On January 16, 2021The Coalition Of Canadian Palestinian Organizations, Palestine Solidarity Committee SJ [Saint John, NB] and AC PS [Atlantic Canada Palestinian Society] held a panel on Israel. The official statement reads:
On behalf of the Palestine Support Committee (Saint John), we would like to invite you to join an online panel discussion on the topic “Is Criticizing the State of Israel Antisemitic?”
Our speakers will be:
1- Faisal Bhabha, Associate Professor of Law at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University
2- Bruce Katz, is a founding member of Palestinian and Jewish Unity in Montreal. He is a writer and human rights activist.
The event is co-sponsored by the Canadian Palestinian Organizations Coalition and Atlantic Canada Palestinian Society.
Accessing the event is by invitation only. At your request, we will send you the secure link. There is no expectation that you will speak during the meeting, though of course your participation is very welcome and encouraged.
To register for this event, or if you have questions or would like more information, please register by emailing us at [email protected] or by sending us a message on Facebook.
Isaac David, a Canadian Israeli living in New Brunswick, participated in the panel discussion. Here is the transcript of his speech:
Hi Everyone. So I’m Isaac [David], and like Miriam [Naser] introduced me, seven years ago, until seven years ago, I was [an] Israeli Citizen, and I moved to Canada because I didn’t see any future for my kids to live in Israel. I was an activist in the human rights League in Israel [probably The Association for Civil Rights in Israel]. Mainly, my activity was for Palestinian[s]. I met with Palestinians, with Yasser Arafat [founder of the Palestinian Liberation Organization – PLO and former Chairman of the Palestinian Authority]. I met with Hannan Asharawi [member of the Executive Committee of the PLO]. I met with a lot of leaders before Israel allowed that. I saw that because, in the past, I thought the solution for Israel to exist is two nations in one place. And now I understand that this opportunity [has] just vanished. The main opportunity that we have at the moment, and we should focus on that, is for Jewish people and Palestinians to live on the whole state, both sides of the state, without dividing it, because what the Zionists, I’m a Jewish [person], I’m not Zionist, okay, and I put a lot of difference between Jewish people and Zionist people. Zionist people can be Christian as well, and we know that there is [are a] few millions in [the] United States that they are Zionist as well, and they contribute [donate] for the Israeli Zionists to hold the whole place, the whole State of Israel what they call from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea. I don’t see that way. I think they’re doing damage to the Israel[i] population, to the Jews that live there. You need to understand that Zionism started in the 1870s something, somewhere there, and it’s moved forward till today. Should we criticize Israel? I don’t think there is a nation or states or a human being that you cannot criticize. You should criticize everybody. And yeah, the Jews suffered from the Holocaust. Jews suffered in the long history, in the long run, the Jews suffered a lot. But when Jewish Zionists [are] doing crimes against humanity, we should speak up. And I think, I’m calling Israel, I used to call her [Israel] Nazi, but Nazi is not correct terminology, because Nazi[sm] was not socialist as well, National Socialist and Israel is way far from socialist. Israel is a violent community that violating each other peaceful life of its citizens. Everybody can kill everybody. There is no future for Israel at the moment. I think Israel is starting to collapse into itself like a black hole. And I’m sorry for my English; I’m a bit nervous, but I’m just trying to explain that there is no future for my kids in Israel. That’s why I left seven years ago. I didn’t want my kids to go to the Army. I served [in] the Army, because I had to, but when they want[ed] me to go to serve in the occupied territories, I refused, and for that, I need[ed] to pay the price, and the price was my freedom. And I’m looking at the Palestinian that lives in Israel, and I’m following that every day through my sources and through Facebook, and I see what crimes Israel is doing in [the] Gaza Strip holding [a] humongous amount of people, around three and a half million people in a camp surrounded and nobody can come and visit and cannot go out. They have electricity only one hour a day or two hours a day. The hospitals work on generators. If this is not nationalism, Nazism, then I don’t know what that is. Well, Nazis killed Jews in the Gas chambers. You don’t have to do gas chambers to kill a human being. You just need not to give him the basic needs, the vaccines against the disease [Covid-19], the electricity, the clean water. And, you know, they are in [a] concentration camp. That drives me crazy because I learned about the Holocaust. That’s what they [Israel] want us to do. That what they [Israel] teach us. From day one, when you are born, the system is brainwashing you to understand that you need to die for the sake of Israel. But fortunately for myself, I had a father that was thinking differently. I remember in 1976 everybody got the sticker on the shirt, on the T-shirt, I’m proud Zionist, and I put that, I was in the sixth grade, so I put that on myself, and I came to my house, and I said to my dad: I’m a proud Zionist because there was an Operation Entebbe to rescue the Israelis kidnapped in Air France airplane. And [my] dad looked at me and said: Well, I’m not Zionist. Simple as that. And this question was staying here, and I started questioning Zionism, and I start[ed] to learn about it. I studied at the University political science, and I start[ed] to understand what we’re doing to the Palestinian citizens which they are not citizens. Israel is activating Nazi machinery against the Palestinian people. And if you are going to let that happen and you’re not going to speak up, because I’m speaking of every day, and I’m telling my mind and my thoughts to whoever wants to listen, and you should speak up with everyone, you can, not just Justin Trudeau. Justin Trudeau is a small person. For me, I think, and now you have a new opportunity after the creature [President Donald Trump] from the White House, the crazy, I don’t want to call him names, but [he] was there, and he’s moving out in a few days, and we won’t see his face anymore hopefully. He let Israel do whatever she wants in Israel and in the occupied territories. He drives me nuts just to think how this crazy person becomes the leader of the biggest democratic country in the world. Unfortunately, he did a lot of damage, including [to] the Palestinians. But the Palestinians should understand that their freedom is coming soon. Unfortunately, because Israel is collapsing into itself. And there is [sic] good people in Israel. Not everybody are [is] black people; I mean black by being Nazi. There is [sic] a lot of Nazis, we can’t deny that, but there is [sic] a lot of good people in Israel that think like me. We should try to divide between Jewish [people] because I’m a Jewish person; even though I’m [an] atheist, I’m Jewish. I was born Jewish, therefore, I’m Jewish, but I’m not Zionist. I don’t think like Zionists, and I don’t like Zionist people, and I think you should focus basically on this deviation, and you should understand that just speaking is not enough. Sending money is not enough. Try to break the barricade [blockage on Gaza] by sending more and more ships to Israel, the blockage, and I mean, Palestinians, not just in [the Gaza Strip, I mean in the West Bank, Israel is stealing the lands from the Palestinians. They’re taking them at night out, and they’re destroying their houses and saying this is a military zone right now and you cannot use that, and a week later, you see Zionist crazy settlers sitting on the Palestinian land which was stolen from them, and it breaks my heart again and again and again. It’s like somebody [is] stabbing me again and again. Because I’ve learned about the Holocaust, and because I’m a Jewish person, and because of my moral, which I got from my parents, I think what we’re doing to the Palestinian is unforgivable. But I want the Palestinians to remember one thing. When you become the owner of the whole state, please forgive the Zionists about what they did. I know one day soon it’s going to be very soon that, the Palestinians will be the owner of this country. I hope they will remember and won’t [take] revenge the Zionists. It is very important for not to have blood anymore. We need to give them [Zionists, Jews] the opportunity to stay under the government of the Palestinians. It’s going to happen soon because Israel is collapsing. Nobody can destroy Israel. Israel is focusing on Iran on Hezbollah, which is a lie. We know that they’re not doing anything against Israel, but Israel is like sticking the finger into their eyes. I’m sorry I’m stealing a lot of time from you guys, but I have to speak up my mind and to tell you, listen we are Jewish people, but we’re not against you. We love you [Palestinians], and we want to be your friends, and we know that Israel as a state, a Zionist Israel is doing criminal [crimes] against humanity. I’m sorry I stole your time, and thank you very much for letting me speak up.