"End the occupation !" PAJU Vigil # 491, July 9, 2010:
Publication date : 2010-07-13
The Canadian establishment’s deference to Israel is out of date
While politicians and the media remain fearful of criticizing Israel, the public is starting to move on.
On Canadian university campuses, the Palestinian campaign to equate Israel’s settlement policy with that of apartheid-era South Africa is gaining ground. Similarly, more and more Canadians are refusing to accept the either/or orthodoxy of the Middle East (‘you are either with Israel or with the suicide bombers of Hamas’) and are saying that, regardless of whom they happen to elect, the people of Gaza should not be abandoned by us.
While politicians and the media remain fearful of criticizing Israel, the public is starting to move on
On Canadian university campuses, the Palestinian campaign to equate Israel’s settlement policy with that of apartheid-era South Africa is gaining ground. Similarly, more and more Canadians are refusing to accept the either/or orthodoxy of the Middle East (‘you are either with Israel or with the suicide bombers of Hamas’) and are saying that, regardless of whom they happen to elect, the people of Gaza should not be abandoned by us.
That, presumably, is why 53-year-old former marine engineer Kevin Neish of Victoria joined the Gaza aid convoy. Neish wrote the following email home before Israel attacked the convoy and killed nine relief workers.
"Since the Israeli military always try to seize the media first to destroy evidence, my job is to non-violently get in the way of the Israeli commandos in a narrow passageway for about 30 seconds so the journalists can upload their reports," he wrote. "It should be interesting to say the least. I guess all my young years spent playing rugby and football are going to come in handy: i.e. being able to take a hard hit and keep standing and not lose my temper. I don’t think the Israelis are going to attack us, as the bad press coming from this would be enormous."
In fact, the Israeli attack was savage and premeditated, shocking Canadians and peace-loving people around the world.
None of this is to suggest that the plight of the Palestinians has become top-of-mind in Canada. But one senses that, within the Canadian public, the residual goodwill for Israel is wearing thin. Holocaust guilt, which in the past has been skilfully used to mute criticisms of Israel, no longer has the same effect. Nor do ritual charges of anti-semitism. The politicians continue to tiptoe around Israel, but the public is coming to understand that Israel is just another country –one whose crimes cannot be ignored.
Adapted from the article "Establishment’s deference to Israel is out of date", written by Thomas Walkom,
National Affairs Columnist, and published by the Toronto Star on June 2, 2010. See full text at:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/817857
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