...But some Palestinian groups and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association say they are skeptical. One reason is Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s recent speech to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in which he referred to movements like Israeli Apartheid Week as “the face of the new anti-Semitism.” Israeli Apartheid Week calls for boycotts, divestment and sanction of Israel until it changes its policies toward Palestinians. “In much of the western world, the old hatred has been translated into more sophisticated language for use in polite society,” said Harper. “People who would never say they hate and blame the Jews for their own failings or the problems of the world instead declare their hatred of Israel and blame the only Jewish state for the problems of the Middle East.” Some critics see Harper’s speech, and the hate law change, as part of a trend to directly equate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. They point to 2009 when a group of MPs formed the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism. It had a controversial run. The Bloc Quebecois ultimately backed out and accused the coalition of being biased against critics of Israel. Critics also raise concerns that the hate speech amendment is packaged under a cyberbullying bill rather than being debated on its own merits. ...
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 19:21:17 +0000
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