Ontario Assembly Motion to Blacklist
Defenders of Palestinian Human Rights
Oppose Attacks on Political Opinion, the Right to Conscience and the Right to Resist!
– May 19, 2016 –
Montreal protest May 14 on the 68th anniversary of Al-Nakba.
Sign reads: “Boycott Israeli Apartheid”
Update: Bill 202, Standing Up Against Anti-Semitism in Ontario Act, 2016 was defeated on the afternoon of May 19 during second reading by a vote of 39 to 18. There are 107 members of the Ontario legislature.
The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) condemns the efforts of Liberal and Conservative members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to criminalize political opinion and action, the right to conscience and the right to resist. By defaming those who stand against the occupation of Palestine and the crimes committed within it as “anti-Semites,” this is what the Ontario Legislature will accomplish if the bill currently under consideration is adopted and made law.[1]
In the middle of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s week-long “trade mission” to Israel, a bill was tabled and passed first reading on May 17 entitled Standing Up Against Anti-Semitism in Ontario Act, 2016. The bill was sponsored by Tim Hudak, former leader of the Official Opposition and MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook and Mike Colle, Liberal Deputy Government Whip, a former Cabinet member under Dalton McGuinty and MPP for Eglinton-Lawrence. Second reading on the bill is taking place Thursday, May 19.
The bill would prohibit a “public body” from entering into or holding any contract with “a person or entity that supports the [boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS)] movement.” It adds that no college or university shall “support or participate in the BDS movement” upon penalty of regulations which would be set at a later time. In its preamble the bill falsely claims that BDS supporters call for the boycott of “corporations, businesses and cultural institutions owned by Jewish Canadians.”[2]
This is simply not true. The stated goal of the BDS movement is to promote a boycott of Israeli-made products, particularly those produced in illegal settlements, as well as divestment from companies involved in the illegal occupation of Palestinian land. It is a political movement and targets entities involved in violation of international law and human rights violations. It is a legitimate form of political action. By proposing this motion, the Ontario Legislature and parties which form the cartel party system are criminalizing political opinion and conscience. They are criminalizing the resistance to occupation which, besides being a direct assault on democratic principles, violates international law which protects the right to resistance. This right is guaranteed in the United Nations Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations adopted in 1970 as well as numerous UN General Assembly resolutions.[3]
Mississauga, May 15
Note
1. Anti-Semitism does not refer to opposition to a Semitic cultural or linguistic group. It is a political term coined in the 19th century, that refers to anti-Jewish acts, ideologies and groups. The Jewish Encyclopedia (1906) defines anti-Semitism as, “A modern word expressing antagonism to the political and social equality of Jews.” It relied on the assertion that the Jews are distinct as peoples from the nations to which they belonged, not on religious grounds but on a racial basis. The Jewish Encyclopedia states:
“The term ‘Anti-Semitism’ has its origin in the ethnological theory that the Jews, as Semites, are entirely different from the Aryan, or Indo-European, populations and can never be amalgamated with them. The word implies that the Jews are not opposed on account of their religion, but on account of their racial characteristics. As such are mentioned: greed, a special aptitude for money-making, aversion to hard work, clannishness and obtrusiveness, lack of social tact, and especially of patriotism.”
It is misleading to use the term in support of the Zionist project and false to claim that defence of the Palestinian people or BDS is anti-Semitic. The denunciation of Palestinians and their supporters as anti-Semitic for their resistance and political stands has nothing to do with defence of Jews or people of Jewish origin no matter where they are.
2. The BDS movement describes its goals as the following:
“Boycotts target products and companies (Israeli and international) that profit from the violation of Palestinian rights, as well as Israeli sporting, cultural and academic institutions. Anyone can boycott Israeli goods, simply by making sure that they don’t buy produce made in Israel or by Israeli companies. Campaigners and groups call on consumers not to buy Israeli goods and on businesses not to buy or sell them.
“Israeli cultural and academic institutions directly contribute to maintaining, defending or whitewashing the oppression of Palestinians, as Israel deliberately tries to boost its image internationally through academic and cultural collaborations. As part of the boycott, academics, artists and consumers are campaigning against such collaboration and ‘rebranding’. A growing number of artists have refused to exhibit or play in Israel.
“Divestment means targeting corporations complicit in the violation of Palestinian rights and ensuring that the likes of university investment portfolios and pension funds are not used to finance such companies. These efforts raise awareness about the reality of Israel’s policies and encourage companies to use their economic influence to pressure Israel to end its systematic denial of Palestinian rights.
“Sanctions are an essential part of demonstrating disapproval for a country’s actions. Israel’s membership of various diplomatic and economic forums provides both an unmerited veneer of respectability and material support for its crimes. By calling for sanctions against Israel, campaigners educate society about violations of international law and seek to end the complicity of other nations in these violations.”
3. These include UNGA Resolution A/RES/3246 (XXIX; 29 November 1974), UNGA Resolution A/RES/33/24 (29 November 1978), UNGA Resolution A/RES/34/44 (23 November 1979), UNGA Resolution A/RES/35/35 (14 November 1980), UNGA Resolution A/RES/36/9 (28 October 1981), and many others. Article 1(4) of the First Additional Protocol (IAP) to the Geneva Conventions confirms that international humanitarian law applies to “armed conflicts in which peoples are fighting against colonial domination and alien occupation and against racist régimes in the exercise of their right of self-determination…”
