Saturday, May 15, 2010

Sorry Mrs. Jennings[i], who is the occupier...! By: Mohamed S. Kamel In response to Marline Jennings’ message[ii]


Sorry Mrs. Jennings[i], who is the occupier...!
In response to Marline Jennings’ message[ii]

By: Mohamed S. Kamel*
Montreal, May 15th, 2010

62 years today a country was established in the Middle East, and named itself Israel. But what was before and what came after does not come to many people’s attention.   

For thousands years, there were people living on that land and called themselves Palestinians.  They have their own culture and built their own life while enjoying peace and harmony between the three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam).

These people’s life has been disrupted many times by invasion from the east and the north as well.  Each invader was looking for a reason or another to get this piece of land, sometimes for trade and other times for hate.
History stated, and history doesn’t lie, in the late 19th century European Jewish leaders started to look for what they called "A Jewish state".  They got many offers from European leaders and the British offered Uganda then Argentina as a Jewish homeland.  But in 1906, the Zionist congress decided that the Jewish homeland should be Palestine[iii].
So, they chose Palestine, but what about the people living there? That is what every single human being would call an Occupation.

Millions of Palestinians forced out of their land and denied the right to exist.  Millions have been living in diaspora for 62 years. All this history, you tried to summarize in a fight between Gaza and Israel.  I never thought that the Israeli propaganda could affect the common sense of intellectual people[iv].
      
Do I have to tell you what is the meaning of raising generations of people in diaspora, in tents while the occupier enjoys their homes? 

You don’t have to listen to my voice or to any Palestinian voice, listen to William A. Cook’s[v] article called Born in Deception[vi] “...Control and manipulation of events regarding Palestine has been and continues to be the modus operandi of the Zionist leaders of the state of Israel....”.

Or read Ilan Pappe’s[vii] monumental book “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine”[viii] “....The final master plan was called Plan D (Dalet in Hebrew) following plans A, B, and C preceding it. It was to be a war without mercy complying with what Ben-Gurion said in June, 1938 to the Jewish Agency Executive and never wavering from later: "I am for compulsory transfer; I do not see anything immoral in it." Plan D became the way to do it. It included forcible expulsion of hundreds of thousands of unwanted Palestinian Arabs in urban and rural areas accompanied by an unknown number of others mass slaughtered to get it done. The goal was simple and straightforward - to create an exclusive Jewish state without an Arab presence by any means including mass-murder....”

  

And after all this, can a reasonable individual consider calling Israel an apartheid as an act of ANTISEMITISM, that is not what Yakov Rabkin[ix] agreed with, in his article “Calling Israel apartheid has nothing to do with Jews and antisemitism[x]  “....The purpose of Queers against Israeli Apartheid (QUAIA) is to expose the founding principles of the Zionist state Israel as akin to South African apartheid. Indeed, Desmond Tutu, a civil rights veteran from South Africa deems the Israeli case to be even worse. Israeli mainstream media have come to use the word apartheid, and the daily Haaretz has repeatedly called Israel “a racist state” in its editorials. Even Israel ‘s Defence Minister Ehud Barak has used the A-word. Why do our local Zionists have to be “more Catholic than the Pope”?...”

Refusing to call Israel’s apartheid is in line with the Israeli government defending their soldier’s war crime acts[xi], “...The groups included B'Tselem, Gisha, Adalah, the Association of Civil Rights in Israel and Rabbis for Human Rights. Adalah, which works on Arab minority rights within Israel, said the bill was "a dangerous step" against human rights groups. The bill "seeks to restrict the freedom of expression and freedom of association of these organisations", it said...”[xii]        

An Israeli writer Tzvia Greenfield wrote in Israel’s paper Haaretz “Israel's choice: Make peace or disappear” stating “...Israel, on the other hand, continues to control the Palestinians and the territories by force. And in order to maintain its Jewish identity, it also has no intention whatsoever of granting them equal civil rights. One does not have to be a critical intellectual to understand that this internal contradiction, in a state that considers itself advanced, Western and democratic, is untenable....”[xiii]

Were any of these quotes said by a Palestinian or a pro-Hamas terrorist as you clamed? None.  All of them are quoted from American, Canadian, Jewish and Non-Jewish and even from Israeli citizens.

Did our soldiers, whom died in France defending the French people’s right to fight against the occupation, perform acts of terrorism? Didn’t we defend the right of the Vietnamese against USA invasion of their land? And didn’t we support South Africans against apartheid?  

Mrs. Jennings, for sure it is apartheid and it will end as the South African apartheid regime did.  I hope that when it happens we will find you on the side of truth not defending propaganda from the occupiers and lies from the supporters of the occupation.       

Mrs. Jennings can’t we call it the biggest robbery of the 20th Century...!

Mrs. Jennings, I hope that you recognize who the occupier is?    

* Mohamed S. Kamel: is an engineer and a recognized project manager professional (PMP), a freelance writer, the editor of I.N. Daily, co-founder of the Canadian Egyptian for Democracy (CEFD), Alternative Perspective Media (APM-RAM) and the ex-president and co-founder of the Canadian Muslim Forum (FMC-CMF), could be reached at public@mohamedkamel.com 


Mrs.  Jennings message
From: JenniM8@parl.gc.ca [mailto:JenniM8@parl.gc.ca]
Sent: March-12-10 10:28 AM
Subject: RE: Response to Mr. Igantieff's statement on Israeli Apartheid Week

Dear Mr. Kamel:

                Thank you for your recent letter regarding the decision to condemn Israeli Apartheid Week.
               
Let me first say that I am greatly concerned by the deepening violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip and I lament the suffering on all sides that this mounting instability has caused.

I believe that Israel has an undeniable right to defend itself against attacks, and to exist in peace and security. However its citizens have endured years of rocket attacks which regularly result in injuries and deaths. What is worse is that these attacks are now being carried out by the elected government of Gaza, whose stated goal is the complete destruction of Israel. By wasting their time and resources on rockets instead of helping their people, the leaders of Hamas have proven that they deserve to be called a terrorist organization. Their deliberate targeting of Israeli citizens only confirms this.

It horrifies me that so many civilians in Gaza are trapped in the middle of this conflict. While Israel has attempted to stop the attacks on its citizens by only targeting the Hamas terrorists who carry them out, there have been a regrettable number of civilian deaths in Gaza. By choosing to end a ceasefire after regularly breaking it, Hamas has ill-served the residents of Gaza who seek only peace.

Israel has demonstrated that it recognizes the negative impact their attacks on military installations in Gaza have on the residents of Gaza. Unlike the Hamas government, which aims for and celebrates the deaths of Israeli civilians, the Israeli government has made every effort to avoid killing Gazan civilians. Israel continues to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, and has been treating some casualties from Gaza in their own hospitals.

There is no question that Canada has a responsibility to assist the innocent victims of this conflict and to ensure that basic humanitarian assistance is available to those who need it. This terrible cycle of violence has imperilled lives on both sides of the border and must be peacefully resolved through a durable ceasefire. The basis of a lasting peace is surely the mutual recognition by both states of the right of the other to exist. Unfortunately, until Hamas removes the destruction of Israel from their founding principles, it is difficult to see how this peace can be achieved.

Canada must stand ready to assist and ensure that basic humanitarian assistance reaches those who need it. I will be pushing the federal government to do everything in its power to assist the victims of this conflict.

On the subject Israeli Apartheid Week, I would like to make it clear that I respect the preservation of the right to free speech for any and all Canadians. However, I also realize that all rights are subject to reasonable limitations. While Canadians are free within the bounds of our law to express their opinions, it is unacceptable for this freedom of speech to be at all detrimental or hurtful to the party concerned. If this is the case, the expression and speech of those causing such harm must be carried out in a more productive way.

The activities planned for Israeli Apartheid Week will single out Jewish and Israeli students. They will be made to feel ostracized and even physically threatened in the very place where freedom should be paramount – on a university campus. As Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff recently stated: “Let us be clear: criticism of Israeli government policy is legitimate. Wholesale condemnation of the State of Israel and the Jewish people is not legitimate. Not now, not ever.”
               
Thank you for sharing your views with me on this important issue.

Sincerely,

The Honourable Marlene Jennings, P.C., M.P.
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mohamed Kamel Original Message
From: Mohamed Kamel [mailto:public@mohamedkamel.com]
Sent: March 6, 2010 11:11 PM
To: Ignatieff, Michael - M.P.
Cc: Duceppe, Gilles - député; Layton, Jack - M.P.
Subject: Response to Mr. Igantieff's statement on Israeli Apartheid Week

Right Hon. Michael Ignatieff
Leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the official Opposition

It is with a great disappointed that I received the Liberal party statement in regard to the Israeli Apartheid Week and for that matter, your ceaseless pandering to the pro-Israel lobby.

I just would like to remind you of your oath as a lawyer, and your role as a law professor. But your comments do not reflect reality on the ground in the region. Furthermore, they contribute nothing to bringing an end to the Israel-Palestinian/Arab conflict, ill serving Canada's vital international interests in a world of new geo-political/economic realities and for what should be obvious reasons.

As Bishop Desmond Tutu, who certainly knows apartheid when he sees it, has repeatedly declared, Israel is an "apartheid state."  In fact, he has described the plight of Palestinians as much worse than that of his people under apartheid in South Africa.

I will close my message with quote from a human rights student, Mr. Gary Keenan:  

“.....If you aspire to make a difference in this world and our country, you should have the moral integrity and courage to do what is right by standing shoulder to shoulder with the victims, not the victimizers...”

 
Yours sincerely,
Mohamed S. Kamel, ing., PMP
Human Rights Activist

______________________________________________________
Liberal Party statement
For Immediate Release
March 1, 2010

Statement by Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff regarding Israeli Apartheid Week

OTTAWA - Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff made the following statement today:

“On university campuses across the country this week, Israeli Apartheid Week will once again attempt to demonize and undermine the legitimacy of the Jewish state. It is part of a global campaign of calls for divestment, boycotts and proclamations, and it should be condemned unequivocally and absolutely.

Apartheid is defined, in international law, as a crime against humanity. Israeli Apartheid Week is a deliberate attempt to portray the Jewish state as criminal.

The activities planned for the week will single out Jewish and Israeli students. They will be made to feel ostracized and even physically threatened in the very place where freedom should be paramount -- on a university campus.

Let us be clear: criticism of Israeli government policy is legitimate. Wholesale condemnation of the State of Israel and the Jewish people is not legitimate. Not now, not ever.

The very premise of Israeli Apartheid Week runs counter to our shared values of mutual respect and tolerance, regardless of nationality, race or creed. It is an attempt to heighten the tensions in our communities around the tragic conflict in the Middle East.

On behalf of the Liberal party of Canada and the Parliamentary caucus, I urge all Canadians to join with us in condemning Israeli Apartheid Week, and to reject, in principle, all forms of anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance, both within this country and around the world.”
-30-

Contact:
Press Office
Office of the Leader of the Opposition
613-996-6740




[i] The Honourable Marlene Jennings, P.C., is an M.P., member of the Canadian Parliament for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, Montreal, Quebec
[ii] Copied at the end of the article
[iii] For detailed historical facts, read my article written in May 2008, copy attached.
[iv] Read the correspondence with Mr. Jennings letter, copy at the end of the article
[v] professor of English at the University of La Verne in southern California
[vii] Ilan Pappe is an Israeli historian and senior lecturer at Haifa University
[ix] Professor of history at the University of Montreal; his recent book is A Threat from Within: A Century of Jewish Opposition to Zionism (Fernwood) was nominated for the Governor General Award. He can be reached via e-mail at: yakov.rabkin@umontreal.ca
[xi] Rights groups attack Israeli bill to shut down military critics

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