By CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS
Editor’s note: This article by Christine Douglass-Williams provides yet another example (or two more examples) of the Palestine victimhood narrative being used to advance a far-left agenda. Under Jagmeet Singh, the NDP has been moving ever farther to the left, so perhaps it is not surprising that it would pass an anti-Israel BDS motion. That a progressive Jewish group (J-Space) would also support such a resolution may seem surprising, until one realizes that the word “progressive” has come to mean social(ist) justice activist. It is also interesting that the name of the NDP resolution (Justice and Peace in Israel-Palestine) bears a notable resemblance to the name of a campus-based advocacy group, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East. Leftist and Islamist groups have long made common cause in efforts to undermine the institutions of Western civilization and obliterate Israel. The J-Space-backed NDP resolution seems to reflect the long march of socialism through our institutions.
J-Space is known as a “respectable,” “Progressive” Jewish voice in Canada. It is more or less the counterpart to J-Street in America. Several days ago, the New Democratic Party (NDP) in Canada passed an anti-Israel, BDS-supporting Resolution, 04-10-20 (Justice and Peace in Israel-Palestine), at its 2021 Convention. J-Space supported it. See its official statement HERE.
A little background about the NDP for Americans who may be unfamiliar with it: the NDP is a far-Left, Progressive Party, with now only 24 out of 338 seats in the House of Commons. The NDP actually served as Canada’s official opposition party from 2011 to 2015, but its support has dwindled. It is worthwhile to note that the NDP also founded an “unofficial” New Democratic Party Socialist Caucus in 1998.
Last year, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh stated that his party does not support BDS, as reported by the Canadian Jewish News:
He unequivocally condemned BDS, stating that it “creates tensions and divisions,” and “does not advance peace.” Singh stated that neither he nor the NDP support BDS, believing that it is not “the right path forward.”
Singh is regarded with distaste in many circles. He ostensibly supports Sikh separatism and was banned from India for insulting its human rights record and accusing it of genocide. But despite his condemnation of BDS a year ago, to an astute observer, his declarations were suspicious, given his party’s prior ambivalence about BDS. But now, Singh has taken the gloves off to expose his real views of Israel. The new resolution just passed by the NDP states:
…Therefore BE IT RESOLVED THAT the NDP actively campaign in support of the demand of Palestinian unions, civil society and unions across Canada and around the world for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the Israeli state… Ending all trade and economic cooperation with illegal settlements in Israel-Palestine Suspending the bilateral trade of all arms and related materials with the State of Israel …
The full document can be read HERE.
The biggest shock is that J-Space actually backs this resolution. J-Space issued its own statement about the resolution, which included:
As Canadian Jews committed to Israeli-Palestinian peace, we welcome efforts that re-affirm Canada’s long-standing role as a balanced and proactive voice for self-determination and security for both Jews and Palestinians. At JSpaceCanada, we consider Israel’s settlement enterprise to be a violation of the democratic principles on which it was founded. We believe there is a fundamental distinction between the State of Israel and the Occupied Territories…. By focusing its activism on the Occupied Territories, the resolution sends a message that the status quo is untenable and a liability for long-term peace and security.
By contrast, the prominent Canadian Jewish group Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) issued a press release: “NDP RESOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS AN ONGOING TOXIC OBSESSION WITH ISRAEL.”
Some questions to ponder:
How could J-Space possibly support a movement to delegitimize the Jewish State of Israel, knowing the Palestinian goal to obliterate it, all in the name of “human rights”?
Is J-Space also fighting against the human rights abuses within the Palestinian territories — from extrajudicial killings and random detainments, to honor violence against women and persecution of gays? Is J-Space seeking to represent these victims? Victims also include Palestinian children, many of whom are taught to murder Jews in jihad summer camps. The Palestinian school curriculum also teaches hatred of Israelis and the glories of martyrdom. This is psychological child abuse. Fostering a death culture that uses children as human shields is another form of violent abuse. Does J-Space care about their human rights when the perpetrators are the Palestinian rulers of the territories?
Does J-Space not recognize the hostile contents of the original Charters of the Palestinian Authority, Fatah, Hamas, the PLO, and in general the culture of jihad against Israel? including the pay-for-slay program, in which jihadists are paid and glorified for murdering innocent Israelis (including babies and children)?
Does J-Space know that Mahmoud Abbas has stated that not a single Israeli will be allowed to live in a Palestinian state?
Surely J-Space must know about a key event in the Palestinian “resistance“: the Arab Revolt of the 1930s, led by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, against Jewish immigration to the Jewish ancestral homelands. Then the Mufti went on to collaborate with Hitler and Eichmann in working toward a brutal “Final Solution” against the Jewish people. The Palestinian “resistance” began long before the birth of the Jewish state in 1948.
Does J-Space not know about the Palestinian “resistance” chant, “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free“? This is a call for Israel’s annihilation from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
Does J-Space know that an influential face of the Palestinian “resistance” in America, Representative Rashida Tlaib, believes in a one-state solution, that is, in the total annihilation of Israel?
Does J-Space understand the full impact of its actions in supporting Boycotts, Divestments and Sanctions against the State of Israel?
The list of questions goes on. Now Canada waits to see how this NDP BDS resolution, actively supported by J-Space, will advance. One certainty is that the resolution fortifies the anti-Israel position adopted by the Trudeau Liberals at the United Nations. In November 2019, the Liberal government broke with a decade-old tradition of voting to support Israel. Instead, it voted to back a pro-Palestinian UN resolution that explicitly referenced “contested lands between the two countries as ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories.‘”
One would think the answer to all the questions above should be obvious. What isn’t so obvious is this: why would J-Space support BDS against the State of Israel, particularly given that it is a Jewish organization, especially at this particular time of instability in Israel after yet another cliffhanger election? Many (including myself) do not see valid answers, given the history of jihad against Israel, and against the Jews in particular (as well as the jihad against Christians in the entire region and beyond). “Human rights,” they say? Nonsense.
So given J-Space’s stance on Israel being an “occupying” power that is causing undue hardship for the Palestinian people, does J-Space then agree to the International Criminal Court’s decision to investigate Israel for “war crimes”?
The Center for Canadian Jewish Affairs’ president and CEO, Shimon Fogel, issued the following statement about the NDP’s resolution:
The NDP’s adoption of resolution 04-10-20 Justice and Peace in Israel-Palestine highlights a toxic obsession with Israel to the serious detriment of the party. It is staggering that, given the state of the world and the consequential issues before us, including the pandemic, the NDP placed this resolution and one other targeting the Jewish community on the list of top Foreign Policy concerns. In doing this, the NDP ignored catastrophes unfolding in Syria, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Brazil, Hong Kong, and elsewhere around the world. That is shameful. In order to make a constructive contribution to the complex discussion about peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the NDP must forego its pathological preoccupation with Israel, recognize there are two parties to the conflict, and stop infantilizing the Palestinians. This unbalanced and obsessive concern with Israel renders the NDP irrelevant on this subject and interferes with the party’s ability to address issues that should be core to the progressive agenda.
The NDP resolution is concerning enough on its own, but support from J-Space, along with the previous lies told by Jagmeet Singh (that he unequivocally does not support BDS) is worrying.
Another related issue is a current drive underway to display a “Nakba” exhibit in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, located in Winnipeg, a museum that was initially intended to be a Holocaust Museum. As the Jewish publication THEJ.CA states in its article Debunking the Nakba Narrative: the “Canadian Museum for Human Rights consideration of a Nakba exhibit ‘is a good example of Western ignorance.’” The thinking that the Palestinians want peace with Israel, given the irrefutable facts of history, is another example of that ignorance.