Background:  IJAN Toronto members, working with other local Jewish activists in Toronto, put together and op-ed piece and collected 161 names of Jewish Canadians within a week, debunking the myth that criticism of the Israeli state is anti-Semitic, or that Israel acts out of self-defense. It also decries recent attacks on Israeli Apartheid week at several Canadian Universities. The statement, “Jewish Canadians Concerned About Suppression of Criticism of Israel.” speaks about the current climate as analogous to the Red Scare of the 1950s. Both the Toronto Star and the national Globe and Mail refused to publish it. The piece was then placed as an “advertisement” in one of the free weekly papers in Toronto, NOW Magazine. It is currently circulating on various lists and websites on the Internet, and may eventually be placed as an advertisement in either the Globe and Mail or the Ottawa Citizen, if more money can be raised. And names keep coming in.

Weare Jewish Canadians concerned about all expressions of racism,anti-Semitism, and social injustice. We believe that the Holocaustlegacy “Never again” means never again for all peoples. It is a tragicturn of history that the State of Israel, with its ideals of democracyand its dream of being a safe haven for Jewish people, causesimmeasurable suffering and injustice to the Palestinian people.

Weare appalled by recent attempts of prominent Jewish organizations andleading Canadian politicians to silence protest against the State ofIsrael. We are alarmed by the escalation of fear tactics. Charges thatthose organizing Israel Apartheid Week or supporting an academicboycott of Israel are anti-Semites promoting hatred bring theanti-Communist terror of the 1950s vividly to mind. We believe thisserves to deflect attention from Israel’s flagrant violations ofinternational humanitarian law.

B’nai Brith and the Canadian Jewish Congress have pressured university presidents and
administrationsto silence debate and discussion specifically regardingPalestine/Israel. In a full-page ad in a national newspaper, B’naiBrith urged donors to withhold funds from universities because“anti-Semitic hate fests” were being allowed on campuses. ImmigrationMinister Jason Kenney and Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff have echoedthese arguments. While university administrators have resisted demandsto shut down Israel Apartheid week, some Ontario university presidentshave bowed to this disinformation campaign by suspending and finingstudents, confiscating posters, and infringing on free speech.

Wedo not believe that Israel acts in self-defense. Israel is the largestrecipient of US foreign aid, receiving $3 million/day. It has thefourth strongest army in the world. Before the invasion of Gaza on 27December 2008, Israel’s siege had already created a humanitariancatastrophe there, with severe impoverishment, malnutrition, anddestroyed infrastructure. It is crucial that forums for discussion ofIsrael’s accountability to the international community for what manyhave called war crimes be allowed to proceed unrestricted by speciousclaims of anti-Semitism.

Werecognize that anti-Semitism is a reality in Canada as elsewhere, andwe are fully committed to resisting any act of hatred against Jews. Atthe same time, we condemn false charges of anti-Semitism againststudent organizations, unions, and other groups and people exercisingtheir democratic right to freedom of speech and association regardinglegitimate criticism of the State of Israel.

Click to read the original list of signatories.

UNESCO, a specialized agency of the United Nations,has as its stated goal to "contribute to peace and security by promotingcollaboration among nations through education, science, and culture in order tofurther universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the humanrights and the fundamental freedoms" proclaimed in the UN Charter. UNESCO, theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, ispolitically accountable to the international community.  Whenschools under the UN flag are targeted, when children are targeted, when awhole population is systematically deprived of food and water, sanitation andelectricity, UNRWA, UNICEF and UNESCO, are not to be content with protest; theyshould live up to their responsibility by taking action. Below are appeals to UNESCOto fulfill its role in the maintenance of justice through cultural preservationand respect by a) revoking Israel'smembership in UNESCO, and b) joining the cultural and academic boycott of Israel.

To read the Arabic version, click here.