Submission to the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism
Submission
August 13, 2009
To: Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism
From: Seriously Free Speech Committee
Co-Chairs – Brian Campbell
Anne Roberts
PO Box 57112, RPO East Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V5K 1Z0
Website: www.seriouslyfreespeech.ca
Email: info@seriouslyfreespeech.ca
INTRODUCTION
The Seriously Free Speech Committee (SFSC) is concerned that the hearings of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA) are directed not towards combating racism and anti-semitism but rather towards incorporating a much broader definition of anti-semitism in the Canadian criminal code. This new definition, based on the European Union Monitoring Centre (EUMC) 'working definition' of anti-semitism, is an expansive, subjective and politicized definition which merges the interests of individual Jews with the State of Israel and its Zionist ideology. By conflating the Jewish people as a whole with the government of Israel, it seeks to delegitimize and even criminalize criticism of Israel and its policies.
BRIEF
The SFSC was formed in February, 2008 to defend individuals being sued by Canwest, in a classic Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), for producing a parody about the pro-Israel bias of the Vancouver Sun. (For more information see www.seriouslyfreespeech.ca) The members of the committee do not necessarily agree on the issues raised in the parody on the situation in the Middle East. Rather the committee unites around a commitment to open and public discussion of these issues. When a broad spectrum of perspectives and information are made available for consideration — free of harassment, intimidation or censorship — Canadians at large can reflect on these and draw their own conclusions.
Canwest's position is best summed-up by its late founder Izzy Asper who boasted that “In all our newspapers...we have a very pro-Israeli position....we are the strongest supporters of Israel in Canada”. Statements made in the first Writ of Summons demonstrated that the reason for the suit against the first individual was his prominent support for a just settlement in the Middle East and his opposition to Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. Indeed, he had nothing to do with the parody beyond distributing a few copies of it. Charges against him were eventually “set aside” for lack of evidence after significant legal fees were incurred. The case is ongoing.
Our committee is opposed to all forms of racism, including anti-semitism, but we are troubled by the assumptions on which the CPCCA was created, and the seemingly pre-determined outcome of its hearings based on The London Declaration on Combating Antisemitism. Rather then encouraging wide-ranging debate on anti-semitism these hearings cast a shadow over open discussion of important issues in the Middle East and create a chill on freedom of expression.
In addition, the hearings have been poorly advertised to Canadian society and provide little time for response.
HIERARCHY OF RACISM
By focusing only on anti-semitism, these hearings create a hierarchy of racism in the Canadian context with anti-semitism at its apex. Canada has a long history of racism, subjugation of indigenous populations, discrimination against Blacks, race riots against Chinese and Japanese, discriminatory treatment of Sikhs and wide-spread anti-semitism resulting in European Jews being refused refugee status prior to WW II. A spring 2008 survey by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project found a rise in unfavourable views of Jews in many European countries but small numbers in Britain (9%), Australia (11%) and the US (7%). Canadian figures, though not available, are likely to be at similar levels. Significantly, unfavourable views of Muslims were much higher in all the countries surveyed. Indigenous peoples are subject to far more discrimination in Canada than Jews. A Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-semitism denies these realities.
ANTI-SEMITISM IN CANADA
Historically anti-semitism has been embedded in the very structures of Canadian government and society. Witness the pre-war exclusion of Jews from immigrating to Canada and the generalized separation that Jews faced in social, political, cultural and economic life through the 1950's. Recall the quota system at McGill University, the exclusion of Jews from various social and cultural clubs as well as from particular workplaces and jobs. Since the 1960's however, there has been a definite change in the structures of government and in the behaviour of Canadian elites. The Jewish community is now integrated in all aspects of Canadian cultural, financial, political and work life.
While there are individual incidents of anti-semitism, examples on the Internet, through white supremacist groups and from marginalized sectors of society, these are exposed and often result in serious consequences for the perpetrator. Bernie Farber, CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress, recently told the Toronto Star, “We have come to a point in the 21st Century where at least in the halls of government and I think very much in the mainstream of Canadian life, we are viewed as part and parcel of Canadian polity”.
The 2008 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents by the League for Human Rights of B'nai Brith showed an 8.9% increase in incidents (from 2007) to 1,135 including harassment (70.7%), vandalism (28%) and violence (1.2%). In Canada, police services reported 785 crimes that were motivated by hate in 2007, down from 892 in 2006. There were 185 religiously-motivated incidents in 2007, down from 220 in 2006. There were fewer incidents targeting people of both Jewish and Muslim faiths.
While any hate crime is unacceptable, quantifiable measures do not support the claim on the CPCCA’s website that the “extent and severity of antisemitism is widely regarded as at its worst level since the end of the Second World War.”
CRITICISM OF ISRAEL AND ZIONISM IS NOT ANTI-SEMITIC
Freedom of speech and free expression are human rights developed during the Enlightenment to encourage and protect citizen criticism of governing political and religious authorities. There is a long history of debate and disagreement about Israeli policies and Zionism both inside and outside the Jewish community. To suggest that being anti-Zionist is anti-semitic is not only erroneous and ahistorical, it debases the very concept of anti-semitism.
The essence of the “new” anti-semitism campaign is the conflation of Jews with Israel, the State of Israel or its governing ideology, Zionism. For example, the London Declaration denounces as anti-semitic “political action - against Jews, Jewish belief and practice and the State of Israel” Such a definition makes it impossible to criticize either Israel or Zionism without being labeled anti-semitic. Further, it is an illusion fostered for political purposes to assume that Zionism or the Israeli State represents the interests of all Jews. It does not represent, for example, some organized segments of Orthodox Jewry. Professor Steven Cohen's 2007 study finds also that “feeling of attachment to Israel is declining among non-Orthodox American Jews”. “Only 48% think Israel's destruction would be a personal tragedy for them, only 54% [are] 'comfortable with the idea of a Jewish State' “.
The 2008 Annual Survey of American Jewish Opinion revealed a wide discrepancy of opinion between American Jews and those held by the main Zionist leadership, particularly on foreign policy. In Canada, many organizations including Independent Jewish Voices and Jews for A Just Peace oppose Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories. These studies and organizations demonstrate that Jewish opinion covers a wide-spectrum and is far more nuanced than the positions espoused by a few Zionist organizations who claim to speak for the entire Jewish diaspora .
While proponents claim Israel is the “collective Jew among nations” and that criticizing Israel is an anti-semitic attack on Jews, the EUMC 'Working Definition' gave “Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel” as an example of the way anti-semitism is manifested with regard to the state of Israel. Yet that is precisely the consequence of the Working Definition. Those who criticize the illegal Israel occupation of Palestine, the apartheid system within Israel, or Israel foreign policy are criticizing the state, not individual Jews. The State and its governing elite are a separate from Jews in general. Equating the two makes every Jewish person responsible for the policies and practices of the Israeli state. Worse, it encourages the notion of collective responsibility and therefore collective punishment. As Brian Klug pointed out in his essay on The Myth of the New Anti-Semitism - “when every anti-Zionist is an anti-Semite, we no longer know how to recognize the real thing – the concept of anti-Semitism loses its significance”.
Proponents of the “new” anti-semitism argue that singling out Israel from all nations and atrocities in the world is unfair, demonstrating the anti-semitism of those organizations and individuals engaging in such criticism. The Seriously Free Speech Committee and most organizations opposed to the occupation are strong opponents of anti-semitism, racism, homophobia and Islamophobia. Participants in these committees are often also involved in many other organizations opposing human rights violations, including attacks on women and trade unions, and other national and international atrocities. It is therefore untrue to say that Israel is being singled out for criticism.
The 'Working Definition” states the only acceptable criticism of Israel is one “similar to that leveled at any other country.” But Israel and the Middle East are the focus of international politics and Israel has been the subject of over 33 UN Security Council resolutions and the International Court of Justice ruling that the Wall is illegal. The real question is “why would Israel's actions not be the focus of substantial political scrutiny and criticism?”
POLITICAL DEBATES ON ISRAELI POLICIES AND ZIONISM ARE NOT ANTI-SEMITISM
Linking political debate of Israel's policies and Zionism to anti-semitism is not only erroneous; it will chill freedom of expression in Canada. The main danger at this time is the stifling of debate over very serious issues such as the comparison between South African apartheid and Israeli treatment of Palestinians (a comparison which has been made by senior African National Congress activists), as well as the call for boycotts until Israel complies with international law. The London Declaration specifically attacks “antisemitic discourse and a hostile environment in whatever form it takes including calls for boycotts.”
Jewish student feelings of fear and intimidation on campuses, particularly around Israeli Apartheid Week, has been specifically mentioned as a form of anti-semitism. There is certainly anecdotal evidence that some Jewish students feel uncomfortable having the Zionist narrative of the Middle East politically challenged. But political debate and criticism is not anti-semitism. The 2008 Audit Report report notes that “tensions in the Middle East were present in explicit form in 211 [19% of] incidents during 2008.” How many of these incidents of harassment were political criticisms of Zionism or Israel’s policies? No one has the right to demand suppression of political speech because it makes them feel uncomfortable.
On the other hand, Canadian critics of Israel’s violations of international law are subject to constant harassment and censorship, eg.
* the Canwest lawsuit brought against the producers of The Vancouver Sun parody
* the censoring and blocking of community videos by Shaw TV because the words “ethnic cleansing”, massacre”, “genocide” were used in presentations by speakers opposing the illegal occupation of Palestine
* several universities requiring the removal of Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) posters, threatening to cancel IAW events, or using bureaucratic maneuvers to cancel public meetings or charge exorbitant security fees
*threatening several faculty in the US and Canada with review and dismissal. Some have lost their positions
*Pro-Palestinian organizations have been threatened with the loss of government funding.
CONCLUSION
The Seriously Free Speech Committee is concerned that the CPCCA mandate creates a hierarchy of racism in Canada by focusing solely on anti-semitism. The CPCCA context of The London Declaration on Combating Antisemitism and the EUMC 'Working Definition' conflate the policies of the State of Israel and Zionism with all Jews, rendering any criticism of Israel's actions anti-semitic and thereby debasing the concept of anti-semitism. Finally, these hearings cast a shadow over open political debate of important issues in the Middle East and create a chill on freedom of expression in Canada.