Month: March 2010

Easter Appeal to Ms. Cheri DiNovo, Ontario MPP and United Church Minister

By Hanna Kawas.

Let Palestinian Christians Worship this Easter with No Apartheid Passes

I have followed with dismay the role you played, perhaps unwittingly, in the destructive Ontario Legislature motion on Feb. 25, 2010 regarding Israeli Apartheid Week. You were quoted in The Star as saying that the word apartheid is “inflammatory” and ”used inappropriately in the case of Israel”, and that “Apartheid does not help the discussion”.

It was painful to hear these words from a NDP legislator and especially after we knew you are also a United Church Minister.

Last August, the United Church Conference passed a resolution that legitimized Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians (Christians and Muslims), supported the discriminatory nature of Israel and annulled the right of Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land. The resolution 1(g) called for:

”The recognition by the emergent State of Palestine of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state within safe and secure borders.”
This was then followed by a contradictory clause about “equal citizenship rights, protections, privileges and responsibilities for all”, rendered meaningless however by the earlier section.

It is outrageous in the first place to recognize any modern state as a religious entity, which excludes others and makes them feel unwanted. What is more outrageous is to then tell those excluded people they must also recognize their own oppressors. It smacks of a sense of cultural superiority and accordingly racism.

This United Church resolution and then your support for the legislative resolution that intended to silence students on university campuses, who want to explain and raise awareness about the injustices the Palestinian people are facing, are a betrayal of the Palestinians and especially the Christian Palestinians.

We are aware of the bullying role of the Zionist leadership, who forced themselves on the United Church conference at times uninvited. However, we believe that succumbing to such pressure is unethical and unprincipled and does not provide any spiritual or community leadership. Consequently, Zionist officials have openly bragged about their role in influencing church policies (see: http://www.cjc.ca/2009/09/03/the-united-church-conference-a-first-hand-account/).

I do not know if you are aware of the book “The unHoly Land” by Reverend Dr. A.C. Forrest, the former editor of the United Church Observer. You might learn about, Zionism, some of the Zionist slanderous tactics and also about his courage, commitment to the truth, his dedication to humanity and the teachings of his church. Here is a quote from his book: “I have found no way to criticize the policies of the State of Israel, or question the philosophy of political Zionism, or tell my readers what the facts of the Middle East are, and escape slander and libel from the Zionist-Israeli community.”

As a Palestinian Christian who has been the victim of Israeli Apartheid and experienced it first hand, I support the many anti-Apartheid South African leaders who have stated clearly and categorically that Israeli Apartheid is worse than South African Apartheid. A relevant example now is that Palestinian Christians (and Muslims for that matter) are not allowed freedom of worship at their holy places by the Israeli government. Please note the call by Palestinian Christian leaders this Easter to abolish the Israeli permits needed to go to the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem in the article entitled “Palestinians Demand Entry to Jerusalem without permits during the Holy Week of Easter”. http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58203

I challenge you along with your fellow United Church members to do something in solidarity with your Christian brothers and sisters.

Many Palestinian Christians feel incredibly frustrated and betrayed by Canada’s mainstream churches. Many Western Christians will state they are trying to address the church’s history of racism and abuse against Jewish people. But this motivation cannot be used as a convenient smokescreen, which it often is, to participate in the oppression of yet another people, in this case the Palestinians. The guilt of western Christians must not be another burden for the struggling Palestinians to have to bear.

I urge everyone to act now to concretely support the Palestinians, in ways the Palestinians say are important, and to show courage and leadership on this issue. Please do not repeat the mistakes made by Western churches in the horrific oppression of our indigenous sisters and brothers in Canada. This time there is no chance to say you did not comprehend the magnitude of what was unfolding.

History will not be kind – Justice delayed is justice denied!

Hanna Kawas
Chairperson, Canada Palestine Association

Open Reply to Mr. Shurman, Ontario MPP, Regarding “O Canada or O Israel?”

By Hanna Kawas. The following letter was sent to Ontario MPP Peter Shurman (Thornhill), in response to his reply to O Canada or O Israel?

Open Reply to Mr. Shurman, Ontario MPP

I appreciate your courtesy in answering my letter “Is It O Canada or O Israel?”, but I am baffled by your response and your logic. If you are truly concerned for your constituents, you will not hide the truth from them.

Regrettably, as in the debates around your original motion in the Ontario Legislature, you did not substantiate any of your statements in your email. You call for meaningful dialogue that is not prejudicial. I agree that dialogue should not be prejudicial, but I don’t agree that the documented and scientific term “Apartheid” meaning separation is “prejudicial”. However, what is prejudicial is one of the parties believing that they are a superior race and that God gave these superior rights and powers to them. Dialogue should be conducted among equals and with people who believe in equality and human dignity. I also agree with you that this dialogue should not be confined only to campuses, it should include all sectors of the Canadian society, including the Canadian media that does not care to present the Palestinian point of view, nor their suffering nor their “cries of hope”. Have you seen any of the Canadian media report the “cry of hope” of the Christian Palestinians (Dec. 2009) to end the suffering, oppression and occupation of their people?

Perhaps the Ontario legislature should condemn the corporate media for being biased and one-sided towards Israel?!

You repeat in your email that “apartheid is prejudicial to any meaningful dialogue”, that it is “wrong to ascribe such a term to the State of Israel” and that you “reject the use of the word ‘apartheid’ with respect to the democratic State of Israel.” However, again, with no documentation to back your claims.

I tell you, as the victim of Israeli discriminatory polices, Israel is an apartheid state, Israel is not a democracy and exposing Israeli ethnic cleansing and war crimes against the Palestinian people is the duty of every decent human being.

Again I am willing to publicly debate with you and document what I am saying. Are you willing to debate these issues? I offered that in my first open letter, but neither you nor any of the members of the Ontario legislature who voted for your motion responded positively.

Here is a concrete public offer. I am the co-host of the radio show called Voice of Palestine in Vancouver, and we are offering you a segment of 25-30 minutes to explain your position. We broadcast every Tuesday evening for one hour – pick any Tuesday most convenient to you. If you do not feel comfortable with such an interview, we welcome your written response to the questions below and we will publicize them both on the radio and the Internet. Here are some of the questions I would be raising in any interview:

  • The Israeli “Law of Return” applies only to Jews (Israelis or not) and does not apply to the twenty percent of Israeli citizens who are non-Jews, mainly Muslims and Christians. Is this law democratic or discriminatory?
  • The “Absentee law” was used to rob the Palestinian people of their land when Israel was established, and now there is confiscation (robbery) of much of the West Bank land for illegal settlements, roads, the separation (Apartheid) wall and Israeli military bases. Are these actions democratic or are they part of the Ten Commandments “Thou shall not steal”?
  • The Jewish National Fund JNF and its affiliates that control 93% of the total area of Israel does not lease or sell to Christian and Muslim Palestinians. Is this the democratic principles you are talking about and how would you describe these practices?
  • What is the name of the Israeli Jewish author who wrote the book “Israel: An Apartheid State” in 1987?
  • Is a state that allows for discrimination against women democratic? See: Invoking Rosa Parks, Haredi Women Move to Back of the Bus
  • A recent poll in the Jerusalem Post found that 50% of “Jewish Israeli schoolchildren” are against equal rights for Arabs. Do you think this has to do with their education at home, or school or the Israeli society in general?
  • And finally, I might ask you to give only one quote from any Anti-Apartheid South African leader to prove your assertion that “it is also offensive to the millions of black South Africans oppressed by a racist white regime until the early 1990s”

Awaiting your reply,
Hanna Kawas

Subject: RE: Is It “O Canada” or “O Israel”?
Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2010 15:56:01 -0500
From: peter.shurman@pc.ola.org
To: hkawas@msn.com

Thank you for your email regarding the resolution that I presented and debated with my fellow MPPs in the Ontario Legislative Assembly on February 25th.

Please allow me to remind you of two things.

Firstly, my job as the MPP for Thornhill is to take positions on issues that are of importance to my constituents. I would also add that sometimes we will agree and sometimes we won’t.

Secondly, my argument is a simple one, even though others wish to expand upon it further. Simply put, I argue that the use of the term, “apartheid” is prejudicial to any meaningful dialogue before that dialogue even begins. Until all sides are represented in discussions on campuses and elsewhere, it is clear to me that the current starting point is not a level playing field.

Our objection is not to the discussion of the problems in the Middle East; it is that we reject the use of the word “apartheid” with respect to the democratic State of Israel.

The word, “apartheid” is assumptive and declaratory and assumes certain things. It is wrong to ascribe such a term to the State of Israel.
I stand by the resolution and maintain my motivation for bringing it forward.

Peter Shurman MPP (Thornhill)