation. Soyez plus précis.
(5) USA et Israel se défendent avec les mots “démocracie”, “war on terror”, “collateral dommages”, “free nations”, etc… Entre ces termes et les termes “women and children” lesquels sont les plus concrêts?
(6) Clairement votre meilleure argumentation, dommage que vous vous evadiez rapidement avec la phrase suivante.
(7) Argumentation facile et subjective. Manque de consistance.
(8) Vous enployez les mêmes termes en une suite de mots différents. Redondance.

Maintenant, je ne donne pas ici mes opinions sur le sujet pcq je ne crois pas être suffisament informé sur le sujet, sur l’histoire passé et présente. Cependant, je sais garder un esprit critique, ce qui me porte à abstenir mon argumentation lorsque mon propos n’est pas défini.

Vous avez droit de donner votre opinion mon cher ami. Mais si vous ne voulez pas être la cible facile de vos adversaires idéologique, je vous conseille FORTEMENT de prendre des cours d’argumentation, de critique et d’analyse. Et aussi, je vous conseille de vous informer un peu mieux sur les faits.

C’était mon commentaire
Merci et bon débat

Comment by Je désire garder l'anonymat — January 27th, 2009 @ 2:11 PM

Pour détendre l’atmosphère un peu d’humour.
Une blague-devinette:
Quelle est la pire organisation terroriste de Palestine ?


Tsahal !

Ben oui il opère en palestine occupé et participe au terrorisme d’État d’Israel.

Comment by Humour 101 — January 27th, 2009 @ 7:57 PM

I want to thank all of these people–mostly academics– for showing their true colors.

In particular, I want to thank the people who silently applaud as rockets rain down on Israel’s cities with impunity and then scream when the same people hide behind their children as Israel retaliates.

I want to thank the people who courageously cry tears of pain when Hamas fighters cynically use children at schools as shelter, but somehow forget to cry for the thousands of Israelis who have been murdered by bombers who have no interest in their own women, and children.

Where are you, Margaret Lock, to condemn this modern-day blood libel taking place against Israel?
Where are you, David Austin, to say to Hamas: “Stop using children as human shileds?”
Where are you, Samuel Noumoff, to condemn these so-called “peace” rallies taking place in downtown Montreal that don’t “just” call for the destruction of Israel, but for the murdering of Jews?
Where are the rest of you armchair, ivory-tower warriors to stand up and be counted for the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who constantly live in fear of daily rocket attacks? Where are you to condemn the real perpetrators of the most heinous crime on Earth–the use of civilian infrastructure like Mosques, schools, and hospitals—to achieve military goals.

As signatories to the Boycott, you have all shown that your moral compass has been diluted. Shame on you all for calling for a boycott of an entire state (an entire people, really). Such a notion sounds almost as peaceful as the comment made by Mr. Zionistwatch: “All Palestine will be free!”

If your hope for peace, as signatories to this boycott, is paralleled to his comment, then I wish nothing but a speedy recovery from your deplorable moral calousness. You all should know just a little bit better…

Comment by David — January 27th, 2009 @ 9:32 PM

The last comment, above this one, is besides hysterical and an exercise in grotesque hyperbole, full of insults and idiocies. I participated in those rallies in Montreal, and nobody was calling for Israel to be destroyed and Jews to be murdered. To even write that, one has to be a total ass. It is an outright lie, pure fabrication, and that seems to be the mentality behind the rest of that post.

As for preaching morality, “David,” show us when you have shown any remorse for the vast numbers of Palestinians murdered, tortured, an imprisoned by a far more powerful Israel, against people who were defending their lands and resisting occupation. Then come back and talk to us about “moral compasses.” Idiot.

Comment by Maximilian Forte — January 28th, 2009 @ 5:04 AM

Thanks Maximillian for calling me an idiot and letting us all know how you feel about those rallies in support of peace. Was that you waving the flag of Hezbollah- that peace-loving, social-services providing, mini proxy-state of Iran in Lebanont hat holds the Lebanese people hostage? You are aware, Maximillan, that Canada has condemned Hezbollah as a terror organization, making the waving of those flags on Canadian soil illegal, aren’t you?

Unfortunately for you, my description of your callousness stands correct proven by your definition of “resisting occupation.” I don’t know what dictionary of international law you use, but I’m pretty certain that firing over 5,000 rockets targeted at Israeli civilians over the last three years runs a little deeper than simple resistance of the occupation.

Rather, this conflict is- and has always been about- the existence of a Jewish State in historical Palestine. Confirmation of this can be found in the Charters of Hamas, and Hezbollah. I urge you and other singatories to have a look and judge for yourself their grotesque nature calling for the destruction of Israel, and yes!- even Jews, wherever they may be.

Unfortunately, there are too many Israeli soldiers in their graves today because they cared about Palestinian children more than their leaders. Call it a fabrication, call it a lie, call it a conspiracy- call me an idiot! Peace will come not when armchair warriors like you, Maxmillian, attend rallies wavingHezbollah flags, but rather when Pallestinian leaders and Palestinian parents love their children more than they hate Israel.

Comment by David — January 28th, 2009 @ 4:02 PM

This is one step on the road. I hope professors and university employees will understand what Israelis are doing all that holocaust to the Palestinian people in Palestine since more than 60 years, in the name of that it is belonging to them, because the British gave it to them!! can you imagine some body taking your house to give it to third one without any caring of you, your family or your opinion!!
So i hope one day we can call, not only for Israel boycott but for boycott all those who helped them in doing all that killing, starting with Britain and USA.

Comment by Dr. Zuhair Nafa' — January 29th, 2009 @ 11:27 AM

La tele francaise FR3 a envoye sur le terrain durant les combats 3 journaliste et un cameraman. Ils ont pr.sentés ce reportage ce soir a Envoyé Spécial Ils ont receuillis les temoignages de jeunes enfants blesses par des tirs israéliens qui racontaient que les membres du Hamas avaient investi leur maison pour tirer des rockets. Ils ont aussi filmés des dizaines combattants du Hamas tentant de se faire passer pour des civiles dans des hopitaux de Gaza. Quel cynisme de produire des victimes civiles parmi les siens pour influencer lòpinion publique! Cessez de nous faire croire sur ce site que tout es noir ou tout blanc.

Comment by Pierre A Roy — January 30th, 2009 @ 12:07 AM

Un bon site à lire

http://www.ujfp.org/

Comment by Ali — January 30th, 2009 @ 12:28 AM

Here is an interesting video from CBS:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4752349n

You should thank CBS for their impartiality at this number : 2129752006

Another one from Radio Canada:

http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/telejournal/2008-2009/Reportage.asp?idDoc=73104

Comment by Ali — January 30th, 2009 @ 1:50 AM

An interesting exercise is to compare the reaction of the mass media and many people on this board to what happened in Israel and to what happened in Sri Lanka. During the current trouble in Gaza, there was ongoing problems in Sri Lanka, with many civilians being killed. I do not have the exact numbers, but the amounts were similar. However, all the people angry at Israel that I spoke to were not even aware of problems in Sri Lanka. All you people on this board who care so much about civilian deaths – how many of you cared to start a boycott of Sri Lanka? How many boycotts were started? How many articles were written? I challenge you to ask yourselves why you are willing to *HATE* Israel so much and not care at all about Sri Lanka. Also, at the same time, Turkey attacked PKK locations; civilians were killed.
Sid Ryan never mentioned Sri Lanka or Turkey or all the other hotspots. We never saw articles in most of the papers till after Gaza quieted down. I am sure most of the angry people on this board know very little of these details.

The state of Israel is held to a standard different than all other countries in the world.
Israel will not commit suicide! The main role of the government (of any country) is to protect its citizens. It Israel is attacked it will protect itself. What amazing gall you have to expect anything different. What amazing chuzpa you have to think that your boycott will force Israel to abandon its own citizens.
I don’t believe you care at all about the Palestinians. You do have enough hate to want to destroy Israel.

Comment by Henry Wolkowicz — February 5th, 2009 @ 4:13 PM

i don’t know about israel , it is too far from here …. but i’m calling to all the thinking people to support our fight for liberation of canada from european occupation!!!!! for 400 hundreds of years people from another continent have mass murdered us indigenious people of america. europeans have no right whatsoever to occupy this land that for thousands years belonged to our forefathers, who lived here in harmony with nature. french and british came here with weapons of mass destruction and commited genocide of our race, there were millions of people here – where they are now? the few remaining survivors are still kept in ghettoes and the occupants pride themselves for humanity because they kindly reserved 5% to us – rightful owners of all this land. europeans rape our land with their industrialization and are leading the whole planet to the ecological catastrophy. GO BACK TO EUROPE !!! this is our land and we will not stop untill it is clear of the last occupant. there are no “innocent civilians” in this fight , anyone who doesn’t leave volunterily is an enemy and a legitimate target for our holy war for liberation. i hope that countries like russia and other countries that are not indifferent to the suffering of others like iran and syria will help us. our great gods are with us and we will win for our couse is right. REVENGE AND FREEDOM!

Comment by chingachguk — February 10th, 2009 @ 10:57 PM

To understand the fascist zionists disregard for human life read the book by the late Professor Israel Shahak born in Warsaw in 1933 and spent his childhood in the concentration camp at Belsen: The Weight of Three Thousand Years:
http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/jewhis1.htm
An exerpt:
” All this has a direct and practical relevance to the realities of the State of Israel. Although the state’s criminal laws make no distinction between Jew and Gentile, such distinction is certainly made by Orthodox rabbis, who in guiding their flock follow the Halakhah. Of special importance is the advice they give to religious soldiers.

Since even the minimal interdiction against murdering a Gentile outright applies only to ‘Gentiles with whom we [the Jews] are not at war’, various rabbinical commentators in the past drew the logical conclusion that in wartime all Gentiles belonging to a hostile population may, or even should be killed.6 Since 1973 this doctrine is being publicly propagated for the guidance of religious Israeli soldiers. The first such official exhortation was included in a booklet published by the Central Region Command of the Israeli Army, whose area includes the West Bank. In this booklet the Command’s Chief Chaplain writes:

When our forces come across civilians during a war or in hot pursuit or in a raid, so long as there is no certainty that those civilians are incapable of harming our forces, then according to the Halakhah they may and even should be killed … Under no circumstances should an Arab be trusted, even if he makes an impression of being civilized … In war, when our forces storm the enemy, they are allowed and even enjoined by the Halakhah to kill even good civilians, that is, civilians who are ostensibly good.7″

Complete book available at: http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/jewhis1.htm

Comment by Jorn — March 3rd, 2009 @ 1:10 AM

Haha wow, some people who have nothing to do with the conflict, who rely on the unreliable media to provide them with information have an opinion!

Comment by David — May 15th, 2009 @ 10:48 PM

J’appr

Comment by CLAVIER ARABE — October 3rd, 2010 @ 4:48 PM

One can either take sides (and boycott Israel or buycott Israel) or one can promote a peaceful resolution. One cannot do both.

Supporting one side over the other simply encourages the supported side to entrench themselves and fight for their cause, pushing the two sides further apart.

This applies to all conflicts where neither side will concede and the only way to stop attacks on each other is a peace treaty.

In this conflict it’s even worse. Support of the Palestinians is support for their denial of Israel’s right to exist and entrenches Israel’s belief that they are fighting for their very survival and cannot heed criticism against them.

Supporting the settlements increases Israel’s resolve to continue with them.

And the whole conflict is perpetuated to their mutual detriment.

Comment by Honest Broker — December 12th, 2010 @ 5:25 PM

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