Canada Palestine Association

Since the 2000 federal elections, many negative developments took place regarding official Canadian policy towards the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, the situation in the Middle East, and the systematic racism against Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims in Canada. The responsibility for these policies falls squarely on the shoulders of the ruling Liberal Party (see appendix 1).

At the level of the New Democratic Party (NDP), first there were positive developments during the leadership race and then negative developments the closer we came to the elections. Israeli agents represented by the Canadian Zionists succeeded in nominating some NDP candidates and in co-opting others, as part of a plan orchestrated by Israel and its supporters.

According to Ed Morgan, the new national president of the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), the leading Canadian Zionist organization, “ ‘One thing that we are really hoping to do is to reengage the political Left and labor unions since Jewish politics has been divorced from that side of the political spectrum,’ …Morgan explains that fewer and fewer Jewish advocacy groups are engaged with Canada’s Left, where the landscape is becoming more and more dominated by anti-Israel groups. ‘In Canada, we have made a lot of progress curbing anti-Semitism in the Right, but sometimes in the Left, the Israel bashing is so harsh that it is clear they haven’t been properly educated on the Middle East conflict’.” (Jerusalem Post, May 18, 2004)

In a letter to the NDP leader, we inquired about certain cases, where NDP candidates were supporting or propagating Israeli war crimes. Mr. Layton regrettably chose not to respond to our letter (see the full text of our letter in appendix 2).

On the same subject, however, Mr. Layton answered other letters sent to him regarding concerns over ‘Racist Comments at Vancouver Walk With Israel’ attended by an NDP candidate (see appendix 3).

Instead of denouncing the racist comments and reprimanding the NDP candidate, he basically reiterated official Liberal Canadian policy. This is a policy whose bias towards Israel we exposed a long time ago, such as the nonsense about Israeli security and giving Israel the power to veto the right of Palestinian self determination including statehood (seeBirthright Denied, A critique of Canadian complicity with Israel pages 30 – 37).

Mr. Layton’s answer shocked, disappointed and angered us; in addition to the pain it caused us.

Since the last federal elections, many positive developments have occurred in labour, peace and Palestinian grass root support movements. They are our only hope for drastic and fundamental change in Canadian foreign policy, a policy that supports Israeli massacres, atrocities, war crimes and the numerous human rights violations of the whole Palestinian nation.

Fortunately, many Canadian parliamentarians from all parties are realizing that the cause of the problems in the Middle East is Israeli injustice and occupation of Palestinian lands. The report by the nine parliamentarians who visited Palestine in 2002 was a good example of the triumph of the human spirit over party loyalty and over pro-Israeli propaganda whose main objective is to cover up Israeli atrocities and characterize the Palestinian struggle with an evil dimension other than national liberation.

Last elections, we called for a block vote for the NDP. However, this elections we feel that the leadership of the NDP has regressed from representing the sentiment of ordinary Canadians against Israeli war crimes (supported by the U.S.). We do maintain though that most NDP candidates still deserve our support.

Also, when voting, people of good will in Canada should remember the many deplorable and shameful positions of the Liberal government, which support and encourage Israeli occupation and war crimes (see appendix 1). The positions of the new Conservative Party, formerly Alliance, are so slavishly pro- Israel as to be beyond the consideration of any concerned voter and mirror the increasingly fanatic Christian Zionist forces in the U.S. (see our letter to Stockwell Day just before last elections). There are other smaller parties, some with more informed positions such as the Communist Party of Canada, and we should take the responsibility of learning more about those who support us and those who stand for injustice and war crimes. A good start is learning about all MPs and where they stand on the Middle East (see the House of Commons Emergency Debate on the Middle East, April 9, 2002 while Ariel Sharon was committing his most vicious war crimes against the Palestinian civilian population). http://www.parl.gc.ca/PDF/37/1/parlbus/chambus/house/debates/han164-E.pdf

Our support and votes should go to all those who supported our people in these difficult days, where the war criminal Ariel Sharon is wreaking havoc on our people with not just the US green light but also with US planning, financing and participation. We should not let our people down, we should not let humanity down, we should vote against every candidate who supports Israeli war crimes.

We should show the courageous people who support us, whatever party they are from, that not only will we vote for them but also we will not forget their humanitarian and principled stand.

Hanna Kawas
Chairperson, Canada Palestine Association www.cpavancouver.org

Appendix 1

Here are some examples, just since the last election, of the Canadian government complicity in supporting Israeli occupation of Palestine, and also in supporting US-Israeli war crimes against the Arab people.

Canada defeated a resolution at the UN Security Council in Dec/2000 that called for sending an international protection force to shield the Palestinian civilian population from Israeli war crimes. This Canadian position was in accordance with the dictates of the US-Israeli policy that opposed sending such a force. If the security of the state of Israel was really the issue, as they all claim, then why not agree to a force that will guarantee Palestinian and Israeli security and peace? The resolution got eight votes, but it needed nine member states out of fifteen to vote for it in order to be passed. Canada’s abstention defeated the resolution, and accordingly made Canada responsible for the subsequent bloodshed and atrocities against the Palestinians.

Canada’s position at the UN conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, in Sep/2001 was hypocritical, and the main concerns of the Canadian delegates were to protect Israel from international condemnation and to cover up Israel’s racism, atrocities and war crimes. “While some countries, including the United States, walked out of the Durban conference to protest against the anti-Israeli tone of proposed resolutions, Canada stayed to the end, working to take the sting out of some of the statements and to voice support for Israel, Mr. Graham said.” (Globe and Mail, March 20, 2002, Print Edition, Page A15)

The enactment of the “anti-terrorist legislation”(Bill C-36) after Sep. 11, 2001, which institutionalized racial profiling of Arabs and Muslims in Canada, highlighted the increasingly racist practices against these communities. Some of the most glaring examples are:
The heavy handed treatment of Palestinian, Algerian and other Arab and Muslim refugees.

The handing over of Mohamed Jabarah and Mohammad Cherfi to the U.S. authorities where the latter was snatched from a church sanctuary and handed over to the US authorities. By doing so Canada set a precedent similar to the Israeli immoral behavior in the Nativity Church in Bethlehem.

The banning of the Palestinian resistance groups, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), as well as the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, and the freezing of the bank assets of Hamas, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, PFLP and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, all occurred under well-documented pressure and the instructions of Canadian Zionist organizations (see CPA website under statements Letter to Solicitor General of Canada).

On April 15, 2002, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva condemned Israel for mass killings of Palestinians and for “gross violations” of humanitarian law. Canada voted against this resolution. It was clear to the whole world what Canada was doing – being a proxy for Israel and protecting it from accountability for its atrocities and violations of the international human rights code. Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham did not hide this fact, he stated: “ ‘We will be working in close consultation with Israel’ to try to prevent a repeat of the pillorying the country took at a UN antiracism conference last year in Durban, South Africa, Mr. Graham said…Canada is picking up the slack for the United States, which has been Israel’s traditional defender at the annual rights conferences.” (Globe and Mail article “Canada to protect Israel at UN session”, March 20, 2002, Print Edition, Page A15).

On May 8, 2002, following the Israeli reoccupation of Palestinian cities and the massacre at the Jenin Refugee camp, Canada abstained from supporting a resolution in the UN General Assembly that demanded an “IMMEDIATE END TO MILITARY INCURSIONS, VIOLENCE AND TERROR IN MIDDLE EAST”. The resolution was passed by a vote of 114 in Favour, 4 Against, 11 Abstentions. By abstaining Canada showed contempt for the so-called Oslo accords, which they claim they support, and also showed disregard for Palestinian lives and suffering (http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/ga10037.doc.htm).

At the UN general assembly, Canada abstained on the December 8, 2003 vote seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legality of the Israeli Apartheid wall. Bill Graham, The Minister of Foreign Affairs, according to The Ottawa Citizen, explained the Canadian submission to the ICJ this way: “I will give the court a written opinion to the effect that we consider that it’s not time for the court to take this as a legal question. It’s better that it remains for discussion between the parties, as mandated by the Security Council.”

On March 11, 2004, the UN Commission on the Status of Women passed a resolution on Palestinian women that called for “tangible improvement of the difficult situation and living conditions of Palestinian women and their families”. Canada was the only abstention with 39 countries in favour and 1 against (United States). The Canadian representative at the commission stated that the “text did not reflect the current situation”. Svend Robinson, former NDP MP for Burnaby-Douglas commented on this by saying “I find this action disgraceful and deeply troubling.” (See http://www.un.org/News/Press/ docs/2004/wom1446.doc.htm)

Appendix 2
—–Original Message—– From: hanna kawas [mailto:hkawas@email.msn.com] Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2004 8:59 PM To: Jack Layton Cc: Joe Comartin; Charley King; Davies, Libby – M.P.; Robinson, Svend – Riding 1; Alexa Mcdonough Subject: Voting in the upcoming elections

Dear Mr. Layton:

In the federal election of 2000, in a public position paper, our group stated:

“We, in the Canada Palestine Association, call on all Palestinian and Arab-Canadians, Moslem and Arab Christian-Canadians, and all our supporters, to cast a vote for justice for the Palestinian people by voting for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the next federal election. The NDP is the only party that is supporting the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.” (See www.cpavancouver.org under statements position paper and appeal)

We even argued against voting for candidates that supported our causes if they were from other parties, parties that were “condoning Israeli slaughter against our people.”

We realized later that this was a principled position, but not fair to the other parties’ candidates who supported the Arab and Palestinian peoples and opposed the war crimes carried by the US-Israeli alliance. Since then eight Parliamentarians from other parties joined Libby Davies in a fact finding mission to Palestine/Israel and issued a well documented report recognizing the main cause of the conflict in the area, that is the Israeli occupation.

Since then we also found out that some NDP members of Parliament and recent NDP candidates either support Israeli war crimes, or are “neutral” on the issue.. We think that silence on Israeli and US atrocities in the Middle East is complicity in these war crimes.

We would like to draw your attention to two instances and we would like an explanation, because it will help us finalize our stand on the elections.

• On the website of Joe Comartin, NDP MP from Windsor-Tecumseh, there are many links http://www.joecomartin.ca/links.htm that publicize the main pro-Israeli Zionist organizations in Canada such as the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, B’nai Brith Canada and the Canadian Jewish Congress, and no links to any major Palestinian, Arab or Muslim websites. Actually this is a shocking development coming from Joe who used to claim that he supports our causes.
• The Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam NDP candidate Charley King invited people “to Walk with Israel on Sunday, May 16, 2004, 12 noon. The 2004 Walk with Israel —Loud and Proud” under Charley King to Walk with Israel on Sunday May 16th http://www.charleyking.ca/pressreleases.htm

This position was doubly painful to all Palestinians, as the date marked the establishment of the state of Israel, when over 400 Palestinian towns and villages were wiped off the map of the world and two thirds of the indigenous Palestinian population were forced out of their homeland. That is why the Palestinians call this day alNakba or the catastrophe.

We would appreciate a response by Friday June 18, 2004, when we will issue our new position paper on the current elections.
Best regards and good luck to you and the NDP in general in this coming election.

Hanna Kawas
Chairperson, Canada Palestine Association www.cpavancouver.org
Host, Voice of Palestine, Vancouver Coop-Radio www.voiceofpalestine.ca

Appendix 3
From: “Jack”

Dear Friend:

Thank you for your correspondence about the Middle East.

The NDP’s policy on the Middle East is based on two fundamental positions:

(1) The NDP has consistently supported Israel’s right to exist, and its people’s right to live, safe from violence, within secure, recognized, established borders. Over the years this commitment has not wavered.

(2) The NDP also believes in the right of the Palestinian people to a national homeland of their own, whose shape and status must be acceptable to the Palestinians and their neighbours, and which must be achieved through peaceful negotiations.

The federal NDP is committed to Canada playing a leading role in the international community with like-minded nations. We want to work for peace and justice in the Middle East within a framework of respect for UN resolutions and international law.

Please see attached our policy resolution adopted at the NDP 2003 FEDERAL CONVENTION which reinforces this position.

The NDP believes that intolerance and hatred are not Canadian values. As NDP Leader, I will continue to speak out against acts of violence that find root in these beliefs. I recently condemned both the recent hate crime perpetrated against the Jewish community in Vaughan, Ontario and the violence perpetrated Sunday evening in Montreal against the United Talmud Torahs & Herzliah High Schools of Montreal.
As federal NDP leader I aim to bring Canadians of diverse ethnic backgrounds together to create an open and constructive dialogue on how best to foster a society where no citizen is harassed or marginalized. The New Democratic Party will continue to build bridges between communities and facilitate open channels of communication.

We appreciate the complexity of this issue but would like to reiterate that the only place to find a lasting peace is at the negotiating table.

Once again, thank you for writing. I am hopeful we will continue to agree to defend the interests of all Canadians.

Sincerely,

Jack Layton and today’s NDP.
New energy. A positive choice.

Jack Layton et le NPD.
Une force nouvelle. Un choix positif.

4 B3

BE IT RESOLVED that the Federal Council endorse the following resolution passed by the Socialist International Council:
The Socialist International hereby announces that its member parties – the Israeli Labour Party, Meretz and Fatah – agree that the mutual recognition of the state of Israel and the state of Palestine, as two states to live side by side, should be the initial commitment before negotiations start between the two peoples.

The main elements of a final settlement have long been clear to most involved parties: implementation of Security Council resolution 242; establishment of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel under irreversible security guarantees for both sides; borders ensuring that the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are part of the Palestinian state, but opening the possibility of negotiated land swaps; both states to have their capital in Jerusalem, and a just solution to the refugee issue.

The Socialist International and its above-mentioned member parties stress that negotiations have to be opened immediately and handle all outstanding issues. A cease-fire cannot be a condition to the start of negotiations. Extremists cannot be given the upper hand. The above parties renounce violence and will refrain from participating in any violent activity that harms civilian lives. Firm measures must be taken against such acts. We ask the parties to pay particular attention to the protection of the civilian population.

The Israeli Labour Party, Meretz and Fatah will immediately engage in confidence-building activities together, with the help and support of the Socialist International and member parties. Joint groups will be established to discuss and prepare specific issues that will come up within the framework of final status negotiations.

The Socialist International will work with the aim of encouraging the United States, Russia and the European Union to find a common stand on final status issues. This stand must be consistent with international legality, and enjoy the support of the UN Security Council. It must also allow concerned Arab states to adhere to it. Particularly, it must take into consideration the parameters included in the recent Saudi initiative.

This basic common position should be elaborated before an international peace conference with the participation of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, relevant Arab countries, the U.S., EU, Russia and the UN.

The parties to the conflict should be invited to the Conference on the basis of basic principles: land for peace, 242, and an agreement on the establishment of two states and security for both. The Conference should set a timetable for final status negotiations.
The Socialist International also encourages our member parties who are parties in conflict to prepare their respective public opinions for a compromise. Israel may not have peace and at the same time keep settlements, while Palestinians may have to accept an internationally supported compromise on the refugee issue.

The Socialist International supports the idea of building an international Fund for the Palestinian refugees, which the UN could administer once a permanent political settlement has been achieved on this issue. The Fund should ensure compensation for the losses and the suffering of the refugees, and provide them with the opportunity to start a new life on the basis of the conclusion of a final peace agreement. The better we can show that solutions are within reach, the more likely people will start working for a political settlement rather than a military one.

Urgent recovery and reconstruction programs for the Palestinian Authority are needed, including the recovery of taxes, customs and other fees still withheld. Development and security are dependent upon developing democratic institutions and establishing a centralized security authority.

The Socialist International insists on the need for international guarantees, international monitoring of implementation of any agreements, international political follow-up of negotiations, and the presence on the ground of a multinational peace-keeping force patrolling borders.

By Hanna Kawas

Prime Minister of Canada
Rt. Honourable Paul Martin

Dear Prime Minister:

On January 9, 2004, the Jewish Western Bulletin carried a disturbing article under the title “Israel supporters in cabinet” ( http://www.jewishbulletin.ca/archives/Jan04/archives04Jan09-01.html ) One member of “Liberal Parliamentarians for Israel”, Stephen Owen, the new Canadian minister of public works and government services, brags (even gloats) about the influence their group has in the new Cabinet. He is doing this with total disregard for the suffering being inflicted on the Palestinian people, and with disregard for the ramifications such support for war crimes could mean for them personally and for the Canadian government as a whole.

International human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have categorized Israeli military actions in the West Bank and Gaza as “war crimes”. A January 8, 2004 report of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs further detailed recent Israeli war crimes in Nablus. (see http://www.reliefweb.int/w/RWB.NSF/6686f45896f15dbc852567ae00530132/4c2b5ea9eea1a05bc1256 e19005a41dc?OpenDocument )

The continued Western support for Israel is what encourages and enables it to carry out more war crimes and massacres against the Palestinian people that have been under Israeli occupation for the past 36 years. It also prolongs the occupation of Palestinian and Arab lands; it is time for people to take a stand against those who perpetuate the suffering and oppression of other people.

Support for war crimes connotes direct responsibility for them. Silence about these war crimes is complicity in them.

Accordingly, we call on you to dismiss Mr. Owen and all the other ministers who implicate Canada in these war crimes in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/92.htm

We will also be calling on all peace-loving people to immediately convey their strongest condemnation to you personally and to the Canadian government about this infamy.

Yours truly,
Hanna Kawas
Chairperson, Canada Palestine Association https://cpavancouver.org
Host, Voice of Palestine, Vancouver http://www.voiceofpalestine.ca

Today, six B.C. groups sent the following letter to the Honorable Wayne Easter, Solicitor General of Canada, regarding his announcement last week about the banning of three Palestinian organizations. They stated: “We…denounce this biased and politically motivated announcement, the timing of which…was highly questionable.” The groups were Canada Palestine Association, International Solidarity Movement-Vancouver, No One Is Illegal-Vancouver, Palestine Community Centre, Palestine Solidarity Group and Stopwar.ca. Please find more relevant articles below about the banning of Muslim and Palestinian groups.

Dear Mr. Easter,

The recent banning by the Canadian government of three Palestinian organizations, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), is just the latest example of this government’s support for Israeli aggression, occupation and injustice against the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim peoples. It is also an extension of the U.S. anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim policies that have been implemented since September 11, 2001.

We, as groups that support Palestinian rights, denounce this biased and politically motivated announcement, the timing of which, just before a governmental transfer of power, was highly questionable. We believe that such a move will most likely increase the hatred in the Middle East toward the western world. Western governments, led by the U.S., are already perceived as being interested in only controlling the region and its resources, and as callous powers that are imposing despotic dictatorships on the people of the Middle East, dictatorships that are acting as puppets for the West with no regard to human rights, democracy or freedom.

The banned organizations are part of the Palestinian liberation movement, recognized not only by the UN, but also by the majority of world public opinion. These organizations, despite differences in tactics, are part of the Palestinian struggle for freedom, liberation and democracy and two of them are long-time members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

While 59 per cent of European public opinion considers Israel the main country on the planet that threatens world peace, the Canadian government rewards Israeli aggression by striking at the “enemies” of Israel. The Canadian government is also continuing its economic support of Israel through the Canada-Israel free trade agreement, and the financial support and tax-deductible status the Zionist organizations enjoy and use, even though this helps the illegal settlements.

The political support of the Canadian government is long standing, goes back to even before the creation of the state of Israel, and is well-documented at the UN where Canada, alongside the U S, always protected Israel from any meaningful resolution that would hurt it economically or politically. These policies are motivated by the self-interest of our government’s politicians, who, in this respect, would seem to have no regard for international law, human rights or morality.

Israel, since before its official inception, has recruited Canadians (against Canadian Law, the Foreign Enlistment Act, and under the noses of successive Canadian governments) to go and participate in the killing of Palestinians and Arabs.

Some Canadian Zionist papers even boast about this and give recruitment figures. Israeli death squads have assassinated people, including Canadians, all over the world. The Israeli Mossad has used Canadian passports and Israeli agents have posed as Canadians to recruit Palestinian informants and collaborators.

Israel, its security agencies, its military and the settlers are the ones who should be put on the terrorist list, if Canadian foreign policy is indeed evenhanded. Amnesty International has charged Israel with “war crimes” in its recent actions in the Rafah area of Gaza. Where is our government’s action to respond to these outrages?

The Palestinians and their children are being terrorized daily, their homes and fields are being destroyed, their leaders are being murdered without any due process and their lands are being stolen. Israeli warplanes and tanks are attacking Palestinian civilian areas, killing the civilian population, including young children. Collective punishment is terrorism, building the Apartheid Wall is terrorism. So who should be on the terrorist list?

The Canadian government’s banning of these organizations gives a license to de-legitimize the Palestinian struggle and its Canadian support base. This will lead to further persecution and fear amongst Canadian supporters and escalate the racism, stereotyping and unwarranted arrests against many Palestinian and Arab-Canadians.

These Canadian government policies will endanger the strategic interests of the Canadian people for generations to come and do a disservice to international law and human rights. We, as organizations concerned for justice for the Palestinian people and for peace in the region and the whole world, urge the Canadian government to stop going down the path of McCarthyism at home and of supporting aggression, occupation and human rights violations abroad.

We also pledge our support to the just struggle of the Palestinian people for freedom and self- determination, and pledge to expose the Canadian government’s immoral and inhuman stand against the Palestinians to the Canadian public.

See also our Open Letter to the Canadian Prime Minister Regarding the Banning of Moslem Organizations on Dec. 11, 2002

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September 7, 2002, published in the National Post author Stewart Bell
Ottawa to ban Palestinian group
Follows Jewish lobbying: Cabinet to double number of entities covered by terror law

The federal Cabinet is expected to outlaw a Palestinian militant group and up to a half-dozen other terrorist organizations under its new anti-terrorism law this fall, the National Post has learned. The names of as many as seven terrorist groups slated for legal sanctions were expected to be approved by ministers in Ottawa over the next few weeks, making it illegal for them to operate in Canada. It is not known which Palestinian group is to be added to the list but the most likely candidates are Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). All are hardline Islamic terrorist organizations that have dispatched suicide bombers and gunmen into Israel to kill civilians. Their aim is to destroy Israel through a relentless campaign of random violence.
The decision will likely anger Muslim extremists but will be welcomed by Canadian Jewish organizations, which have appealed to Ottawa in recent weeks to put the main instigators of Palestinian terrorism on the list. The Canadian government passed an anti-terrorism law last December that allows it to produce a list of what it calls “entities knowingly engaged in terrorist activity” whose operations are banned under the Criminal Code. But so far only al-Qaeda and six affiliated Islamic terrorist groups have been put on the list: Egyptian Al Jihad, Algerian Armed Islamic Group, Vanguards of Conquest, Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, Salifist Group for Call and Combat and al-Ittihad al-Islam.

Canada’s most prominent Jewish organizations want the list expanded to include Palestinian groups that target Israel and Jews around the world. “There is certainly as much proof of terrorist activity attached to groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, PFLP and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade as there is for al-Qaeda,” said David Matas, senior legal counsel for B’nai Brith Canada.

“In fact, these groups boast openly about their atrocities.”

Lawrence MacAulay, the Solicitor-General, announced the first round of designations on July 23, saying he wanted Canadians to be fully aware that the organizations were engaged in terrorism. “People might happen to be dealing with these entities and not be aware that they are terrorist groups. What we’re saying today is these are terrorist groups. They’re listed under the Criminal Code. If you deal with them, assist them in any way, you’re breaking the law and we’re going to come after you.” Officials say the process of placing terrorist organizations on the list is time-consuming; a stack of documentation several feet high is required to justify each of the designations.
Federal agencies involved in national security compile reports on terrorist groups and forward them to the Solicitor-General, who then brings them to Cabinet for approval. Each report forwarded to Cabinet is said to be as long as 70 pages, with thousands of pages of appendices. The Post has requested copies of the reports under the Access to Information Act but the government has said they cannot be released because they are Cabinet confidences. Those named on the list face criminal sanctions. Anyone who knowingly participates in activity that enhances the group’s ability to conduct terrorism could be arrested and prosecuted. Those named on the list could also have their property and assets seized.

While a Palestinian group is among the next batch going forwarded, it is possible delays could hold up the process. The government wants each of the designations to be carefully backed up by detailed documentation in case the Cabinet decisions are challenged in court. The designation of al-Qaeda has not been challenged but those sympathetic to Palestinian militant groups might try to stop Canada from outlawing such groups as Hamas.

Although Canada has not yet outlawed any Palestinian groups, it has ordered banks to freeze the assets of several anti-Israeli groups, including Hamas, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, PFLP and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. But Ottawa has frozen the accounts of only the military wing of the terrorist group Hezbollah, drawing complaints from Jewish groups who argue there is no distinction between the armed and political wings of the organization. Hamas and other Palestinian groups have some support among militant Muslims in Canada, including on university campuses. The Post reported last month that the Web site of a Concordia University Muslim student group was providing a platform for the justification of Palestinian suicide terrorism. The material was removed after a complaint from B’nai Brith.

The Post also reported that intelligence information collected by the FBI indicated that Hamas had been collecting money in Canada since the early 1990s. Several prominent Muslim organizations with offices in Canada have solicited donations to the Holy Land Foundation, a Texas charity shut down by U.S. authorities last year for allegedly financing Hamas.

© Copyright 2002 National Post

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December 12, 2002, published in the Globe and Mail. author Jeff Sallot
Hezbollah ban attacked as biased Canadian Arabs say Israeli settlements should also be seen as type of terrorism

Angrily reacting to a ban on the Lebanese group Hezbollah, Canadian Arabs say the government should also outlaw fundraising for Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. “Illegal Israeli settlements and destruction of Palestinian villages are terrorism against the Palestinian people,” Mazen Chouaib, the executive director of the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations, said yesterday.

The Jewish National Fund, B’nai Brith Canada and other groups that support the Israeli settlements should be subject to the same kind of restrictions on activities now faced by Hezbollah, he said. Mr. Chouaib said the ban on Hezbollah will stigmatize Canadians of Arab and Muslim background and make them feel like “criminals or second-class citizens.

” Facing intense pressure from the Canadian Alliance in Parliament and national Jewish lobby groups, the government reversed course and outlawed fundraising and all other material support for Hezbollah under antiterrorism laws. Until yesterday, the government restricted activities in support of only the military wing of the group. Ottawa allowed Hezbollah’s political wing to raise money in Canada for schools, clinics and other social services in war-ravaged southern Lebanon. Solicitor-General Wayne Easter said yesterday that Hezbollah has been raising large sums in Canada that have not all gone to charitable work. Mr. Easter also announced a ban on Aum Shinrikyo, the Japanese doomsday cult responsible for a 1995 poison-gas attack on the Tokyo subway, and the Kurdistan Workers Party, which attacked Turkish and Greek government offices in Canada in 1999. Mr. Easter was unable to cite examples of any activities in Canada by supporters of Aum Shinrikyo, the first group banned by Ottawa that is not based in the Middle East. The federal law is intended to combat terrorism globally, not just in Canada, Mr. Easter noted.

Yesterday’s announcement brings to 16 the total number of groups banned under the government’s new antiterrorism law since July. Conviction for assisting a banned group can bring a prison term of up to 10 years. Mr. Chouaib said it has always been a myth that Hezbollah raised large sums in Canada. The reality is that many Canadians of Lebanese descent send small sums directly to family members back

home and donations to schools and orphanages in their old villages, he said. “Hezbollah has no branches, representatives or fundraising activity in Canada,” Mr. Chouaib said. By contrast, Mr. Chouaib said, Jewish groups openly support Israeli settlers who have been responsible for destroying Palestinian villages. There is no valid comparison, B’nai Brith lawyer David Matas said. People can debate whether or not building Israeli settlements in Gaza and the West Bank is a good policy, but these are not the acts of terrorism contemplated in the new federal law, Mr. Matas said.

B’nai Brith’s lawsuit against the federal government may have forced Ottawa’s hand, Mr. Matas said. B’nai Brith sought a Federal Court order to require Ottawa to disclose its files on Hezbollah. Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham said Canada is reversing its policy on Hezbollah because of recent calls by the group’s leader for suicide bombings. He previously said Canada would deal with the Hezbollah political wing as part of the elected Lebanese parliament.

Ori Tannenbaum, an Israeli whose father was reportedly kidnapped by Hezbollah more than two years ago, appealed to the federal government to apply pressure to the Lebanese government to locate and free his father.

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This is how the Canada government changed its policy into classifying the Hezbollah as a terrorist group. Not only was Canada pressured by a lawsuit from the B’nai Brith of Canada, it was also deceived by media reports. A journalist named Sayed Anwar, reporting from Jerusalem for the Washington Times wrote that the Hezbollah sheik Nasrallah said some nasty things like: “Suicide bombings should be exported outside Palestine”, and “I encourage Palestinians to take suicide bombings worldwide, don’t be shy about it.” The ominous quotes were picked up and reported widely in the Canadian media.

The Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, Bill Graham, quoted them often as the reason for the government making a policy shift in declaring the Hezbollah as a terrorist group. But the problem is that sheik Nasrallah never made those comments and the reporter “Sayed Anwar” simply does not exist. In fact, “Sayed Anwar” is really the zionist Paul Martin, who writes from London, England, not Jerusalem. He has written many anti-Palestine propaganda pieces under the fraudulent name of “Sayed Anwar”, never revealing that it was a pseudonym.
Sometimes, the Washington Times would carry stories by both Anwar and Martin in the same issue. Paul Martin was exposed several months ago and one can check the exposure on the internet in politically incorrect websites. A pity the Canadian mainstream media and the government bureaucrats never found out in time.

After the announcement on the policy shift was made, Neil Macdonald reported the “Sayed Anwar” fraud on the CBC’s The National. Transcripts are shown below, for the video clip, click here.

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Transcript host Peter Mansbridge, December 11, 2002, CBC TV, The National
Ottawa put Hezbollah on list of banned organizations
What was said by Hezbollah’s Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah

PETER MANSBRIDGE: Tonight. Banned.

BILL GRAHAM (Minister of Foreign Affairs): We will be sending a signal to Hezbollah.

MANSBRIDGE: After months of pressure, Ottawa has put Hezbollah on its list of banned organizations. Why now? Eric Sorensen reports from Ottawa. Neil MacDonald is in Beirut. Intercepted and released. A ship carrying North Korean missiles is straining relations between the US and a Mideast ally. One hundred million dollar scam. Did Enron trick Revenue Canada and walk away with the cash? And order of battle.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: What you’re seeing is a classic military build-up.

MANSBRIDGE: Twelve years after taking on Iraq, the United States looks poised to strike again. How will it wage war this time?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: In a way, we’re trying to use huge military invasion forces to produce a coup d’etat.

MANSBRIDGE: A feature report.

ANNOUNCER: “The National.” From the Canadian Broadcasting Centre, here is Peter Mansbridge. Ottawa put Hezbollah on list of banned organizations

PETER MANSBRIDGE: Good evening. It is a controversial policy decision. Slap a complete ban on the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Today the federal government made the move, outlawing the group in Canada. Ottawa has been under pressure to act for months, so why the change now? What was the catalyst? In essence, the decision was driven by an incendiary quote attributed to the leader of Hezbollah. That quote, however, is questionable, the source suspect. That investigative story from Neil MacDonald in a moment. First, though, here is Eric Sorensen with the ban and the battle to get it imposed.

ERIC SORENSEN (Reporter): The latest in a series of pressure tactics turned out to be overkill. Ori Tannenbaum, his father reportedly held captive by Hezbollah, arrived from Israel to press Ottawa to ban the pro-Palestinian group. The government had already done so two hours earlier.

WAYNE EASTER (Solicitor General): This decision is made on the basis of sound criminal and security intelligence information and in no way is due to political pressure from anywhere.

SORENSEN: But there had been pressure from the Canadian Alliance in the House of Commons to B’nai Brith in the courts. Today the Jewish lobby group dropped its lawsuit to have Hezbollah outlawed.

FRANK DIMANT (B’nai Brith Canada): Canadians as a whole do not want terrorists operating in this country. It was the voice of Canadians that made the difference in this case.

SORENSEN: Three groups – Hezbollah, Aum Shinri Kyo which carried out the serin gas attack in Tokyo, and the Kurdistan Workers Party which launched attacks mainly in Turkey – have been added to a list that now total sixteen organizations. It is illegal to belong to or to aid the groups banned under Canada’s new anti-terror law. Until today, Ottawa had only banned Hezbollah’s military wing, which had been linked to such acts as the US marine barracks bombing in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s social political wing was allowed to operate and raise money in Canada for education and charities. Ottawa re-assessed after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Nasrallah was recently quoted calling on Palestinians to take a terror campaign worldwide.

BILL GRAHAM (Minister of Foreign Affairs): It was clear from the leaders comments the other day that, in fact, it was not distinguishing itself from terrorist activities.

SORENSEN: The Minister of Foreign Affairs says Ottawa’s decision sends a message about terrorism and inciting terrorism.

GRAHAM: I think it will be sending a signal to Hezbollah that its affirmation of the use of terrorism as an international instrument is not acceptable.

SORENSEN: But others say Nasrallah’s rhetoric is nothing new and accused Ottawa of looking for an excuse to take action. This Arab community spokesperson says Ottawa simply caved in to political pressure.

RAJA KHOURI (Canadian Arab Federation): It’s unfortunate to see a major policy such as this one shift based on political considerations as opposed to real security concerns.

SORENSEN: As for the impact of the ban, one Arab group says it will block the charitable work done by Hezbollah, but the Canadian Jewish Congress says what will be blocked is fundraising for military activities. They may both be right. Eric Sorensen, CBC News, Ottawa. What was said by Hezbollah’s Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah

PETER MANSBRIDGE: Well now to that crucial quote, the one that helped kickstart the change in Canadian policy and attributed to Hezbollah’s Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. The CBC’s Middle East correspondent Neil MacDonald went to Beirut to investigate what was said and what was not. Here’s his revealing report.

NEIL MACDONALD (Reporter): This unremarkable cleric enjoys legendary status in the Arab world. The man whose fighters drove Israel out of Lebanon. Israel and its supporters, though, regard Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah as a cold-blooded terrorist and say his own words have now provided the proof. Certainly the quotes attributed to him last week and reported widely in most Canadian media were ominous. “Suicide bombings should be exported outside Palestine”, he was reported to have said. “I encourage Palestinians to take suicide bombings worldwide, don’t be shy about it.” Canadian Jewish groups and their allies immediately pressed their demand that Canada classify Hezbollah as a terrorist group. Ottawa resisted doing that, given that Hezbollah also runs a social network with projects like this one which retrains and offers work to disabled Lebanese. Hassan Nasrallah’s heavily reported new quotes merely had an impact. The only problem is there is simply no evidence Hassan Nasrallah ever made a speech promoting global suicide attacks. There is no record of such a speech here, and there would be. It was not broadcast on Hezbollah’s television station, as was reported. Hezbollah, which vigorously publicizes Nasrallah’s every word, says the remarks were never uttered and the Canadian embassy in Beirut has tried and failed to document the quotes. The story originated not in the Middle East but in London, with this man. Paul Martin freelances for “The Washington Times,” a right wing newspaper owned by the Unification Church. He cannot back up the quotes his story attributes to Nasrallah. Nevertheless, he believes he understands Nasrallah’s true agenda.

PAUL MARTIN (The Washington Times): Nasrallah said we look at America as the enemy of this nation. He then adds, we will fight the enemy or them anywhere and everywhere and says that we need to work on the culture of suicide missions.

MACDONALD: There is nothing new in Nasrallah’s support for Palestinian tactics in the occupied territories and in Israel. Just recently, Nasrallah praised Palestinians he says are, quote, “willing to sacrifice themselves fighting Israel with whatever weapon”, suicide bombs included. But, says Hezbollah legislator Mohammed Raad, Nasrallah has specifically instructed that Hezbollah’s fight with Israel is military in nature and not to be taken outside the region. Raad says “The Washington Times” story about exporting attacks as part of a propaganda orchestrated by America’s pro-Israel right wing. Indeed, there does seem to be a theme to “Washington Times” stories. Earlier this year, the paper ran a report by a reporter named Sayed Anwar accusing Palestinian Muslims of raping, executing and extorting Christians in Bethlehem. When the story was questioned, Sayed Anwar turned out to be a fictitious name. A composite for Paul Martin and two of his researchers. Martin refused to discuss that incident on camera. Ottawa now knows that the Nasrallah quotes in the “Washington Times” about exporting suicide attacks were almost certainly never uttered. Of course what this all really boils down to is the old question of what constitutes terrorism. Is Hezbollah a national liberation movement or, as Israel and its supporters maintain, a murderous global menace? To a great many people in this part of the world, to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization is to choose sides in the defining conflict of the Middle East, an intensely political decision for any government. Neil MacDonald, CBC News, Beirut.

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December 13, 2002 The Electronic Intifada by Nigel Parry False
Washington Times report convinces Canada to ban Hezbollah

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November 14, 2003, The Ottawa Citizen, by Janice Tibbetts
Three Palestinian groups added to blacklist
Organizations blamed for hijackings of cruise ship, airliners

Three Palestinian groups were blacklisted yesterday as terrorist organizations, bringing to 34 the number of groups banned by the Canadian government. The three groups are the Palestine Liberation Front, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, General Command. All seek to destroy Israel and form an independent Palestinian state.
“The government of Canada has determined that these entities knowingly engaged in terrorist activity,” Solicitor General Wayne Easter said in a statement. “Any person or group that is listed may have its assets seized or forfeited.”

Under the 2001 Anti-Terrorism Act, the federal cabinet is allowed to keep a list of terror groups whose activities are deemed criminal. Being listed makes it a crime to participate in these groups, contribute to them or assist in their activities. The federal government describes the 42-year-old Palestine Liberation Front as “a small, armed splinter group” linked to the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
“During its most active period, it is known to have conducted several high-profile attacks, including the operation for which it is best known, the October 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro,” says the solicitor general’s website. The Italian cruise ship was hijacked in the Mediterranean Sea by four hijackers, armed with guns and explosives. They killed one passenger, disabled American Jew Leon Klinghoffer, and demanded the release of 50 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) is blamed for hijacking an El Al flight en route from Rome to Tel Aviv in 1968, and more recently, car bombings and suicide bombings in Israel, and the assassination of Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, General Command’s activities also include an airline hijacking in the 1970s.

© Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen

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November 13, 2003, Canadian Press
Canada adds three Palestinian groups to list of outlawed terror organizations

The federal government has added three Palestinian groups to its list of terrorist organizations banned from operating in Canada. The Palestine Liberation Front, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the PFLP-General Command all “knowingly engaged in terrorist activity,” Solicitor General Wayne Easter said in a news release Thursday. There are now 34 groups listed under Canada’s
Anti-Terrorism Act, meaning they are banned from activities in Canada. “The assessment process for more listing continues,” Easter added. Listed organizations may have their assets seized, and anyone belonging to or having dealings with them faces penalties ranging up to 10 years in jail.

The controversial Anti-terrorism Act was born out of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Groups can appeal for removal from the list by applying to the Solicitor General’s office.

© Copyright 2003 The Canadian Press