Israel in Canadian Campus Media

The Dersh, part two (As seen in Excal)

2005-03-16T20:05:00.000-05:00

Quoth the Dersh: Support Israel - Date a Zionist.

Loving the Dersh

2005-03-14T23:26:00.000-05:00

Alan Dershowitz at York: "You can say that the occupation is terrorism. You can also say that milk is bread."

Judi writes again

2005-03-13T22:15:00.000-05:00

Wishing Judi best of luck in YFS elections.

Excal ... the plot thickens

2005-03-06T22:40:00.000-05:00

Me...not so popular. But certainly a feminist of sorts.

And at U of T ... I'm not too popular either.

One Sudan

2005-02-15T00:51:00.000-05:00

Originally from Excal, also to be found in the e.Peak

Israel, a barbed country

2005-02-15T00:40:00.000-05:00

Dave Weatherall, soon-to-be National Bureau Chief of Canadian University Press, comes back from Israel with a perspective in two parts: One and two.

"Who's got the balls to see this peace through?"

2005-02-15T00:20:00.000-05:00

From the McGill Tribune, ANGLES: Peace: Are we there yet?

An interesting perspective.

Frying pan, fire and UofT

2005-02-07T15:44:00.000-05:00

This was published in the Varsity today. From bad to worse.

Apartheid week at UofT

2005-02-04T13:54:00.000-05:00

At UofT's The Varsity:Apartheid: Is this the Isreal you know?
also Israelfest. And lots of opinions. It was also in Monday's paper.

York this week

2005-02-04T13:49:00.000-05:00

York is nutty this week, with news, music (Yay Idan Raichel!), opinions, and letters.

Props to Hasbara alumni Noah Z and Judi S. for their pieces.
Boo to the guy who makes it seem like the only problem that ever happened to the Palestinian people is Israel (and me.)

Update: Also, Black History month.

Funding Controversy

2005-01-30T22:37:00.000-05:00

WOW! This one is bad. The funding issue is an important one that has gotten major attention from all the major media outlets. The Daily just drops the ball on this one. Best The story is this: after years of lobbying the Provinical Government of Quebec,it was finally going to fully fund the French programs (secular education) at Jewish Schools. This is what it does at all other religious schools such as Greek schools (although Muslim schools are currently excluded). The point of the program is to promote intergration into Quebecois culture and society. After annoucing the funding, Jean Charest was forced to reverse himself as polls showed large majorities of Quebecers against it. Worst of all, the Francophone media condemned the plan by making statements like "the Jews send 15 million a year to Israel, why should we fund their schools." Part of the problem was that the issue was presented as the funding of Jewish schools as opposed to the funding of the French language program in Jewish Schools. Here is the Daily approach which you will see also makes this error. It also makes no effort to quote a single member of the community that it condemns:

http://www.mcgilldaily.com/view.php?aid=3499

Also, Check out Prof. Gil Troy's take in the Montreal Gazette.... (I am having problems loading it, but I will have it up shortly)

All over Montreal

2005-01-20T00:44:00.000-05:00

Originally in the Daily, this news piece was also picked up in the
Concordian.

The rise and fall of Hadag Nachash

2005-01-19T22:49:00.000-05:00

Rule #372 of hasbara: Be creative.

Excal (or Middle East Weekly)

2005-01-19T13:52:00.000-05:00

Two in the opinions section ... one from Hasbara fellow, CFJS exec and all-around good guy Noah Zatzman, who writes an opinion piece:

Israel, I would contend, is one of the most free, open, liberating societies on earth.

And counter-balanced by this:

Why, if this was the reason for the displine, were five students sent disciplinary letters of warning for participating in a peaceful vigil that took place outside Vari Hall in October 2004, which disrupted no classes at all? (The vigil was a commemoration of victims of a recent Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.)

More on Israel in the music supplement, I'll blog it later.

New Blogger Welcome!

2005-01-17T22:08:00.000-05:00

Welcome to new blogger Pete from McGill who is helping us out by blogging the Daily. If you want to blog your local campus paper, email us at aliza1019[at]excite.com.

Nothing in the McGill Daily Jan 17th Edition

2005-01-17T17:34:00.000-05:00

Nothing to Report, although the week isn't over.... I'll keep you posted on Thursday

World politics = front-page news at Western

2005-01-15T19:06:00.000-05:00

Arafat's death in Alberta

2005-01-12T23:03:00.000-05:00

The Gateway at the Uof Alberta ran a list of Eastern leaders who made headlines this year, with Yasser Arafat posthumously making #3.

"3. Yasser Arafat provoked both sadness and relief with his passing at the age of 75. After over a month of false death reports and various rumours about his condition and location, Arafat was pronounced dead at 3:30am on
11 November in a French hospital.

In the days following his death rumours surfaced about a possible poisoning, but nothing was ever confirmed. As predicted, Israel refused to allow Arafat to be buried in the holy city of Jeruselam. Instead, his body was laid to rest in Ramallah where he lived in a compound, which in recent years had become his prison as dictated by Israel.

To Palestinians and other Arabs, his death was seen as the passing of a hero. To Israelis and American neo-conservatives, it was the passing of a terrorist and a murderer, as well as the removal of the primary obstacle to peace in the Middle East. It remains to be seen if Arafat�s successor, Mahmoud Abbas, will succeed where Arafat failed in making peace with Israel. "

Arafat was many things, but he was never a Jerusalemite. Born in Egypt, exiled to Tunisia and imprisoned in Ramallah, he found the time to create a terrorist organization, pioneer suicide bombings and mismanage $6.5 billion dollars of foreign aid.

A prince of a fellow.

I should be writing a paper right now

2005-01-12T22:54:00.000-05:00

In my editorial this week, I wrote about how Abu Mazen needs to rid himself of corruption in order for the Palestinians to get leaders who will build hospitals, not armies.

"It's time for us to stop making excuses for corrupt leaders. It's time to stop funnelling foreign aid that will only serve to further line the pockets of an elite regime."

In a "satirical" piece, the paper's left criticized York president Marsden as being too close to Israel, especially considering her recent visit to Israel.

"Participants in the rally criticized the administration's political relationship with Israel advocacy organizations. President Marsden has not yet publicly addressed these issues as she has been out of the country on a visit to Israel."

All right president Marsden!

And Randa Mouammar, who has written before, in an article about tsunami relief, notes briefly that Israel is, in fact, evil:

While the United States so kindly offered at first $35 and now $350 million to assist tsunami victims, it spends $8 million every hour on its occupation in Iraq and $3 billion per year on economic and military aid to Israel.

I wonder if Randa knows that Israel was one of the first countries to have disaster relief teams in tsunami-struck areas.

Meanwhile, back at McMaster...

2005-01-09T01:21:00.000-05:00

An article about Judaism mentions Israel briefly:

“What’s coming across in the world nowadays as anti-Israel sentiment is unfortunately being translated into anti-Semitism. I understand criticism against a government or policies, but when it becomes criticism of an entire nation and people, that’s when it crosses the line,” deSilva adds.

November revisionism

2004-12-14T02:32:00.000-05:00

Tammy has sent me an article from the Manitoban dealing with the Israel-Palestine situation in a very revisionist way that completely negates the right of Israel to survive.

My favourite part:

The people of Palestine have been treated with cruelty and injustice for over 50 years. They were not given the opportunity to develop into an autonomous political state. From rule under the Ottoman Empire, they were driven into rule under British Mandatory Government, and from there into rule under a brutal and draconian military occupation intent on their demise.

The author of course completely neglects to mention the Jordanian occupation.

Anyhow, read it for yourself, if you have the stomach to. Letters to the editor can be submitted here.

Writes Tammy from Winnipeg:

Please mention that non U of M students are free to submit responses and complaints. Consider the absolute unfairness of publishing an article of this length and type without inviting members of the community supporting Israel to reply IN THE SAME ISSUE to the accusations against Israel. The opportunity to reply in the same issue is essential for balance and fairness and represents good journalistic standards.

This week

2004-12-02T15:48:00.000-05:00

Exams are coming and we're all busy - this is the roundup of the final issues of most papers for the semester. After this week, I will only be blogging stuff that is brought to my attention at aliza[at]cfjs.ca.

For anyone in New Brunswick, a link to an article about an activist student union who is campaigning for political debate on campus. (It's a PDF, scroll to the bottom of Page 1.)

At Concordia - awesome article in the Link:

Why do Jews seem to be the most vocal advocates of free speech for everyone on campus? It is because Jewish students are the only ones denied the right to express their position with all the academic means they desire. This is not because we are violent, but because our opponents are violent. Why are we penalized because our ideological opponents are violent? Shouldn't it be the other way around?

Elmasry is mentioned in a free speech article from the Eyeopener at Ryerson.

At York, the Noble issue blew up into a free speech rally, with press releases being exchanged and editorials being written.

As for the document, the simple truth is that David Noble has no logical evidence whatsoever to support any of his claims. If you want to claim that there is corporate influence at the foundation or Board, do so, and you would probably be right. However, this asinine document is nothing more than trash, and any time you feel like debating that, look me up. I would be more than happy to educate you.

Western has "Palestine Day"

2004-12-02T14:55:00.000-05:00

Nutty events at Western: These photos were passed on to me by people at the IAC at Western about Monday, which was "Palestine Day" there:

We wanted to be sure that all students who wish to respond and show their discomfort about this harassing display had the proper channels available to them to voice their fears and concerns. Attached to this e-mail is a picture of the display taken late Sunday night after it was erected. If you find this display harassing we strongly encourage you to respond. This e-mail also includes the contact information for University President Dr. Paul Davenport, Equity Service at the university and USC President Nick Staubitz and VP Campus Issues Eric Johanssen. We are also including a sample letter that you might consider before sending your concerns to these parties. Please BCC or forward your letters to us so that we can have a record.

Please also consider discussing this with your parents and suggesting that they contact the university administration regarding their concerns. This is a situation where it is worthwhile to get them involved and have the university understand the gravity of our concerns.

NOTE: VP Campus Issues Eric Johanssen and the USC have shown the utmost of support and concern for students who might be harassed by the display. Eric was reached late Sunday night and was most helpful in helping us to understand how to move this process along. There is no reason to believe that university administration, with whom we have fantastic relations, will show any less concern once contacted.

2004-12-02T14:43:00.000-05:00

Here is the information for the Western issue: Send emails to
Contact info

Eric Johanssen
Vice President Campus Issues
University Students' Council
E-mail: usc.campus.issues@uwo.ca

Nick Staubitz
President
University Students' Council
E-mail: usc.president@uwo.ca

Equity Services
Homepage:
E-mail: equity@uwo.ca

Dr. Paul Davenport
President & Vice-Chancellor
University of Western Ontario
E-mail: pdavenpo@uwo.ca
and copy your letters to info[at]iacwestern.ca.

Discourse out of SFU

2004-11-25T13:38:00.000-05:00

This article by Howie this week ROCKS, and refers to an article last week that I didn't have time to blog then but will clearly be blogging now.

To respond to The Peak's claim "Is SFU an anti-Semitic campus: No, but find out why," I hope I have demonstrated that the subtitle should really read: No but there are some incidents that must not be trivialised or overlooked.

They also pick up on the Concordia/Bnai Brith issue.

Concordia University is again under fire from an off-campus Jewish organisation for allegedly not protecting Jewish students' rights.

This week, they also ran the article about Naomi Chazan from Excal last week.

The madhouse that is York

2004-11-25T13:23:00.000-05:00

I'm not including all the nutty things going on at SFU and Waterloo in this post, though I could per se, that will be saved for later.

York: The Noble Affair is far from over.

The document, titled “The York University Foundation: The Tail That Wags The Dog”, alleges that the Foundation is “biased by the presence and influences of staunch pro-Israel lobbyists, activists, and fundraising agencies”.

FYI: As I am typing, a protest about this very issue is happening 7 floors down, in Vari Hall. Updates to follow.

I did the only thing I could do: I wrote an editorial.

I was simultaneously attacked about my "privileged past".

I continuously encounter so-called “educated” people who actually argue that colonialism was a product of western civilization that merits praise and not condemnation. Aliza Libman, Excalibur’s news editor, often falls into this trap. However, it is clear that people speaking from a point of privilege cannot effortlessly understand the detriment of these institutions, considering the fact that their forefathers were the perpetrators who participated and benefited from these systems of oppression, particularly the white westerners who colonized the worlds of people of color.

I guess I haven't learned properly from the privilege of being chased around by the Cossacks, banned from owning land in Europe, ghettoized, etc.

Whoops.

In other news, Chomsky spoke, which was considred by some enlightening. Props to Adam Hummel for the rocking letter.

Much more lunacy to follow.

Ask Campus Media Chick #1: An answer for Howie

2004-11-20T22:41:00.000-05:00

The issue of how to best deal with the issue of anti-Israel in the campus media on a small campus is a tough one.

Howie asks:

For those who do follow the site, I have a question. Here at SFU we are a very small community. Our student paper is not institutionally anti-Israel but it is just that those who contribute to the paper tend to not support Israel. In the past we have countered this mainly in a reactionary mode through letters to the editor criticizing past articles. Now, I am trying to focus on proactive messages by writing feature articles. I don't like writing letters to the editor mainly because of the lack of space allowed. Well, the problem is that we are not directly countering anti-Israel articles. I am not sure if that is a problem or what. What do you think?

I think that there are three things that every campus, big or small, needs to include in their campus media strategy. (Listed from easiest to hardest.)

1. Your basic reactionary "letter wars". Every campus should be writing in letters to their papers when something highly objectionable is printed. It is up to the individual campus to decide when the article is highly objectionable versus only moderately objectionable, and what to do about this. This is the reason this blog was created: to get the word out that there is something of concern that needs addressing, and as quickly as possible. Ultimately, I don't know how big each individual campus is, but I have found that as long as you get one, maybe two letters in every time, you will be fine. As long as you're not dealing with institutional anti-Zionism, you should be OK.

2. Cultivating good relationships with decision-makers at campus papers. Most of the people you deal with don't know Jack about Israel, Palestine and Jewish issues. They may have a sense of the situation and are probably somewhat left-wing (this is university after all) but most likely have no strong opinion on the topic. This is where all Hillel execs and IAC chairs come in, even the ones who can't write. The basics include developing a good relationship with the paper's editor-in-chief, managing editor, news editor, opinions editor, etc., making yourself available to comment on issues, and making their job easy for them. There is a lot in this sphere, and it is very important that you do this PR work - making them feel that they can work with the Jews and Zionists on campus. In association with CFJS, the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students, I'm working on a guide to dealing with your campus media that should be available to you all within the next couple of months.

3. Cultivating good writers who can "deliver the goods". When you focus on proactive messages, you're doing the best thing. Howie's feature article. Judi Siklos' gay bars piece. That's going to do the best job. It also helps that in these cases, you have more space. A reactionary letter is 500 words. Last year, my best article was called "Asking Tough Questions" and was about the intricacies of the Israel-Palestine situation. It was over 3000 words long. I also wrote an editorial about Finklestein's visit, I interviewed Alan Dershowitz and wrote an article proclaiming Golda Meir my feminist role model. All of these were outside the news section I write for. It is your job on your campuses to find the Jewish students who can write features about Israel-related issues and arts reviews of Israeli bands and pro-Israel articles for your paper's Queer issue, etc. Then you need to help them do their jobs. If you have strong pro-Israel volunteers or staffers at the papers, it will make Israel seem that much more human to the paper's staff. This is tough, because you have to identify good writers and give them the tools and education to do their job. And then you have to go away and leave them alone to do their jobs. At the end of the day, the more people you have doing this on an individual basis, the better.

This is a long answer, but it's an important question. For more info, email me aliza[at]cfjs.ca.

Noble targets the Israel lobby

2004-11-20T22:28:00.000-05:00

This article in The Globe and Mail breaks the story that Prof. David Noble of York's poli sci department distributed information saying that the university's board and foundation were effectively being too pro-Israel.

He said he was curious as to why the university was clamping down on campus protests and pro-Palestinian students were being disciplined. He said many members of the York University Foundation were pro-Israeli and have considerable influence on the school's administration.

"The administration of [York University], like every other university administration, is guided foremost by fundraising considerations," his material stated.

"I've been at York for 15 years and the suppression of speech and assembly is unprecedented," Prof. Noble said.

We should be sending comment to letters@globeandmail.ca.

Excal Jew-tang issue

2004-11-17T23:44:00.000-05:00

Some weeks, vindication comes from seeing that this week, it's good to be a Jew on campus.

This week's Excalibur has lots of Jewish-related content, including full coverage of the Cleveland GA.

“I have to say this year’s GA was really, really incredible and probably the best part about it was the huge Jewish student contingent that came from Canada,” says Gary Diamond, president of the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students and a student from University of Western Ontario. “It’s so nice to see Jewish students come together for conferences like this to learn, to better ourselves, and to go back to our communities and really make a difference.”

Naomi Chazan spoke at York as well as UofT:

“There will be absolute Palestine majority in the area between the Mediterranean and Jordan within five years if not less,” she said. “In the last 12 years, poll after poll after poll between 60 and 70 per cent of Israelis have come to the exact same conclusion including [Israeli Prime Minister] Ariel Sharon who is talking about a Palestinian state alongside Israel, ending the occupation and even saying that the occupation is bad for Israel.”

As for opinions, props to Hillel board member Noah Zatman for a great article on why Israel is not an apartheid state:

It is important to recognize the fact that Jews in the state of Israel represent a sizeable majority, whereas the rulers of apartheid South Africa represented a sizeable minority. The Arab Palestinians who reside in the state of Israel have the right to vote, freedom of speech, and parliamentary representation.

The gay rights controversy continues with Daniel Neumann disputing the claim of a writer known only as Mohammed in last week's paper criticism of Israel's pride parade as a Zionist ploy. Writes Neumann:

While many of us are usually very quick to criticize Israel, why don’t we give Israelis credit where and when it’s due? Israel is still the only safe country in the Middle East for queers.

If I, as someone who is both Jewish and gay, can and do criticize Israel when it’s deserved, why can’t the author praise Israel for this?

Excal - All Israel all the time

2004-11-10T17:14:00.000-05:00

Today's Excal has both the good and the bad....

Chief props to Judi Siklos for her article in the Queer/Trans supplement about gay bars in Israel:

Thus, while the locale was completely natural to me, it continues to amaze my friends, both queer and straight. Israel is the only country in the region that has no anti-sodomy laws and is even a step ahead of the American “don’t ask don’t tell” policy. Just like in the Canadian army, gay Israeli soldiers are out and supported. In fact, just recently there was a gay marriage at the Royal Military College here in Canada, just as an acclaimed film about a gay couple in the Israeli army was released.

I can, however, understand the ignorance my friends display, since this particular region of the world is not known as gay-friendly. In neighbouring Egypt, homosexual men are beheaded, tortured or jailed, despite the fact that homosexuality is actually not illegal. Or in Afghanistan, men can suffer such punishments as being buried alive or having buildings collapsed on them.

It is particularly revealing that her article was counterpointed by a parallel viewpoint from a Palestinian gay man who is not even able to sign his full name to the story for fear of ostracism by his family and/or community. Nonetheless, he still finds Judi's argument unconvincing:

The existence of undemocratic behaviour in the Arab world, or in any part of the world for that matter, does not excuse the behaviour of the Israeli state, regardless of whether its citizens are given the right to celebrate their sexuality.

and

Through allowing World Pride 2005 to happen in Israel, the delegates at the InterPride conference, held in Montreal in October of 2003, are allowing the international queer population to be used as part of a propagandistic public relations ploy.

It gets worse, of course.

Israel is not a democratic state.

Now, he's just lying.

And of course, the prerequisite opinion piece about Israel being an Apartheid state:

The only option left, therefore, is a one-state where all of the people of the land are treated with respect and dignity; a state where Palestinians, Israelis, Muslims, Christians, and Jews will live together as equals and, ultimately, in peace.

So basically, according to Tarek Hamam, the only people in the world who are not allowed nationalism are Jews. Everyone else can have nationalism. Not us.

And in Concordia news, props for freedom of speech. It looks as though Barak will eventually be invited:

"The university is a place for open dialogue, not just one-sided arguments,” [Hillel president Jason Portnoy] says.

As always, letters to letters@excal.on.ca.

I'm down at aliza[at]cfjs[dot]ca.

All quiet

2004-11-05T20:01:00.000-05:00

Excalibur has no mentions of Israel this week. Yay!

In other news, we have taken our blogging public and will be adding
new bloggers shortly. In general, prospective team members, people
with concerns, and anyone wanting help or to get involved should email
aliza[at]cfjs[dot]ca.

Jewish, Muslim groups avoid endorsements - The Varsity - News

2004-11-04T21:41:00.000-05:00

Election roundup in The Varsity mentions Hillel@UofT:

Hillel at U of T, the association of Jewish students, is not taking sides either, to avoid alienating anyone. "I don't think it would be appropriate to take a stance," said Johanna Herman, the president and a fourth year student.

Opinion, among students she's talked to, is divided. "There are definitely those who support Bush because of his policy on Israel and there are some students who support Kerry because of his foreign policy...Opinions are as diverse as we are."

SFU: Remembering Yitzhak Rabin: Rekindling optimistic hope for peace

2004-11-04T20:02:00.000-05:00

Three cheers to Howard from SFU for this thoughtful and really well-written piece.

Some highlights:

Rabin's last words:

"I was a military man for 27 years. I waged war as long as there was no chance for peace. I believe there is now a chance for peace, a great chance. . . . I have always believed that the majority of the people want peace and are ready to take a chance for peace. . . . This rally must broadcast to the Israeli public, to the world Jewish public and to many in the western and outside world that the people of Israel want peace, support peace. Thank you."

and

Although it is easy to criticize Israeli leaders for their past military pursuits, especially considering that almost all prime ministers were one-time army generals, one common bond that most of them have is the necessity for a non-military solution. Yitzhak Rabin and the past Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak epitomised this characteristic. Even Ariel Sharon is currently putting aside his former commitments to the settlers in order to disengage from the territories and dismantle the majority of settlements.

Whether or not you agree with disengagement, this article is a seriously good read.

More news out of Concordia...

2004-10-27T17:20:00.000-04:00

An SPHR speaker was permitted to speak at Concordia, even when Barak was not, reports The Link:

"But according to Jason Portnoy, co-president of Concordia Hillel, this was not of his group's making.
We didn't have anything planned, he said. We agree with [Tarazi's] right to speak here. We don't agree with what he has to say, but we agree with his right to speak in the same way that we expect the organizers of this event to respect the rights to speak of our speakers."

No such luck.

The Silhouette: Opinions Section

2004-10-27T16:53:00.000-04:00

McMaster students: The Silhouette has included an opinion piece that while it includes some true statements, is very critical of McMaster's Zionists.

"To be a Jew is not necessarily to be a Zionist. To be a Zionist is not necessarily to condone Israeli political action. The Zionists at McMaster may disagree with me, but I believe that one can support the idea of a State of Israel while at the same time condemn the ways in which it was established and the ways it continues to 'defend itself,' or rather, the type of political personality that it has developed."

and

"The Jewish Students Association should represent all Jews and Jewish viewpoints and its apparently strengthening alliance with the McMaster Zionists sends the simple message that all Jews support Israel. I strongly feel that this message is not at all simple, nor is it accurate."

Email: silopinions@msu.mcmaster.ca

Repeat Offender: Peak picks up Daily story

2004-10-23T20:52:00.000-04:00

The marvel of campus syndication means that the SFU Peak was able to pick up the The McGill Daily feature article about birthright. Hat tip to reader Marc for pointing this out.

If you would like to write a letter to the editor, e-mail letters(at)mail.peak.sfu.ca

.

If people know people at Simon Fraser, perhaps pass this along.

One for the good guys

2004-10-22T08:46:00.000-04:00

This week's Excal has Jewish students on campus finally showing some initiative with student Daniel Held writing in this opinion piece about Barak and how it relates to freedom of speech at York: "Pipes and Davis come from different worlds. Each has a right to speak, a right to teach and every student has a right to learn from them. The threats of violence by pro-Palestinian protesters cannot be rewarded by surrendering to their demands. Violence does not grant a veto. Violence cannot be the censor of freedom of speech. Violence has no place on a university campus. "

Yay Daniel.

Other interested students should write to letters@excal.on.ca. I can guarantee that next week will be "Israel is evil" week again.

I appreciate the IDF

2004-10-15T09:53:00.000-04:00

Dan Freeman-Maloy's most recent editorial deserves its own post. Only a bit of it is about Israel, but what is, is telling.

The campaign manager for “Progress not Politics,” which presently controls the York Federation of Students (YFS), personally introduced Day’s talk as “our version of ‘shock and awe,’” (“Shock and awe” was the name of the US war plan to invade Iraq with a blitz of technology-intensive attacks). In October 2003, along the same lines, current YFS president Paul Cooper helped to organize an “Appreciation Day” for the Israeli army.

Good for Paul.

Say it loud, say it proud: I support the Israeli Defence Forces and their work to defend Israel.

Excal this week

2004-10-15T09:20:00.000-04:00

Three articles this week and another editorial from Dan Freeman-Maloy round out this week's opinion sections of "Israel-Palestine Weekly" very well.

First off, props to Evan Lewis, a McGill grad who told it like it was in response to a ghastly piece in a previous issue (it's short enough that I can quote the whole thing.)

Recognize Israeli freedoms

By Evan Lewis
Contributor

Re: “Imprisoning the Intifada,” opinions, September 15, 2004

After spending four years at McGill University in Montreal, I have certainly read my fair share of baseless claims about Israel, which serve no purpose other than to vilify the country. I certainly was not surprised to read “Imprisoning the Infitada” by Ghada Taweel on September 15 in Excalibur.

Just how a campus paper can consent to such an unfounded statement like “Israel continues to practice torture” baffles me. The last time I checked, Israel was one of the only countries in the entire world to outlaw the use of torture. It’s funny how Taweel forgot to include this tidbit of fact.

Seemingly, a lot of facts seem to be missing in this piece. It is my hope that readers of this paper at York University see this too.

It gets worse.

Then, a personal attack on Hillel past president Joride Saperia, who wrote an op-ed last week:

Saperia’s letter is an abhorrent attempt to condemn all those who disagree with him. His analysis does not further the Sudanese plight.

And even worse.

One more op-ed.

The Israelis and their supporters must come to understand that no matter how many Palestinian homes are demolished, no matter how many people are jailed, and no matter how many Palestinian men, women and children are killed, the struggle to end Israeli occupation will continue.

Translation: We can expect more terrorists bombing innocent children eating at pizza shops and vacationing on Sukkot.

Say it like it is, Tarek Hammam. You want more innocent people to die.

This week

2004-10-11T13:03:00.000-04:00

The holidays are over, things are heating up everywhere, and here are some tidbits from different campus papers.

In Brock, a Letter to the Editor:

7) Peace will never come to the Middle East while the Bush regime skews its policies towards Israel.

At U of Calgary, this news brief about an Israeli film series:

"When most people think of Israel, often the first word that comes to mind isn't 'film'. 'Ethnic conflict', 'terrorism' and 'war' are probably more commonly associated with that part of the world. An Israeli film series playing at the University of Calgary the next month may change that. Its primary focus is the human element in the religious conflict between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. "

At Concordia, the Barak controversy is drawing student comment:

"I am truly embarrassed by such failures in a democracy in the 21st century. I am afraid to ask, but if my fellow students are not interested in free speech and inquiry for all of us on campus, regardless of a speaker's political opinions, than what exactly are we learning at school?"

At McGill, a new Jewish museum is making the daily news:

"It should be a learning laboratory for students who are interested in the history of Canada," he said.

The Montreal Jewish Museum will be part of an existing network of similar museums around the world with whom the committee intends to cooperate, coordinate, and share exhibitions. "

Religious sensitivity is an item of concern at UofT Scarborough:

"No, it's not that I wasn't invited, or that I didn't want to attend the first Megapub of the year. I was at home for the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah, one of the most important religious days of the Jewish calendar.

Since realizing that the first major social event of the year was happening on a religious day, I have been debating just how sensitive the SCSU and other student organizations should be towards significant days of faith. "

Over here in the blogosphere, we are working very hard to put together our team of people who are going to report from their various campuses.

Email aliza1019[at]excite[dot]com if you want to be a part of it.

Conflict at Concordia event

2004-10-04T18:05:00.000-04:00

This piece from the Link about a possible Barak visit to Concordia has been picked up on the Canadian University Press newswire and has been reprinted in The McGill Daily.

Details of the proposed talk were hard to come by from the university administration. Communications officer Dennis Murphy said only that a request has been submitted and is under review by a committee consisting of himself, vice-president services Michael di Grappa and other members of the administration.

"A request was received for Mr. Barak to give a lecture at a specific site at Concordia and that request is being looked at," said Murphy.

The site for the speech could prove to be an important factor in how smoothly the speech—if approved and coordinated—unfolds. In a memo released by the university after the Netanyahu events, it was recommended that the speech should have been held at the university's campus west of downtown, where it could have been easier to control the large crowd.

Both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian groups are hoping for a different outcome this time.

Erik Yingling, vice-president of information of the Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, said he sees the request for Barak to speak as provocation and that bringing controversial political figures to Concordia will only disrupt a campus that has been relatively peaceful since Netanyahu's attempted visit.

"It will divide people literally and figuratively. We spoke with a few people who aren't even necessarily supportive of the Palestinian cause and they rolled their eyes and said 'are you serious?' It's a no-brainer, people are going to be very upset."

I received an email that Concordia has denied the request - from Montreal Hillel:

FREEDOM OF SPEECH DENIED
AT CONCORDIA

First Ehud Barak, WHO'S NEXT ???

Join us for a FREE SPEECH RALLY:
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2004
12 PM at the corner of McKay and
De Maissoneuve

Please read the open letter below for more information.
Dear fellow student,

We are writing to ask for your support. Last week, Concordia University denied former Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak permission to speak anywhere on campus - including the quiet, and more easily guarded, Loyola campus - hiding behind a "security risk assessment".

They claim that they cannot effectively secure their campuses. We say that it is their duty to protect their students and to allow freedom of speech to exist on their campuses.

A small group of thugs are holding an entire university community hostage and deciding who is allowed to speak and who is not. All people who value democratic principles such as freedom of expression and speech should share our outrage with this intolerable situation.

This is not acceptable in our Quebec and Canadian society. We ask for your cooperation in FREEING speech. We will be gathering outside Concordia's Hall building on Tuesday at 12pm (Corner Mackay and Maisonneuve) calling for the Board of Governors, the Administration, the Faculty and students of Concordia to reclaim their campus.

This is a historic opportunity and no matter what your political affiliation is... This affects you!

Today is a day of great sadness for freedom of expression at universities and in Canadian society.

We invited Ehud Barak so that we could all learn from him. We have been told that the Administration has restored peace to its campuses. This unfortunate incident has demonstrated that we have appeased the violent side but we have not achieved true peace. Peace should not be confused with appeasement.

We will know that we have peace on campus when we can all learn together-when we can all reason together, safely, intelligently and constructively. For that, we and our parents sacrifice so much- in order to pay tuition and learn at this school.

In return, all we demand, is equal treatment and a safe learning
environment, just like everyone else.

Is that too much to ask?

Looking forward to your support,

Yacov Fruchter
Montreal Hillel President

Jason Portnoy
Concordia Hillel co-President

Check out the Hillel website for more details.

Last week, updated=this week

2004-10-03T02:07:00.000-04:00

Last week, I wrote:

I wrote an Excal editorial, though I often feel like I'm trying to stop a tidal wave with a teacup. Expect responses to rip me apart.

Here we go this week :

"In her treatment of terrorism, we again notice Ms. Libman's bias. She rightfully denounces Beslan, the bus bombing in Beersheba, and 9/11. But she avoids putting these events into context. She conveniently forgets to mention the virtual razing to the ground of the Chechen capital of Grozny (home to one million people). She also forgets to mention that four times more Palestinians than Israelis have been killed during this Intifada. When a Palestinian bomber hits a bus full of civilians, that's terrorism, but when an Israeli helicopter gunship fires rockets into a crowd of civilians and one "suspected militant", that's also terrorism!"

No, that's self-defense, if the "suspected militant" is a known murderer.

Also, props to Hillel past-president Jordie Saperia for this excellent op-ed.

McGill continues in the train of schools (at last count, now four) that have hosted Uri Davis.

McGill Daily coverage:

The State of Israel is not a real democracy but an apartheid state aided by Canada in its deflagration of human rights, accused Dr. Uri Davis, founder of the Movement Against Israeli Apartheid in Israel.

More to come.

Lots of stuff going on this week....

2004-09-26T19:02:00.000-04:00

Most campus papers are back in swing, here is a taste of Israel in Canadian campus media this week.

I wrote an Excal editorial, though I often feel like I'm trying to stop a tidal wave with a teacup. Expect responses to rip me apart.

Uri Davis spoke last week at York, UofT and Queen's :

"'Israel remains the only apartheid state that is a member of the UN,' he said."

It got no coverage at York and I can't find any from UofT.

The McGill Daily has a lot of interesting content this week, a feature article about birthright israel that I didn't read fully, and a news story about Palestinian refugees in Canada that contains a few choice statements about Israel, including:

“There are atrocities being committed in the name of Judaism. These refugees are living proof of the atrocities.”

The other thing going on at McGill, of course, is an anti-Semite who has been standing around with posters, and the students who are saying Enough is enough. From The McGill Tribune.

Guelph accidentally scheduled clubs day for Rosh Hashana. But then they moved it. (OK, that really has nothing to do with Israel. whatever.)

Out in BC, a solitary letter to the editor in the Navigator learns this from 9/11:

What the U.S. people, the west, and Canada, for that matter, need to do is to put pressure on Israel to cease oppression of the Palestine and negotiate a peace there. The west needs to been seen pressuring Israel and not as seen supporting them alone.

I urge anyone who feels so moved to write a letter, opinion piece, or forward me articles of concern.

Urgent: Responses needed!

2004-09-15T16:42:00.000-04:00

In this week's opinion section of York's Excalibur, Ghada Taweel writes:

These facts indicate one thing: The arrest of Palestinians is not a rare act reserved for so-called “security threats”. The abuse detainees face is not random or the result of poor training. Rather, Israel’s detention policies and the use of torture form a conscious state policy. It is an integral part of a colonial system designed to quash resistance to occupation.

York students should not stand idly by while things like this are being written. We need to respond to articles like this so that people see there is another side to the story.

Email letters to letters@excal.on.ca.

Dan Freeman-Maloy, again

2004-09-10T12:12:00.000-04:00

In a signed editorial in the most recent issue of Excalibur, Dan Freeman-Maloy writes about the state of the world and mentions specifically: "the eruption of the current Palestinian uprising sparked brutal Israeli repression."

He elaborates on the theme later in the article.

Brock student writes about Al-Jazeera

2004-09-04T22:22:00.000-04:00

No real Israel connection, but interesting nonetheless.

Why Al-Jazeera is important for Iraqi democracy - Brock Press - Opinion

McGill students - a Tribune article

2004-09-04T21:22:00.000-04:00

A note about sequence might be just what the doctor ordered in this 'news' piece in the McGill Tribune this week.

When nationalism distracts from athletes in skimpy clothes - The McGill Tribune - news:

"A few weeks ago, the judo competitor from Iran appeared at his weigh-in looking a little pudgy, and was disqualified.

After years of training, did he throw it all away by succumbing to the tempting aroma of moussaka on the evening of the event? Hardly. Arash Miresmaeili, disqualified himself rather than tangle with his Israeli competitor, Ehud Vaks. Iranian policy is not to compete against Israelis, because to do so would recognize Israel's legitimacy as a country.

The Olympics has always been political, in the way that any organization bringing people together inevitably becomes politicized. One group counts as a nation, while another does not. Victory becomes a matter of national status."

I encourage reading the entire article. The problem with the article is that it presumes that Miresmaeili disqualified himself for political reasons rather than being disqualified and announcing that he did so for political reasons, when in fact he was just getting porky.

Anyhow, this news piece reads like an op-ed and deserves a few comments on the absolute right of Israel to exist.

Letters can be sent in here.

Update: If you all don't think it's a big deal, then feel free to ignore it. My function is simply to "crawl" student newspapers, as it were, and report on mentions of Israel in any context. It merely caught my eye because it's labelled news, but incorporates the personal opinions of the writer (a big no-no for news writing.)

THE EYEOPENER ONLINE

2004-08-26T20:23:00.000-04:00

THE EYEOPENER ONLINE deals with the issue of anti-Muslim graffitti very well.

Are other campus papers back online? Do people know what date their local papers start publishing or day of the week they usually publish? Feel free to drop a comment if you do.

Excalibur frosh issue

2004-08-25T23:02:00.000-04:00

The only article of concern in Excal's frosh issue is an opinion piece by opinions editor Dan Freeman-Maloy in which he criticizes a whole number of things, but primarily targets an IDF Appreciation event carried out by the campus Young Zionist Partnership. One clip:

Last year, current YFS president Paul Cooper helped organize the most militarist event I have ever seen on a campus. The event was a celebration of a military that is internationally condemned for its repressive tactics, including extrajudicial assassination of dissidents, political imprisonment of children, and torture. (See Adam Hanieh’s book Stolen Youth, or visit www.zmag.org, for details on these policies.)

Cooper booked the space for an “Appreciation Day” for the Israeli military, and stood next to the mayor of an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank to coordinate the event. The leader of “Progress not Politics” thus continued acting in the spirit in which he had helped to bring Stockwell Day, the former leader of the Canadian Alliance, to speak on campus the year before. And his conservative and militarist convictions remain clear.

Freeman-Maloy's (and Excalibur's) email address is letters@excal.on.ca.

***In other news, I've added an "email this post" feature, courtesy of Blogger, so all posts can easily be emailed to friends, Romans and countrymen.

Not quite campus, but...

2004-08-11T23:00:00.000-04:00

Ryerson's had its second attack, as reported by The Globe and Mail. But things are a bit fishy:

''The Islamic infidels have no belonging in Toronto and in the world at all ... we ask that whenever you spot a Muslim ... that you beat them and cause harm to them. Kill these Islamic infidels,'' reads one of the notices in broken English and signed by a group calling itself the Full Blooded Israeli Brigades.

Ok, first problem: No Jew has ever used the word "infidel" of their own volition. It's almost exclusively an Islamist word.

Second problem: It is doubtful anyone would create "Full Blooded Israeli Brigades". Are there any other Israeli brigades? Sounds like the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. And what's with the full-blooded Israeli thing? Are there full-blooded Israelis? We take all the ex-pats from anywhere else in the world.

Third problem: Hate propaganda in the summer? The propagandist seems exceptionally inept - who's really on campus in the summer?

The solution: An outside troublemaker.

"They [the Jewish and Muslim student groups on campus] firmly agreed it's an outsider who is trying to stir the pot. . . . The groups are not willing to give into this and allow someone to create tension between them."

Let me make myself clear. Hate crimes are never ok. We should be outraged, and condemn even the slighest sign of marginalization of any faith or ethnic group. Ethnic groups should work together for understanding and coexistence, even if they disagree.

SFU student gives the security fence "A Canadian-Jewish Perspective"

2004-07-30T12:52:00.000-04:00

A student's Canadian-Jewish Perspective on the security fence is definitely worth a read in the current issue of the Peak, as is the article about Al-Jazeera.

That's all folks.

Resource: E-subscribe to a campus paper

2004-07-23T14:05:00.000-04:00

Here are links to subscribe to a paper:

At Athabaska University, The Voice.
At Brock, the Brock Press.
At Carleton, Capital News Online.
At Concordia, The Concordian and The Link.
At McGill, The McGill Tribune.
At UofT, The Varsity, the newspaper, and Mississisauga campus' The Medium (you need to scroll to enroll.).
At UVic, The Strand.

More bunnies

2004-07-21T18:09:00.000-04:00

Martlet did their July issues. Like the previous issue, it is mostly about bunnies.

Also, a couple new links and I added a "French" section. Now, let me be clear: My French isn't good enough to monitor these. Sorry. Je suis desolee.

Secret #1 for students at UofT, Brock, AU

2004-07-20T09:39:00.000-04:00

Marc's been asking me for my secrets, most of which I won't be
divulging at present, but here is one tip for media-savvy students at
UofT, Brock and AU. The Varsity, Brock Press and AUSU
Voice all have email subscription services. I recommend signing
up for these services; very often, you can tell what is in the paper
from the headlines.

Non-Israel related scandal

2004-07-19T12:29:00.000-04:00

The Fulcrum at UofO is fighting with their admin over underage drinking. Hmmmmm.

Late-breaking grapevine news - the University of Ottawa decided NOT to pull the paper yesterday.

Just kinda interesting. Anyhow, their summer issue deals mainly with school stuff.

UofT's the Varsity is equally uneventful, with the only traces of foreign policy an op-ed entitled Saint Michael Moore.

I leave you to be the judges.

Debate has yet to Peak. LOL.

2004-07-19T11:55:00.000-04:00

So the Israel-Palestine battle rages on at The Peak, and this time the "bad guy" is the editor, who is printing less letters than have been written.

Also, incidentally, organized religion takes a hit this week.

Also, the Muse out in Newfoundland published, but did not update their website. This happens a lot in the summer.

Enjoy!

Found: One Charlatan

2004-07-15T10:57:00.000-04:00

In case anybody was curious, we now are linked to the Valentine's day
issue of the Charlatan, the most recent one available.
Thanks to Marc for the update.

Again, a reminder: Feel free to send me useful links.

Thanks!

Searching for the Charlatan

2004-07-13T13:16:00.000-04:00

Avi commented that the site does not currently have a link to Concordia's The Charlatan.

This is true for a number of campus papers. Usually, the reason for this is that the website is down or has not been updated since 2002.

If anyone has a current URL for a site I am missing, please leave it in a comment or email it to aliza1019-at-excite-dot-com. (I write my email out in a weird way so any person can figure it out, but it won't be picked up by random computer-generated spam search programs.)

Even more on the Peak! (I need more creative titles.)

2004-07-06T00:36:00.000-04:00

Welcome to readers of Honest Reporting Campus joining us this week.

HR Campus puts out weekly alerts during the year and monthly alerts in the summer addressing shoddy campus reporting.

This week's campus alert sources us on the last Peak post, and discusses it in greater detail than I ever could.

Thanks HR Campus for the backgrounder!

More from the Peak

2004-07-05T23:59:00.000-04:00

This week's issue of the Peak sports an angry (and occasionally profane) letter of the week which, aside from containing the dreaded moral equivalence, speaks to a certain desire by some student to not have the Israeli-Arab conflict discussed in any depth in student newspapers.

I am assuming that Mickey Finn is a pseudonym.

Another interesting article about free speech mentions Mein Kampf.

And also the inevitable Fahrenheit 9/11 back-and-forth and one article about Iraq.

That's it from Simon Fraser this week.

More and more papers!

2004-06-25T18:38:00.000-04:00

Today is new listing day! Three more independent papers from UofT, a French paper from Laval and the Queen's Journal all added to the independent section.

Thanks to all the people who have sent feedback or posted comments so far.

I just have one thing left to say: The pink stays.

Israel has a strange bedfellow at SFU

2004-06-23T12:01:00.000-04:00

Only a few papers are publishing this summer, The Peak at Simon Fraser University in BC being one of them. An exchange in their recent issue has an op-ed that is worth reading, which (in my estimation), appears to be just barely pro-Israel. This response is in reaction to a letter which discusses, at length, "Israel's illegal and brutal occupation of Palestinian land."

The paper's weekly issues this summer have each contained a letter to this effect, with both pro-Israel and anti-Israel viewpoints being expressed.

The Peak is a paper which traditionally contains a lot of debate on the Israeli-Arab conflict, on both sides. It's well worth reading.

Day two - links have landed!

2004-06-22T23:40:00.000-04:00

I've added links to some newspapers' websites, and I'm working on more. But a thought on CUP (not the utensil). I have separated my links into newspapers that are members of Canadian University Press and those that are not. Canadian University Press is a collective of student newspapers which, among other things, has a wire service. This is critical, because if stuff is on the newswire, like an article from Excal, and then the people out at UBC like it, they can print it. So we need to work nationally because the same issues come back again and again, and why should we all struggle individually when we can band together?

Preparing for launch!

2004-06-21T11:34:00.000-04:00

A lot of people know that I've spent the last couple of years working on a way for Canadian students to share resources and information about campus media that pertains to Israel and Jewish students.

Here's my latest attempt.

I'm hoping to use this blog as a way that we Canadian students who care about Israel as well as campus media can share information on what is being said in different papers across the country.

While little goes on in campus papers in the summer, I plan to spend the summer creating things like links and subscriptions and stuff.

Comments, feedback, suggestions, etc. can be sent to aliza1019@excite.com.

Cheers!