Israel Apartheid Week to be staged at U of M

From today's Free Press letter to the editor section:

An Israeli word

Re: Jesse Vorst's letter U of M gets an F (April 19). While a student at the University of Manitoba, I had Prof. Vorst as an instructor for introductory economics. I enjoyed his lectures and found him to be an engaging instructor. One thing I learned from him is the importance of thinking critically and questioning what we are fed by politicians and the media.

When I sought to understand the basis for Israeli Apartheid Week, I found the following quote: "We enthusiastically chose to become a colonial society, ignoring international treaties, expropriating lands, transferring settlers from Israel to the occupied territories, engaging in theft and finding justification for all these activities. Passionately desiring to keep the occupied territories, we developed two judicial systems: one -- progressive, liberal -- in Israel; and the other -- cruel, injurious -- in the occupied territories. In effect, we (Israel) established an apartheid regime in the occupied territories immediately following their capture. That oppressive regime exists to this day." -- Michael Ben-Yair, attorney general of Israel from 1993-1996, from The war's seventh day, in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, March 3, 2002.

Please explain how the U of M went wrong by allowing the title "Israeli Apartheid Week"?

MURRAY BONNER

Winnipeg

There are appx 6,000,000,000 (Billion) people living in this world, over 5,000,000,000 (billion) live under a dictatorship, president for life, poor country with no hope as compared to Canada, and the Jewish history is one of its people being picked on , expelled from every Country without compensation over the years, ad then appx 6million out of 12 million murdered for being Jewish, and you wonder why I say go F yourself with your anti-Zionist criticism.
We Jewish people, have our own country for the 1st time. We can defend ourselves for the 1st time. And we would do even better if the rest of the countries would sign peace treaties so we can spend less money on defense, and more on infrastructure.
In 1948, when we declared ouselves to be a Country, our lovely neighbours all attacked us, with the idea of killing all 500,000 of us. They failed, we succeeded, but we are at risk of being annihilated by an atomic bomb because we are so small.
There are now a total of 12 million Jewish people, the same number as in 1939.
Isn't it amazing how nice people throughout the world see so many problems coming out of a Country with 6 million inhabitants,that is so small that its name cannot be written on its space on a map.
I asked djh if he knew ant Jews as friends and he never answered me. I believe that is the problem with the anti people. I cannot imagine in this day and age of so many "types" of different backgrounds , that any one can bear a grudge against any one, because all people are "Gods" people!

From today's Free Press. European Jews sign petition critical of Israeli government, settlements

Excerpts.

PARIS - More than 3,000 European Jews, including prominent intellectuals, have signed a petition speaking out against Israeli settlement policies and warning that systematic support for the Israeli government is dangerous.

Israeli columnist Yossi Sarid, a former Cabinet minister identified with Israel's dovish peace movement, praised the initiative in an op-ed published in the Haaretz daily Sunday.

"These are people who seize every opportunity to defend Israel publicly and remain faithful to it," he wrote. "But even their patience is running out and their hearts are filled with sincere concern."

The petition, online at www.jcall.eu, says Israel faces a threat in the "occupation and the continuing pursuit of settlements in the West Bank and in the Arab districts of East Jerusalem.

"These policies are morally and politically wrong and feed the unacceptable delegitimization process that Israel currently faces abroad," it says.

It adds that "systematic support of Israeli government policy is dangerous and does not serve the true interests of the state of Israel."

Trininiman- I agree that things in Israel are not perfect, but I think you should make a list of African Countries, and then start listing the things that aren't perfect in those countries, and leave the Jews alone until you have put an equal effort at fixing those countries.
After Africa, switch to China, and after you have done equal work there , then work on Mexico, South America and then if you are still looking to solve all of the worlds problems, work on the USA and then Canada? lol
300 million Arabs surround 5 million Jews- that is a pretty ugly situation. Israel has been working since 1948 on signing peace treaties with all of its neighbours, and both sides Arab and Israeli's have been dancing together.
Anwar Sadat paid with his life to get an agreement, while other Arab leaders know that they probably will pay with their life to sign on to peace. It is a hell of a situation, with mistakes being made on both sides.
Israel has become safer with their beautiful 15' ? decorative fence keeping out Arabs who have bombs attached to their bodies.
Israel doesn't care about any one's criticism to some extent, when it comes to survival.
Anti-semitism is always there, and will always be there.
In the old days "we" Jews were taught to turn the other cheek, until in 1942 Begin told us to stop turning the other cheek, arm yourself and defend yourself. Only then did we realize that he was right and the old wimpy Jew, changed!

Israel started in 1948 with about 500,000 in those lands. At that time there were over 250,000 Jews in camps in Europe who hadn't been killed for being Jews. 6 million were. The number is mind boggling.
My Uncle lost his whole family. He made it out because he was an auto mechanic and fixed German vehicles.
There is an article in the Free press yesterday about the concentration camps in the Free Press, and a picture of Jewish Females, children at a camp, where it was decided who was to live and who was to die. I was born in Canada in 1944, and I am so proud living in Canada, where everyone gets a chance without the threat of being killed.
I remember all sorts of stories about anti-semitic Eaton's, Ford, the University of Manitoba in the 60's on acceptance to Medicine, law, etc. That is in my lifetime. I started work at The Bay in 1968, and when I was in my 1st department, women's shoes, was told to be careful, as the manager was anti-semitic. I did not understand what the person was talking about!

Elvis Costello Cancels Israel Gigs

Fair and balanced comments? You decide.

excerpts
"I must believe that the audience for the coming concerts would have contained many people who question the policies of their government on settlement and deplore conditions that visit intimidation, humiliation or much worse on Palestinian civilians in the name of national security.

I am also keenly aware of the sensitivity of these themes in the wake of so many despicable acts of violence perpetrated in the name of liberation. "