(NEWS) 'Evidence Links Hezbollah To 2005 Hariri Murder'

Video below: "Canadian Broadcasting Corp. publishes details of previously unreported phone records, currently in UN possession, that allegedly link the group to the assassination.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) published a report on Sunday night implicating Hizbullah in the 2005 murder of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, with what is portrayed by the publishers as clear evidence.

The report details aspects of the ongoing investigation which allegedly strongly link Hizbullah to the murder via an intricate Lebanese network of mobile phones."









Related Articles:

• CBC Investigation: Who Killed Lebanon's Rafik Hariri?
• Hezbollah Proof In Hariri Case Lacking
• Nasrallah Ties Hariri Murder Probe To Mossad
• Hezbollah To Face Charges In Hariri Slaying, Israel & US Blamed

(BLOG) York University Suppresses Offensive Speech Only When Jews Are Speaking

"The Canadian university hosts the odious anti-Semite and pro-terrorist George Galloway, and moves to suppress the free speech rights of a Jewish rabbi for condemning him.

York University in Toronto, which has gained for itself the dubious distinction of being Canada’s epicenter of campus anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism, is displaying once again the moral inversion that seems to have infected its student body and administration when the issues of the Middle East are discussed.



The issue at hand is a November 16th visit to the York campus by British MP George Galloway, as the invited guest of the York Federation of Students. In 2009, Mr. Galloway had been barred from entering Canada due to his public support of and donations to Hamas, a group designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. State Department, Canada, and the EU, but a court has since overturned that decision and given Galloway access to Canada once again.

Not everyone was thrilled with the prospect of having Galloway, who, according to wry commentator Christopher Hitchens is '100 percent consistent in support for thugs and criminals,' arriving on the York campus to spew forth his rabid fulminations against Zionism, Israel, and the West. In particular, Toronto-based Rabbi Ahron Hoch took it upon himself to post an announcement on his Aish web site in which he urged readers to proactively protest Galloway’s appearance, and to take specific steps to inform the greater community about the noxious speaker, including emailing York’s president, calling the dean’s office to lodge a formal complaint, and participating in a rally to be held on the York campus.

Feeling that the Galloway visit was one more contribution to the cesspool of anti-Semitic, pro-Palestinian activism that has punctuated the York campus for years now, Rabbi Hoch took York’s president, Mamdouh Shoukri, to task for allowing Galloway to speak 'under the pretext of freedom of speech,' even though it 'was never meant to be used as a vehicle to spread support for terror, murder and genocide.'

And more relevant to Rabbi Hoch was that York’s president had again failed to take a strong stand to rid his campus of anti-Israelism that frequently has morphed into anti-Semitism. 'Mr. Shoukri has again showed his amazing tolerance for anti-Semitism and lack of vigilance regarding the feeling of safety for Jewish students on campus,' Hoch wrote.

Rabbi Hoch did receive a response from the university, but not the one he had probably hoped for. In fact, what he received was a formal letter from Harriet Lewis, York’s general counsel, who ordered the rabbi, in no uncertain terms, to remove the announcement 'from [his] web site and to direct [his] supporters to cease and desist' any further distribution of the online poster. Why was the university demanding these steps? Because it believed that Hoch’s comment about President Shoukri was 'untrue, harmful to [him] and his reputation, and to that of the university.' More ominously, the university considered the rabbi’s words 'actionable,'( read: criminal), and expected 'a retraction and apology forthwith.'

The letter also warned Hoch that his request for individuals to come to the York campus to protest Galloway’s appearance 'might disturb and provoke others to disturb the peace' and 'that this too is actionable and may constitute criminal behavior.' (Emphasis added.)

In a morally coherent world, university administrators might be better able to distinguish between behavior by terrorist-coddling ideologues and the actions of those who wish to protect Jewish students from hatred, bias, and vilification as a result of their perceived support of Israel. But not at York, where, when someone stands up and asks why anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism have infected the York campus and have even recently widened into physical assaults and attacks on Jews, it is that individual who is condemned for saying what has not been said before: that the university’s failure to take a strong moral stand — when it sees obvious hatred and aggression towards Jewish students as part of an ostensible discussion about Israel — is a great moral lapse that no amount of talk about 'academic free speech' and the supposed right of people like Galloway to speak on campus can remedy.

Before threatening to take legal action against Rabbi Hoch for his possible criminal behavior of criticizing the moral judgment of York’s president and urging others to protest Galloway’s appearance, the university might well assess the character and odious moral behavior of Galloway himself.

In October 2009, for instance, in an action that seemed to give credence to notion that there was, and remains, a sinister and dangerous side to anti-Israel activism on college campuses, the U.S. Justice Department initiated an investigation into possible illegal fundraising on behalf of Hamas participated in by UC Irvine’s Muslim Student Union (MSU). Based on a formal complaint by the Zionist Organization of America, the investigation would look into allegations that Galloway had raised funds for the Viva Palestina project.

Galloway, who has referred to murderous thugs of Hamas 'as heroes [who] are opening the eyes of the world to the siege in the Strip,' and who elevates the Palestinian cause as a sacred mission against the tyranny of Western imperialism, had attended a May 2009 event on the Irvine campus sponsored by the university’s MSU, 'Israel: The Politics of Genocide,' and used the opportunity not only to condemn Israel for its many alleged transgressions, but also to raise money to assist its enemies in arming themselves to further their ambition of extirpating the Jewish state. His real intention, and the spurious purpose of Viva Palestina’s fundraising, was on full display in 2009, when Galloway presented a satchel of cash to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. 'This is not charity,' he said as he defiantly passed the money to Haniyeh at that meeting, 'this is politics.' What is more, he contended, he was fully intent on 'break[ing] the sanctions on the elected government of Palestine.'



Galloway’s type of rhetoric and ideology is not unknown by the York administration, where radicalized students had already revealed a rabid anti-Semitic leaning when, in February 2009, some 100 pro-Palestinian students initiated a near-riot. Police had to be called to usher Jewish students to safety after they had been barricaded inside the Hillel offices and were 'isolated and threatened' by the physically and verbally aggressive demonstrators.

Parroting the morally incoherent and factually defective exhortations of Israel-haters elsewhere, the York mob, which consisted of members of both the York Federation of Students and Students Against Israeli Apartheid, demonstrated once again that what is positioned as 'intellectual debate' on campuses about the Israeli/Palestinian issue has devolved into something that is not really a conversation at all. York’s supporters of the cult of Palestinianism apparently no longer felt even a bit uncomfortable voicing what is actually on their minds when the subject of Israel comes up: when the York Hillel students were trapped inside locked offices, surrounded by an increasingly violent and aggressive mob, the intellectual 'debate' that day included such invidious and raw slurs as 'die Jew ― get the hell off campus.'

That thuggery by pro-Palestinian Jew-haters had already become something of a tradition on the York campus. A year earlier, in April 2008, York’s Hillel had invited then-Knesset member Natan Sharansky to deliver an address. Not content with allowing anyone with a pro-Israel viewpoint to shares his or her views on campus, the Palestinian Students Association and Students Against Israeli Apartheid@York (SAIA) used the now common tactic of intellectual bullies on American and Canadian campuses: They jeered at and shouted down Sharansky, spoke loudly among themselves during his talk, and generally prevented anyone in the audience from listening to the content of the speech, but not before they had articulated their own vitriol with such comments as 'get off our campus, you genocidal racist' and 'you are bringing a second Holocaust upon yourselves.'

Even more disingenuous in York’s behavior toward Rabbi Hoch is their prior hypocrisy in suppressing pro-Israel events on campus at the same time they facilitated or were complicit in allowing hate-fests such as Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) held in March 2010 at York.

In the month prior to Israeli Apartheid Week events, a group called Imagine With Us had planned a series of lectures to counter the invidious content of the IAW activities. Imagine With Us, according to Michael Mostyn, national director of public affairs for B’nai Brith Canada, is a Jewish/Christian coalition that is a 'multi-faith, multi-political movement that is concerned with maintaining Canadian values and keeping our campuses safe from hatred, discrimination and radical incitement, particularly from those subscribing to radical Islam,' a mission that would seemingly be eagerly embraced by a university administration. But York leaders would have none of it, evidently pressured by Muslim students who were not interested in an alternative discussion about Israel and the Palestinians. The administration immediately took the outrageous step of requiring Imagine With Us to 'include a formidable police and campus security presence paid for by the organizers, a list of all attendees in advance, a minute-by-minute synopsis of all speakers talking points and a ban on public advertising of the event at York and on satellite campuses.' When the coalition could not, or chose not to, comply with the onerous regulations, York canceled the event.

But the reason given for the cancellation — that the event posed a potential risk necessitating costly additional security services — was specious at best, and revealed yet another danger for free expression on campuses as a result of accommodating the wishes of groups who wish to suppress the speech of others, the content of which they do not wish to hear or have heard. In fact, York admitted that the expensive mandated security detail was necessary, not because of the likelihood that participants in the Imagine With Us events would be unruly, but 'due to the participation of individuals who they claim invite the animus of anti-Israel campus agitators'; in other words, the mere potential threat of violence from pro-Palestinians, as a result of hearing speech that they did not agree with and could not abide, meant that York officials thought it appropriate and acceptable to expunge it before it could even be heard in the university’s much-vaunted 'marketplace of ideas.'

It apparently never occurred to the York administration that Jewish students and other supporters of Israel may also take offense during the repellent Israeli Apartheid Week, when libels, lies, and distortions about history and fact portray Israel as a racist and brutual rogue state among the community of nations, and Israel’s supporters, and Jewish students in particular are made to confront vilification, ridicule, and slander. It evidently does not bother the administration, either, when an intellectual charlatan like George Galloway comes to campus and proudly expresses his affinity for and admiration of terrorists whose sole purpose is the murder of Jews and the extirpation of the Jewish state." (source)



Related Article:

• Pro-Israel opponents of Galloway plan to attend Canadian talks in disguise

(BLOG) Jew-Hating Conspiracies 101, Brought To You By The University Of Toronto

"By Richard Klagsbrun: The spread of anti-Semitism on Canadian university campuses is an alarming and obvious phenomenon. The University of Toronto is making a shocking contribution to the spread of hate. It is the birthplace of the odious so-called 'Israel Apartheid Week' which has best been aptly described as, 'the week in which the Western campus Hitlerjugend, Marxist-Leninists, and Islamo-fascists unite to demonstrate against and call for the destruction of the only Middle East country that is NOT an apartheid regime.'

The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) is the home of some of the most appalling of The University of Toronto’s extremist radicals. It’s no coincidence that OISE, the home of suspect programs of dubious academic value like 'Diversity Studies' is host to a number of anti-Israel lectures during the bigotfest of 'Israeli Apartheid Week.'



But to what extent has Jew hate permeated the academic programs at UofT? Judging by some of the theses that are being granted legitimacy, alarm bells should be going off and an investigation may be merited.

Take a look at two theses being guided at OISE’s Department of Sociology and Equity Studies, like this Master’s Thesis from a Jenny Peto, one of the individuals behind the self-described 'Queers Against Israeli Apartheid.'

Her Master’s thesis is titled, 'The Victimhood of the Powerful: White Jews, Zionism and the Racism of Hegemonic Holocaust Education.' She describes her thesis in the following terms:

This paper focuses on issues of Jewish identity, whiteness and victimhood within hegemonic Holocaust education. I argue that today, Jewish people of European descent enjoy white privilege and are among the most socio-economically advantaged groups in the West. Despite this privilege, the organized Jewish community makes claims about Jewish victimhood that are widely accepted within that community and within popular discourse in the West. I propose that these claims to victimhood are no longer based in a reality of oppression, but continue to be propagated because a victimized Jewish identity can produce certain effects that are beneficial to the organized Jewish community and the Israeli nation-state. I focus on two related Holocaust education projects – the March of the Living and the March of Remembrance and Hope – to show how Jewish victimhood is instrumentalized in ways that obscure Jewish privilege, deny Jewish racism and promote the interests of the Israeli nation-state.

Why is Ms. Peto, who ostensibly is concerned about 'Jewish racism,' discounting the many Jews, both Israeli and not, who are not 'white' but are of varied backgrounds other than European but are also part of the 'organized Jewish community'? Does she think they don’t count, just because they aren’t 'white'?

Let’s take a closer look at part of her thesis:

'Jewish people of European descent enjoy white privilege and are among the most socio-economically advantaged groups in the West. Despite this privilege, the organized Jewish community makes claims about Jewish victimhood'

In other words, the rich Jews who control the world are pretending to be victims. If Ms. Peto were a little more insightful, she might realize that the 'organized Jewish community' is ensuring that the dangers of anti-Semitism are not ignored, which is somewhat different from claiming 'victimhood.' The fact that anti-Semitic crimes are by far the greatest type of hate crime around and are on the increase doesn’t seem to have permeated Ms. Peto’s obviously limited grasp of things. In the United States, anti-Jewish crimes occur tens times as often anti-Muslim crimes. And those statistics aren’t from B’nai Brith, but the FBI.

Ms. Peto’s academic advisor for her thesis is one Sheryl Nestel. Let’s see if Ms Nestel has any other interesting thesis that she’s 'advising.'

Yep! She does!



Here's one from a Griffin Epstein. It's called, 'Extension: Towards a Genealogical Accountability: (The Critical [E]Race[ing] of Mad Jewish Identity' (his parentheticals - ed.) and he describes it as:

Can we be accountable to privilege? Can we find a space for coherent anti-racist secular Ashkenazi Jewish identity in North America, where Jews have been deeply implicated in structural violence? Can we be agents of both complicity and change? This auto-ethnography describes a haunting; focusing on the ghostly presences of my deceased uncle Larry Treiman and Bruno Bettelheim, child psychologist and director of the residential treatment facility where Larry was institutionalized as a child, it creates a deeply personal explanation for how the whitening of Ashkenazi North American Jewish identity, the shifts in discourses of madness and major sociological and economic change in Chicago and New York over the second half of the 20th century constituted my subjectivity and my privilege. This text proposes accountability through genealogy, teasing out the possibility for ethical thought and action through cultivating a deeply personal relationship to the ghosts that make us.

Now this is very interesting. 'This text proposes accountability through genealogy.' Epstein seems to be arguing that Jews somehow bear a kind of 'race guilt' as if being Jewish is of itself a crime. There are precedents for this kind of thought. The Spanish Inquisition comes immediately to mind, and so does Hitler's Germany.

I particularly liked Epstein's description, 'This auto-ethnography describes a haunting; focusing on the ghostly presences of my deceased uncle Larry Treiman and Bruno Bettelheim'

Well, if the ghosts are telling him this is what's going on, it must be true. I'm surprised they're not listed as academic advisors along with Ms Nestel. Perhaps Epstein will do the right thing and list them as co-authors. Maybe the ghosts are the ones that told him 'Jews have been deeply implicated in structural violence .' As to what other issues Mr. Epstein may or may not have, I can only speculate.

What's really alarming is that this is what passes for academic discourse at OISE.

And what is shocking to me is that one of the courses that Sheryl Nestel taught at OISE is 'Jews, Identity, and Difference'. Maybe someone figures that academic Jew hate is okay as long as it's coming from someone who identifies as a Jew. It isn't.

What is happening at the University of Toronto and OISE needs to be exposed and investigated.

Here is the email address of John Milloy, the Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities:

jmilloy.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org

Let him know what you think.

UPDATE: An addendum" (source)

(BLOG) Stephen Harper Is Exactly Right On Israel

"If Prime Minister Stephen Harper had the oratorical style of a Barack Obama, the nuanced elegance of a Pierre Trudeau, or the fire of a John Diefenbaker, his speech last week on anti-Semitism and Israel would be put on a pedestal.

It was blunt, it was courageous, and it stood tall and unflinching in its condemnation of the 'new anti-Semistism' now sweeping the world, as well as the growing hatred of Israel as it rightfully fights for its continued survival.



All Harper’s speech lacked — and remember, it was vitally important because it was addressed to 150 parliamentarians from 50 countries seeking answers to quell such hatred against both Jews and Israel — was the delivery of a master of the podium.

His words, however, were masterful words, and Canadians should be proud of their PM.

But not so proud of Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.

As conservative columnist David Frum wrote elsewhere, Ignatieff’s speech to the same group on anti-Semitism was strangely 'ambivalent' about Israel — stating only that global anti-Semitism would be lessened by a settlement of the Arab-Israeli dispute.

This would make some sense, presumably, except for the fact that preaching the hatred of Jews has been a staple in the Islamic world long before Israel took its first breath.

Harper served strong coffee, wrote Frum.

Ignatieff served weak tea.



As we stated here following Canada’s rejection by the UN for a seat on the security council — losing out to debt-plagued Portugal, no less — if it was Canada’s unwavering support of Israel that led to its first loss of a such a seat since the UN formed in 1945, then it should wear that loss with immense pride.

Canada stuck to its principles and lost.

We call that loss a win.

It would be all too easy to take a leave of absence in the face of anti-Semitism, and to feign some sort of blinkered neutrality.

But Harper was precise about our moral obligations, stating that whenever anti-Semitism raises its head Canada will take a stand against it, and then stand tall in defending Israel’s right to exist.

His speech should be mandatory reading in every university.

And for every Canadian with blinkers." (source)





Related Article:

• Canadian PM - I Will Defend Israel

(NEWS) Montreal-Area Synagogue Hit By Vandals

"Police are looking for vandals who poured over 2,000 litres of oil onto the grounds of a synagogue north of Montreal last month.

Damage to the Young Israel of Chomedey synagogue is estimated at more than $100,000.

The vandalism happened on Oct. 6 in Montreal suburb. A police investigation suggests individuals could have used a hose to dump the oil from nearby containers onto to the synagogue property.



The extensive damage puts the synagogue in a precarious financial precision.

'Our insurance just covers the first $25,000 for decontamination,' said congregation president Frank Cwilich on Thursday.

'But if the oil penetrated under the building, it could easily go up to $100,000.'

Cwilich admitted the 1,050-strong congregation can’t afford that sum and may have to shut down. He’s also not sure what sparked the attack. It’s the first time the Young Israel of Chomedey synagogue has been vandalized in its 50-year history.

'No one threatened us and no one claimed responsibility,' he said.

Police as well are stumped. Investigators met with shopkeepers and neighbours, but haven’t found anyone who witnessed the vandalism. They’re now appealing to the public.

'Some people are suggesting it’s a teen prank,' said Laval police spokesman Franco Di Genova. 'But we have nothing to confirm at the moment.'" (source)

(BLOG) Gabriel Latner' Positive Opinion On Why Israel Is A Rogue State & A Lovable One Too

A young man studying law in Cambridge, 19 year old Canadian Gabriel Latner, found himself debating at the Cambridge Union Society for the motion that Israel is Rogue State. He was placed on the “team” that included Lauren Booth, the ridiculous sister in law of Tony Blair who converted to Islam after a visit to that shining beacon of democracy and brotherly love, Iran, and who especially enjoys being photographed in Gazan supermarkets brimming with food although she publicly denounces Israel for starving Gazans.

According to some sources he presented the most brilliant defense of Israel since Moses parted the Red Sea. Prior to giving his speech he told his "ally" in a Cambridge Union debate, Lauren Booth -- "I am going to nail you to the f***ing wall up there." He duly did. He is now banned for life from the Cambridge Union for swearing in front of a lady.

Gabriel, who is also Jewish, was proposing the motion in the CU that Israel is a rogue state. He asked the fundamental question: well, what does rogue actually mean? He referred to the dictionary. 'Aberrant, anomalous, misplaced, occurring (especially in isolation) at an unexpected place or time'. In other words, just like Israel.

Here is his speech which got everyone thinking and which "nailed Lauren Booth to the wall".

This is a war of ideals, and the other speakers here tonight are rightfully, idealists. I'm not. I'm a realist. I'm here to win. I have a single goal this evening – to have at least a plurality of you walk out of the 'Aye' door. I face a singular challenge – most, if not all, of you have already made up your minds.

This issue is too polarizing for the vast majority of you not to already have a set opinion. I'd be willing to bet that half of you strongly support the motion, and half of you strongly oppose it. I want to win, and we're destined for a tie. I'm tempted to do what my fellow speakers are going to do – simply rehash every bad thing the Israeli government has ever done in an attempt to satisfy those of you who agree with them. And perhaps they'll even guilt one of you rare undecided into voting for the proposition, or more accurately, against Israel. It would be so easy to twist the meaning and significance of international 'laws' to make Israel look like a criminal state. But that's been done to death. It would be easier still to play to your sympathy, with personalised stories of Palestinian suffering. And they can give very eloquent speeches on those issues. But the truth is, that treating people badly, whether they're your citizens or an occupied nation, does not make a state' rogue'. If it did, Canada, the US, and Australia would all be rogue states based on how they treat their indigenous populations. Britain's treatment of the Irish would easily qualify them to wear this sobriquet. These arguments, while emotionally satisfying, lack intellectual rigour.

More importantly, I just don't think we can win with those arguments. It won't change the numbers. Half of you will agree with them, half of you won't. So I'm going to try something different, something a little unorthodox. I'm going to try and convince the die-hard Zionists and Israel supporters here tonight, to vote for the proposition. By the end of my speech – I will have presented 5 pro-Israel arguments that show Israel is, if not a 'rogue state' than at least 'rogueish'.

Let me be clear. I will not be arguing that Israel is 'bad'. I will not be arguing that it doesn't deserve to exist. I won't be arguing that it behaves worse than every other country. I will only be arguing that Israel is 'rogue'.

The word 'rogue' has come to have exceptionally damning connotations. But the word itself is value-neutral. The OED defines rogue as 'Aberrant, anomalous; misplaced, occurring (esp. in isolation) at an unexpected place or time ', while a dictionary from a far greater institution gives this definition 'behaving in ways that are not expected or not normal, often in a destructive way '. These definitions, and others, centre on the idea of anomaly – the unexpected or uncommon. Using this definition, a rogue state is one that acts in an unexpected, uncommon or aberrant manner. A state that behaves exactly like Israel.

The first argument is statistical. The fact that Israel is a Jewish state alone makes it anomalous enough to be dubbed a rogue state: There are 195 countries in the world. Some are Christian, some Muslim, some are secular. Israel is the only country in the world that is Jewish. Or, to speak mathmo for a moment, the chance of any randomly chosen state being Jewish is 0.0051% . In comparison the chance of a UK lotto ticket winning at least £10 is 0.017% - more than twice as likely. Israel's Jewishness is a statistical abberation.

The second argument concerns Israel's humanitarianism, in particular,Israel's response to a refugee crisis. Not the Palestinian refugee crisis – for I am sure that the other speakers will cover that – but the issue of Darfurian refugees. Everyone knows that what happened, and is still happening in Darfur, is genocide, whether or not the UN and the Arab League will call it such. [I actually hoped that Mr Massih would be able speak about this - he's actually somewhat of an expert on the Crisis in Darfur, in fact it's his expertise that has called him away to represent the former Dictator of Sudan while he is being investigated by the ICC.] There has been a mass exodus from Darfur as the oppressed seek safety. They have not had much luck. Many have gone north to Egypt – where they are treated despicably. The brave make a run through the desert in a bid to make it to Israel. Not only do they face the natural threats of the Sinai, they are also used for target practice by the Egyptian soldiers patrolling the border. Why would they take the risk? Because in Israel they are treated with compassion – they are treated as the refugees that they are – and perhaps Israel's cultural memory of genocide is to blame. The Israeli government has even gone so far as to grant several hundred Darfurian refugees Citizenship. This alone sets Israel apart from the rest of the world.

But the real point of distinction is this: The IDF sends out soldiers and medics to patrol the Egyptian border. They are sent looking for refugees attempting to cross into Israel. Not to send them back into Egypt, but to save them from dehydration, heat exhaustion, and Egyptian bullets. Compare that to the US's reaction to illegal immigration across their border with Mexico. The American government has arrested private individuals for giving water to border crossers who were dying of thirst – and here the Israeli government is sending out its soldiers to save illegal immigrants. To call that sort of behavior anomalous is an understatement.

My Third argument is that the Israeli government engages in an activity which the rest of the world shuns -- it negotiates with terrorists. Forget the late PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, a man who died with blood all over his hands – they're in the process of negotiating with terrorists as we speak. Yasser Abed Rabbo is one of the lead PLO negotiators that has been sent to the peace talks with Israel. Abed Rabbo also used to be a leader of the PFLP- an organisation of 'freedom fighters' that, under Abed Rabbo's leadership, engaged in such freedom promoting activities as killing 22 Israeli high school students. And the Israeli government is sending delegates to sit at a table with this man, and talk about peace. And the world applauds. You would never see the Spanish government in peace talks with the leaders of the ETA – the British government would never negotiate with Thomas Murphy. And if President Obama were to sit down and talk about peace with Osama Bin Laden, the world would view this as insanity. But Israel can do the exact same thing – and earn international praise in the process. That is the dictionary definition of rogue – behaving in a way that is unexpected, or not normal.

Another part of dictionary definition is behaviour or activity 'occuring at an unexpected place or time'. When you compare Israel to its regional neighbours, it becomes clear just how roguish Israel is. And here is the fourth argument: Israel has a better human rights record than any of its neighbours. At no point in history, has there ever been a liberal democratic state in the Middle East- except for Israel. Of all the countries in the Middle East, Israel is the only one where the LGBT community enjoys even a small measure of equality. In Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and Syria, homosexual conduct is punishable by flogging, imprisonment, or both. But homosexuals there get off pretty lightly compared to their counterparts in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, who are put to death. Israeli homosexuals can adopt, openly serve in the army, enter civil unions, and are protected by exceptionally strongly worded ant-discrimination legislation. Beats a death sentence. In fact, it beats America.

Israel's protection of its citizens' civil liberties has earned international recognition. Freedom House is an NGO that releases an annual report on democracy and civil liberties in each of the 195 countries in the world. It ranks each country as 'Free' 'Partly Free' or 'Not Free'. In the Middle East, Israel is the only country that has earned designation as a 'free' country. Not surprising given the level of freedom afforded to citizens in say, Lebanon- a country designated 'partly free', where there are laws against reporters criticizing not only the Lebanese government, but the Syrian regime as well. [I'm hoping Ms Booth will speak about this, given her experience working as a 'journalist' for Iran,] Iran is a country given the rating of 'not free', putting it alongside China, Zimbabwe, North Korea, and Myanmar. In Iran, [as Ms Booth I hoped would have said in her speech], there is a special 'Press Court' which prosecutes journalists for such heinous offences as criticizing the ayatollah, reporting on stories damaging the 'foundations of the Islamic republic' , using 'suspicious (i.e. western) sources', or insulting islam. Iran is the world leader in terms of jailed journalists, with 39 reporters (that we know of) in prison as of 2009. They also kicked out almost every Western journalist during the 2009 election. [I don't know if Ms Booth was affected by that] I guess we can't really expect more from a theocracy. Which is what most countries in the Middle East are. Theocracies and Autocracies. But Israel is the sole, the only, the rogue, democracy. Out of every country in the Middle East, only in Israel do anti-government protests and reporting go unquashed and uncensored.

I have one final argument – the last nail in the opposition's coffin- and its sitting right across the aisle. Mr Ran Gidor's presence here is the all evidence any of us should need to confidently call Israel a rogue state. For those of you who have never heard of him, Mr Gidor is a political counsellor attached to Israel's embassy in London. He's the guy the Israeli government sent to represent them to the UN. He knows what he's doing. And he's here tonight. And it's incredible. Consider, for a moment, what his presence here means. The Israeli government has signed off,to allow one of their senior diplomatic representatives to participate in a debate on their very legitimacy. That's remarkable. Do you think for a minute, that any other country would do the same? If the Yale University Debating Society were to have a debate where the motion was 'This house believes Britain is a racist, totalitarian state that has done irrevocable harm to the peoples of the world', that Britain would allow any of its officials to participate? No. Would China participate in a debate about the status of Taiwan? Never. And there is no chance in hell that an American government official would ever be permitted to argue in a debate concerning its treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. But Israel has sent Mr Ran Gidor to argue tonight against [a 'journalist' come reality TV star, and myself,] a 19 year old law student who is entirely unqualified to speak on the issue at hand.

Every government in the world should be laughing at Israel right now- because it forgot rule number one. You never add credence to crackpots by engaging with them. It's the same reason you won't see Stephen Hawking or Richard Dawkins debate David Icke. But Israel is doing precisely that. Once again, behaving in a way that is unexpected, or not normal. Behaving like a rogue state.

That's five arguments that have been directed at the supporters of Israel. But I have a minute or two left. And here's an argument for all of you – Israel willfully and forcefully disregards international law. In 1981 Israel destroyed OSIRAK – Sadam Hussein's nuclear bomb lab. Every government in the world knew that Hussein was building a bomb. And they did nothing. Except for Israel. Yes, in doing so they broke international law and custom. But they also saved us all from a nuclear Iraq. That rogue action should earn Israel a place of respect in the eyes of all freedom loving peoples. But it hasn't. But tonight, while you listen to us prattle on, I want you to remember something; while you're here, Khomeini's Iran is working towards the Bomb. And if you're honest with yourself, you know that Israel is the only country that can, and will, do something about it. Israel will, out of necessity act in a way that is the not the norm, and you'd better hope that they do it in a destructive manner. Any sane person would rather a rogue Israel than a Nuclear Iran. [Except Ms Booth]

(VIDEO) Canadian PM - I Will Defend Israel

Video below: Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he is prepared to suffer any political backlash that comes his way for speaking out against anti-Israel rhetoric.

Harper told an audience Monday that while Israel is receptive to fair criticism, Canada is obligated to stand up for its ally when it comes under attack from others.



"Not just because it is the right thing to do, but because history shows us, and the ideology of the anti-Israel mob tell us all too well, that those who threaten the existence of the Jewish people are in the longer term a threat to all of us."

The prime minister acknowledged that his position is not popular with all governments and organizations, including members of the United Nations and the Francophonie.

"And I know, by the way, because I have the bruises to show for it, that whether it is at the United Nations or any other international forum, the easiest thing to do is simply to just get along and go along with this anti-Israel rhetoric, to pretend it is just about being even-handed, and to excuse oneself with the label of honest broker.

"There are, after all, a lot more votes—a lot more—in being anti-Israeli than in taking a stand. But as long as I am prime minister, whether it is at the United Nations, the Francophonie or anywhere else, Canada will take that stand, whatever the cost."

The prime minister's use of the phrase "honest broker" is an apparent reference to a recent speech made by Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.

Ignatieff criticized the Harper government for using Israel as a wedge issue with his political opponents in Canada, at the expense of the country's influence on peace in the Middle East. The Liberal leader called for a return to a time when Canada was perceived to be an honest broker in the global community.

Harper made his remarks at the start of a two-day conference on anti-Semitism that is being held on Parliament Hill during Holocaust Education Week.

(BLOG) Angered Responses To Kalle Lasn's "A Tale Of Two Ghettoes" Article

Recently a person named Kalle Lasn, who is the editor of Adbusters magazine, wrote an article for the National Post titled "A Tale Of Two Ghettoes".

In this article he describes Gaza as a ghetto and equates it to the real ghettos of Nazi Germany. These are the responses he got from some of the readers of this shameful article. Two of the responders are holocaust survivors!



"This column made me very angry. The comparison of the two ghettoes is beyond being anti-Semitic — it is the most vile expression of hatred toward the Jewish people and an insult to the victims of the Holocaust in general. As a Holocaust survivor, I am greatly injured and insulted
I find it difficult to utter Warsaw Ghetto and Gaza in the same breath. The Warsaw Ghetto was designed by the Nazis for annihilation through starvation, disease and finally total extermination of its inhabitants. Gaza is an armed camp waiting for missiles to arrive so it can attack Israel. If Gaza wasn’t blockaded, those destructive missiles would be in their hands overnight supplied by their proxy allies Iran and Syria.

If the people of Gaza experience hardship, it is brought upon them by the Hamas leadership, not Israel.

Nathan Leipciger, co-president, Canadian Jewish Holocaust Survivors, former prisoner of Auschwitz, number 133628, Toronto."

---

"My parents were both in the Lodz Ghetto. The horrors were unimaginable, and then came Auschwitz for them. So I know that for Kalle Lasn to try and equate any Jewish ghetto established by the Nazis with Gaza is ludicrous. And shameful. He does more than spit on the dead and decaying Jewish bodies rounded up daily during the years in the real ghettos. Freedom of expression is a cheap journalistic trick used to sell a few stupid magazines. Millions of Jews from the ghettos have no graves and no mourners to cry over their dead bodies.

No one is ever left to die in the streets of Gaza, as they were in the Nazi-controlled ghettos. And thousands of rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza, with not a word from the world’s liberal-focused media. Shame on Mr. Lasn.

David Saul, Toronto."

---

"I visited the Gaza Strip in 2003, during the 'occupation' stage. I also volunteered for Magen David Edom in Ashdod, just north of Gaza, and have had the opportunity to meet many Palestinian people.

What I fail to understand is Kalle Lasn’s lack of recognition that the Gaza Strip is today ruled by Hamas, a self-identified extremist, fundamentalist organization hellbent on death and destruction. Surely he could choose better friends to stick up for. And yes, not all Gazans identify with Hamas, yet they elected them.

Eli Jakubovic, Hamilton, Ont." (source)

---

"I am revolted by Adbuster’s shameless comparison of the Warsaw Ghetto to Gaza. My family and I were in the Warsaw Ghetto until the time of the uprising. After the Ghetto, I was taken to Majdanek, where my mother, father and sister were murdered. I was in Buchenwald and I was in Theresienstadt. All this happened because we were Jewish. There was no other reason. Comparing Jews today to the Nazis of yesterday is and always will be anti-Semitic.

The editor of Adbusters should understand that I have experience: I know Nazis — and deceivers — when I see them.

Pinchas Gutter, Toronto."

---

"As an author who has written a number of articles on the Warsaw Ghetto, I was disheartened by Kalle Lasn’s shoddy attempt to draw similarities between the current troubles in the Middle East and the horrific events that took place in Warsaw between October, 1940, and April, 1943. During that period, over 100,000 ghetto residents died from starvation and disease. At least 300,000 were shipped to Treblinka where they were exterminated. Another 14,000 were killed during the Ghetto uprising.

These figures point to the ludicrousness of Mr. Lasn’s comparison.
Furthermore, Mr. Lasn admits 'the stated goal of Israel has never been the complete destruction of the Palestinian people,' but he conveniently fails to mention that it has been the goal of the PLO and Hamas to oversee the destruction of the state of Israel.

Kenneth Sherman, liberal arts professor, Sheridan College."



"Kalle Lasn sets out to provide historically challenged readers with basic facts regarding the Warsaw ghetto. He fails. No, Mr. Lasn, the German Wehrmacht did not reach Warsaw in October 1939, it reached it in September. He writes that when two German soldiers were killed in a local restaurant, 106 men in the ghetto were shot in reprisal. No, the German soldiers were shot not in Warsaw, but in Wawer, and the 106 victims were not Jews, but Poles and they most certainly were not shot in the ghetto. A resistance movement in the ghetto was not organized during the Soviet advance, but in 1942, at the height of the German advance. The ghetto uprising had absolutely nothing to do with the Soviets but with the imminent liquidation of the Jewish quarter by the Germans in April 1943.

I have rarely seen a more sloppy and error-filled overview of this tragedy.

Jan Grabowski, professor of history, University of Ottawa."

---

"I’m not Jewish, but I believe Jews and Israel have a right to exist. Nobody wanted Jews in the Second World War, even though we knew they were being sent to their extinction. Muslim nations have expelled many hundreds of thousands of Jews and Israel has accepted them. Free speech is important, but comparing Gaza to the Warsaw ghetto is just lying.

M. Watson, Toronto."

---

"Kalle Lasn of Adbusters is recycling hateful ignorance. Kudos to Shoppers Drug Mart for pulling his magazine off its shelves.

Susan Speigel, Toronto"

---

"Kalle Lasn forgets the thousands of rockets fired indiscriminately from Gaza into Israeli cities. He forgets to mention that Gaza has a border with Egypt, when he notes that Israel controls 'all of Gaza borders and airspace.' He forgets to mention that after 38 years of Israeli occupation, the population of Gaza has more than doubled. If Mr. Lasn does not like to be called an 'anti-Semite' then he should proudly accept the title of 'liar.' Leave the memories of the poor souls of the Warsaw Ghetto alone and have an honest look at Gaza.

Michael Almeida, Toronto."

---

"Since January 2009, Israel has sent more than one million tons of aid to the Gaza Strip. In 2004, The Economist noted that 23.9% of the male population and 42.5% of the female population in Gaza are obese. Maybe it’s also Israel’s fault that they are giving them too much food?

Adir Dishy, president Hasbara@York, Thornhill, Ont."

---

"The chief difference between the Warsaw Ghetto and Gaza is that the German intent was to see all Jews gathered and murdered. Israel would love nothing more than to live freely with the population of Gaza and to see its residents thrive in peace. While Jews in Warsaw prayed to seek an unobtainable future of freedom and life, Gazans on the other hand have been their own worst enemies in bringing ‘ghettoization’ upon themselves.

Joel L. Goldman, Toronto." (source)

Kalle Lasn's magazine "AdBusters" was pulled from a major Canadian chain after this.

(NEWS) Jew-Hatred Infects Muslim World, Muslim Activist Says

"Tarek Fatah turns 61 on Nov. 21, but the controversial, Pakistani-born Muslim, a fierce and unrelenting activist and critic of Islamist extremism, doesn’t expect to make it to 71.

Speaking last week at Beth Israel Beth Aaron Congregation as part of a tour to promote his second book, The Jew is Not My Enemy, Fatah described how at a book signing earlier in the day, he was spat on and insulted by a young Muslim.

The insults included calling Fatah 'a Jew.'



The incident was consistent with the type of treatment the Toronto writer and broadcaster has come to expect, part of the 'cancer that can’t be excised' from an ever-increasing number of fanatical Islamist Muslims who see Jews as vile, subhuman creatures, and the entire West and Israel as entities to be destroyed.

'And it is getting worse,' Fatah warned a receptive audience, despite several thousand enlightened, tolerant Muslims that he cites as being like-minded supporters of an authentic Islam rooted in humanism, tolerance, and faith.

Over and over again in his talk at the synagogue, Fatah emphasized that there’s nothing in the text of the Qur’an or genuine Islam that speaks against Jews, and nothing that justifies the hatred of Jews, Israel, and the West that started to develop three centuries after Muhammad died.

'Islam is not Islamism,' Fatah stressed.

A founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, Fatah said Islamism is rooted in a centuries-old myth that Muhammad committed mass killings of Jews – an act that therefore remains not only justified but praiseworthy – combined with eight and ninth century shariah laws and 'European anti-Semitism.'

'It is all based on a legend that does not exist,' Fatah said, adding that it’s now part of an 'Islamo-fascist agenda' encroaching on so many nations.

Fatah has noted that Islamic radicalism, ironically, also grew out of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency providing massive funding to Saudi Arabian-based jihadi groups after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan 30 years ago.

As Fatah describes it, it is all a 'toxic mixture' that threatens the world.

Never was this clearer to an incredulous Fatah, he recounted, than when he visited his native Pakistan in 2006 and attended a swank gathering of elites, where he heard 'Harvard-educated, secular Muslim nationalists' tell him how 'Jews had brought down the twin towers,' that the bird flu was a 'Jewish conspiracy,' and that even the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 was an 'Israeli attempt to destroy Indonesia.'

Now, he said, Pakistan has become a place that produces terrorists who target not only its usual arch-enemies, Hindus, but Jews, as in the 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai, where a Jewish centre family was tortured and murdered.



In Pakistan today, he said, 'falling in love is a sin,' and women can be whipped, beaten, or even conceivably beheaded for allegedly breaking shariah law.

'It is a tragedy of enormous proportions,' Fatah said.

He added that the world has one billion Muslims, 60 per cent of whom are illiterate, and they deserve the world’s – including the Jewish community’s – empathy for being so subjugated and shielded from the forces of modernity.

During a question-and-answer session, Fatah, without hesitation, said he opposed the planned 'Ground Zero mosque' in New York City and suggested that its funding is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood.

This 14-storey 'repository' of Shariah law, as Fatah described it, should reserve one floor for a synagogue and another for a church, and if it doesn’t, it loses all credibility. He said founder Abdul Rauf should not necessarily be trusted just because 'he speaks fluent English.'

Fatah also spoke in support of Quebec’s proposed Bill 94, which would ban the wearing of niqab face veils at provincial public institutions.

Fatah sees niqabs and burkas as nothing less than 'symbols of slavery' for Muslim women. He also criticized an Orthodox Jewish group that recently opposed Bill 94 for, in his view, effectively supporting racism.

Fatah also criticized such prominent Canadian figures as activist Naomi Klein and writer Margaret Atwood for supporting a woman’s right to 'choose' to wear the veil, suggesting it was hypocritical to in effect support women being treated as 'second-class citizens.'

Despite Fatah’s mostly pessimistic views, he said that his message has so far gained 'huge traction' among 4,000 Canadian Muslims, whom he described as 'ordinary Canadians' who 'dress like you and me' and share his faith in genuine Islam.

As for the audience he was addressing, 'have faith,' Fatah said, 'and pray for us. We need people who fight for justice and human rights.'

Fatah was also due to speak last Thursday evening at McGill University." (source)

(NEWS) Anti-Semitism & Free Speech Conference In Canadian Parliament This Weekend

"Stepping Up To Stop the Hate

Parliamentarians and Experts From Around the Globe Gear Up For 2010 Conference on Combating Antisemitism.

Parliamentarians and experts from over 40 countries are set to gather in Ottawa from November 7-9th to take part in the 2010 Conference on Combating Antisemitism. The conference, which is hosted by the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA) with sponsorship by the Government of Canada, is the largest of its kind. Over three days delegates will explore data and exchange best practices to learn about the most effective ways to combat antisemitism around the world.



'Unfortunately, antisemitism continues to be a problem both in Canada and internationally, with 2009 being judged as one of the worst years on record,' said British Member of Parliament John Mann, Chair of the British All-Party Parliamentary Group against Antisemitism and Co-Founder of the ICCA. 'The lessons learned and the actions that will be put in place from this year’s conference will help in the study and hopefully the eradication of all forms of racism.'

The 2010 conference in Ottawa follows the inaugural ICCA conference which was held in London, England in February 2009, where Canada sent the largest international delegation of Parliamentarians. This year the Parliamentarian conference is running in parallel with the Experts portion and features a mix of guest speakers, plenary sessions, and expert discussions. With an impressive list of Parliamentarians from six continents, such as Michael Danby (Australia), Nthabiseng Pauline Khunou (South Africa), Chris Smith (U.S.), and Ram Jethmalani (India), the conference is shaping up to be a key international discussion on antisemitism, all taking place on Canadian soil.

'Antisemitism is the oldest and more enduring of hatreds – ‘a lethal obsession’ as it has been called – which has caused untold catastrophes,' said Member of Parliament Hon. Irwin Cotler, Co-Founder and Chair of the ICCA. 'As it has been said ‘while it may begin with Jews, it doesn’t end with Jews.’ We ignore antisemitism at our peril.'

The conference represents the largest ever international parliamentary gathering on antisemitism. The recommendations made by participants during the Conference will be made available broadly and be used as the basis for further action to help put an end to the world’s oldest and most enduring form of discrimination.



'I applaud the efforts of the Parliamentary Centre, the ICCA and the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism to host this conference,' said Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney. 'By supporting this work, Canada continues to lead the worldwide struggle against antisemitism, a uniquely durable and pernicious form of hatred.'

About the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA)

The Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA) brings together some 46 countries and over 250 parliamentarians from around the world to lead the fight against resurgent global antisemitism. Its principal purpose is to share knowledge, experience, best practices, and recommendations, encouraging their dissemination in an attempt to deal more effectively with contemporary antisemitism. For more information on the ICCA, please visit www.antisem.org.

Follow us on Twitter, http://twitter.com/icca2010
Follow our YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/CombatingAntisemiti
We will be using the #icca2010 hashtag to identify our content

For more information, please contact:
Matt Salvatore; Fleishman-Hillard Canada; matt.salvatore@fleishman.ca; 613-288-3272" (source)

(TECH) Israel, Canada Working Together On Nanotechnology

"Relations between Canada and Israel just keep getting tighter. Two years ago, experts from both countries met, through computer video links, to discuss potential business ventures, including developing instruments for desalinating sea water to make it potable. Last year, Israeli and Canadian philatelists met face to face to launch a friendship stamp to celebrate 60 years of great relations between their two nations.

Last month, nanotechnologists from both places got together at Carleton University in Ottawa to study matter so small that it would be lost on the head of a pin. On Oct. 4 and 5, scientists in this super-specialized field, and from several Israeli universities, came to 'a summit of research-sharing and academic co-operation,' a press release from the Embassy of Israel stated.



It noted that the two-day summit was to focus on the themes of 'nanomechanics, optoelectronics, photonics and biophotonics.'

Miriam Ziv, Israel’s ambassador to Canada, said, 'Israeli research and innovation is world renowned and the potential benefits of an exchange of knowledge between Canada and Israel will be extremely valuable. I am confident that this workshop will not only enrich the research but also strengthen the friendship between our two countries.'

According to Kim Matheson, Carleton’s vice-president (research and international), 'Carleton is known for its significant cutting-edge research in the field of nanotechnology,' and collaboration between scientists from both coubtriescould lead to great initiatives and cooperative ventures.

At the conference – which attracted about 40 scientists, government and university officials, curious spectators and press people – Matheson reiterated Carleton’s international leadership in the field. He noted that the university teaches nanotechnology at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

'Researchers here have received both awards and grants to further their work,' he said.
The ambassador stressed at the opening of the conference that Canada and Israel have been forging close ties 'since 1949. Such collaboration is a valuable tool for both countries. I see this conference as part of a wider effort to deepen our ties.



'Both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agree these kinds of joint efforts are good for both countries.'

As the scientists began their presentations, it became obvious just how complicated nanotechnology is. To highlight this fact, Ron Miller, an associate professor at Carleton of mechanical and aerospace engineering, explained that 'since the 1980s, with the invention of the modern electron microscope, scientists in the area of study have used a total of only I cubic millilitre of matter. The totality of material studied in nanotechnology, on the other hand, is a nanogram, less than the size of a grain of sand.'

Researchers from Israel included scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Applications for nanotechnology range from early detection of diseases to the relationship between nature and nano-quantum mechanics.

At Carleton specifically, efforts in the field are focussing on solutions to many social, environmental and health problems. For instance, nano research into making better currency will one day help to avoid counterfeiting." (source)

(NEWS) Canadian Chain Pulls Allegedly Anti-Semitic Magazine

"Canada's leading drugstore chain has pulled a controversial magazine from its racks, but insists the decision has nothing to do with complaints that its latest issue contained anti-Semitic images.

Shoppers Drug Mart said Tuesday that it will no longer sell Adbusters, an anti-consumerist/activist magazine based in Vancouver.

Lisa Gibson, a spokeswoman for the Shoppers, told the Globe and Mail newspaper Tuesday that the decision was unrelated to a campaign by the Canadian Jewish Congress against the magazine, which in its last issue ran a photo essay equating Israel's military actions in Gaza with the Holocaust."

(MED) Canadian Thornhill Woman Has Experimental Leukemia Procedure In Israel

"Three new fundraisers are underway to help a Thornhill woman undergoing an experimental procedure to beat leukemia.

Alexis Wronzberg left for Israel, bouyed by hope, prayers and donations from hundreds of well-wishers, to undergo a Haploidentical stem cell transplant Oct. 6.



The 27-year-old has been battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia for more than six years. She underwent a stem cell transplant in February, but discovered Sept. 28 that she had relapsed.

Doctors believe the new treatment, available only at the Top Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, offers her the best chance of survival. Developed by bone marrow transplantation pioneer Professor Shimon Slavin, the treatment tricks infection-fighting white blood cells of the immune system to target diseased cells.

The initial procedures, which involve transplanting stem cells from her mother's blood and marrow from her mother's hip, went well, according to her father, Rick Wronzberg.

The transplants and transfusions took place Oct. 20. Alexis' mother, Debbie Wronzberg, donated the stem cells and marrow during two separate procedures on the same day and was able to return to their rental apartment to rest the following day, he said.

Aside from fatigue and lower back pain, she was well enough recovered to walk around Jerusalem several days later.

Alexis Wronzberg, meanwhile, is still waiting for engraftment which should be within the next week.

'Then the waiting begins for reactions and results,' her father said. 'The next two months are critical.'

The procedure is costly and not covered by the Canadian government. Considered a trial treatment, it will cost the family $300,000 for medical care plus additional expenses such as lodging, medication and doctor visits incurred during the four to six-month follow-up in Israel.



Family and friends pulled out all stops to raise the money, collecting $170,000 in less than a week. Donations continue to pour in and with final payment due to doctors this week, three new events have been organized.

Wednesday evening, Nov. 3, Alexis' friends and family will host a fundraiser party at Miller Restaurant in North York. Food, drinks, entertainment and a door prize will be included in the $50 tickets. The restaurant agreed to supply food and drinks as its donation and all proceeds will be directed to the treatment. Information on Wednesday's event is available at help.alexis@bell.net

The family has also set up an online auction to raise funds. For details, see www.gobid.ca and look up the auction for Alexis Wronzberg. The first round ends shortly and a second round follows.

Any funds in excess of what is needed for Alexis in Israel will be made available to help others in similar need, Mr. Wronzberg said.

Also, Howard Besser of Toronto Center Expedia Cruise Ship Center has set up a plan until Nov. 28 enabling those who wish to donate unused or extra aeroplan miles to allow Alexis Wronzberg's family to travel to Israel to be with her. For information, call 416-847-0500.

HOW TO DONATE:

- Any TD Canada Trust bank (bank 0004, transit 12142, account 6328765) payable to Deborah Wronzberg in Trust for Alexis Wronzberg

- To donate via Internet banking, use Interac transfer - the e-mail reference for the transfer is damw@rogers.com" (source)

(NEWS) Canadian Grandmothers Petition For Gilad Shalit

"If Sally Zerker, 81, and a group of grandmothers she assembled have their way, Canada will soon play more of an active role in the attempt to free captured Israel Defence Forces (IDF) soldier Gilad Schalit from Hamas.

A York University economics professor emeritus, Zerker formed the group Grandmothers for Gilad in September. The group consists of some 50 grandmothers who are determined to push Canada into a leadership position on the Schalit file.



To that end, Zerker drafted a petition that calls on the Canadian government, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as other humanitarian relief agencies, to 'uphold the applicable standards of international humanitarian law, including proof of life, visitation rights and communication between him and his family as a bare minimum.'

The petition also states that Canadian aid be transferred to Gaza on the condition that the Palestinian Authority 'commit itself to Schalit’s repatriation, and that Canada use its good offices to put an end to these violations of international humanitarian law to secure his release and return him to his family as a matter of fundamental decency and justice.'

Zerker’s petition was tabled in the House of Commons on Oct. 27 by Liberal MP and human rights advocate Irwin Cotler.

Schalit was taken captive by Hamas on June 25, 2006, after operatives of the terrorist group attacked his IDF unit in a cross-border raid at Kerem Shalom.

All Israeli and international efforts to determine his location and negotiate his release have failed to date, although he’s presumed to be held in Hamas-controlled Gaza.

A videotaped message from Schalit dated Sept. 14, 2009, was obtained by Israel in exchange for the release of 20 female Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. In it, he states he’s being treated well by his captors and longs to be free. It’s so far the only proof of Schalit’s condition.

Speaking to The CJN last week, Zerker said there are 56 signatories on her petition, all of whom are grandmothers who sympathize with the Schalit family.

Twenty-five signatures are required on a petition for it to be tabled in Parliament.



'In August, I sent out a group e-mail to my grandmother-friends and wrote the petition and started a blog,' Zerker said.

She then sent her petition to Cotler’s office for review, and his office responded saying it was a 'strong' document and that the MP for Mount Royal would gladly table it in front of Parliament.
Zerker said the world community has been largely silent on Schalit’s four-plus years in captivity and that if no one speaks up more vociferously, the only outcomes that await Schalit are indefinite captivity or his release at the extreme cost of Israel.

Hamas has asked for Israel to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have been convicted on terrorism charges, and the release of all female and underage prisoners in exchange for Schalit. Israel has balked at the conditions.

'I don’t know if [my petition] will make any difference. But my feeling is one has to try and bring this into the international arena, much like you see with other cases of abduction. Those become a focus for international protest, and this has not happened in the case of Gilad Schalit,' Zerker said.

'I can only start this in Canada, but I think it should spread to France, where the Schalit family is from… but we see no action outside of Israel. And I don’t think it should be left to only Israel.'

Zerker said she’s urging the members of her grandmothers’ group and anyone else to write their MPs and ask them to act on the petition.

In Parliament last week, Cotler read the petition and said he was 'pleased' to table the document, which he described as 'grounded in a profound commitment to international law and human rights.'

Zerker said she’s now planning to make her cause more public.

For more information, visit http://grandmothersforgilad.blogspot.com." (source)

(VIDEO) Anti-Israel Activists Boycott "Aroma Cafe" In Canada With Song

(BLOG) Emergency Rally Tonight: Canada For Israel

Canada’s support for Israel is under attack following the failed bid for a UN Security Council seat. Come and voice your support for Canada to continue to back the only democracy in the Middle-East.

Sunday Evening 6:00pm October 17, 2010

Briefing from Israel
Vice-Prime Minister of Israel

Moshe Ya’alon
Former Chief of Staff Israeli Defense Forces
Former head of Military Intelligence, Israel

Dr. Grant Jeffrey
Canada’s Most Prolific Author – over 7 Million books in print
Expert on History and Bible Prophecy

Place
Canada Christian College
50 Gervais Drive, Toronto

Free Admission, additional details

(NEWS) Canadian Follows In Path Of Fallen friend As IDF Officer

"'I feel a big satisfaction. This is a dream come true. I wanted to keep my friend’s memory alive, and now I have the tools to do that.'

When 27-year-old Canadian immigrant Or Klein completed the Air Force Officers Training Course this week, he accomplished a mission that he undertook in honor of a friend who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.

Klein, a lone soldier, made aliya from Vancouver in 1999, leaving his home and family behind him."

(NEWS) Premier Selinger To Build Stronger Ties To Israel Through Jewish Federation Of Winnipeg Mission

"Businessman and Community Leader Mel Lazareck Named as Manitoba’s Special Representative to Israel

Premier Greg Selinger said today he will sign partnership agreements, help promote the Royal Winnipeg Ballet 70th anniversary tour of Israel and dedicate a park designed to promote peace as part the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s mission to Israel.



'Manitoba and Israel have common interests in clean energy, water quality and conservation. These interests provide the opportunities to share knowledge and strengthen our education and economic relationships and partnership,' said Selinger.

Water Stewardship Minister Christine Melnick and Innovation, Energy and Mines Minister Dave Chomiak will also travel to Israel on the mission.

The premier announced today that Winnipeg businessman Mel Lazareck has been appointed special representative for Manitoba to Israel for economic and community relations. Lazareck is also co-chair of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s mission to Israel.

'We are recognizing the outstanding work Mel has done to build a strong relationship between Manitoba and business and non-profit organizations in Israel,' the premier said. 'This appointment will help us support those activities.'

The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s annual mission includes participants from the province’s business, education and cultural institutions. The premier will be taking part in the mission from Oct. 10 to 15." (source)

(BLOG) The Jewish Heritage Of ‘New Scotland’

"Nova Scotia is a source of a considerable Canadian history, and a gateway for European immigrants, much like Ellis Island.

Nova Scotia is a visual and cultural treat for anyone looking for a unique Canadian adventure. Situated among the Atlantic Maritime provinces along Canada’s eastern seaboard, it offers a unique blend of natural scenic wonders and strong Celtic cultural influences. Nova Scotia – Latin for New Scotland – is also a source of considerable Canadian history. Although European settlements were established by both the French and British in the early 17th century, British influence proved more enduring, particularly after the 1749 founding of Halifax.

Tens of thousands of Scots, English, Irish and Welsh arrived in Nova Scotia in the early 19th century."

(NEWS) Attempt To Carry Explosives Device On El Al Flight Foiled

"El Al staff prevent military equipment from being loaded on board flight from Toronto to Israel during routine check.

El Al security personnel foiled an attempt to carry an explosives device on board a flight from Toronto to Israel last week.

The explosives device was found during a routine check by El Al staff.

Representatives from the company reported that they did not suspect the incident was a terrorist threat, instead the explosives device was military equipment that was not reported."