Action
Alert: Oppose MP Conservative motion attacking free speech on
Israel/Palestine!
Defend free speech on
Palestine!
Tell
your MPs: Oppose Conservative motion that attacks Israeli Apartheid
Week!
Conservative
Member of Parliament Tim Uppal (Edmonton - Sherwood Park) has announced
that he will introduce a motion in the House of Commons next week that
condemns Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW), a series of campus-based
educational events that takes place at universities and colleges all
over the world (see below the text of Uppal's motion). Uppal's motion
also condemns the use of the term "apartheid" in any discussion or
debate about Israel.
If
Uppal's motion passes, it will represent an unprecedented attack on
free speech in Canada. That it has even been proposed, however, is also
a clear sign of the strength and exponential growth of the
Palestinian-led solidarity campaign grounded in the 2005 call for
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) of Israel.
What
is unfortunate about this motion, in addition to its blatant attack on
freedom of _expression_, is that it shows a lack of understanding of the
concept of Apartheid and of the realities of life in Israel/Palestine.
No one knows better what Apartheid looks like than the people of South
Africa. In South Africa this month, Israeli Apartheid Week is taking
place in at least three cities, under the banner of "Apartheid for One
is Apartheid for All". It is being co-organized by the Congress of
South African Trade Unions (COSATU), one of the main bodies that
significantly contributed to the demise of Apartheid in South Africa.
A
similar motion in the Ontario Legislature on February 25 prompted
immediate widespread public protest aimed at MPPs' offices. In
response, the leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party (ONDP) Andrea
Horwath rightly acknowledged the motion as "divisive" and noted that
"shutting down debate, on this or any other matter, is not constructive
and is entirely unhelpful". The federal NDP, and all other federal
parties, should be urged to follow Horwath's leadership on this issue.
Please follow the steps
below to let your MPs know that you oppose this attack on free speech
and on the Palestine solidarity movement.
E-mailing
is the fastest and easiest way to contact MPs. Just follow these steps:
Step 1:
Cut and paste the e-mail addresses of your local Members of Parliament
into the "To" line of your e-mail. Include e-mail addresses for both
your MPs' Parliament Hill and constituency offices. You can find e-mail
addresses for Members of Parliament here:
http://bit.ly/MPsEmail
Step 2:
Cut and paste the e-mail addresses of key government and opposition
leaders (from all parties) into your "CC" line. If your e-mail account
can't e-mail this many addresses at once, try sending your e-mail to a
smaller block of addresses one at a time. You may have to send several
e-mails in order to reach everyone.
Uppal.T AT parl.gc.ca;
Harper.S AT parl.gc.ca; HarpeS AT parl.gc.ca; HillJ AT parl.gc.ca;
HillJ1 AT parl.gc.ca; lebrem AT sen.parl.gc.ca; Reid.S AT parl.gc.ca;
mp AT scottreid.ca; KenneJ AT parl.gc.ca; KenneJ7 AT parl.gc.ca;
Ignatieff.M AT parl.gc.ca; ignatm AT parl.gc.ca; Goodale.R AT parl.gc.ca;
GoodaR AT parl.gc.ca; cowanj AT sen.parl.gc.ca; Silva.M AT parl.gc.ca;
SilvaM AT parl.gc.ca; Cotler.I AT parl.gc.ca; CotleI AT parl.gc.ca;
layton.j AT parl.gc.ca; laytoj AT parl.gc.ca; Davies.L AT parl.gc.ca;
Daviel AT parl.gc.ca; Mulcair.T AT parl.gc.ca; Mulcat AT parl.gc.ca;
Wasylycia-Leis.J AT parl.gc.ca; wasylj AT parl.gc.ca; martin.pat AT parl.gc.ca;
MartiPD AT parl.gc.ca; Duceppe.G AT parl.gc.ca; ducepg1 AT parl.gc.ca;
Paquette.P AT parl.gc.ca; joliette AT pierrepaquette.qc.ca;
Gagnon.C AT parl.gc.ca; gagnoc1 AT parl.gc.ca; Desnoyers.L AT parl.gc.ca;
ThilaE1 AT parl.gc.ca; info AT cpcca.ca;
NOTE:
In addition to e-mail messages, it is important for MPs to receive
phone calls and office visits in the coming days; please voice your
opposition in all possible ways.
Step 3:
Don't forget to fill out your subject line:
I
support free speech. Oppose the Conservative motion attacking free
speech on Israel/Palestine.
Step 4:
Cut and paste the message below. Feel free to personalize it with your
own words. And don't forget to include your name (and address) at the
bottom. If you know the name of your Members of Parliament, please make
sure you address your message to them.
Dear
Members of Parliament:
I
am writing to urge you to oppose the Conservative motion attacking free
speech on Israel/Palestine. Conservative Member of Parliament Tim Uppal
(Edmonton - Sherwood Park) has announced that he will introduce a
motion in the House of Commons next week that condemns Israeli
Apartheid Week (IAW), a series of campus-based educational events that
takes place at universities and colleges all over the world. Uppal's
motion also condemns the use of the term "apartheid" in any discussion
or debate about Israel.
This
motion, if passed, will represent an unprecedented attack on free
speech in Canada. I urge you to defend free speech in Canada, and to
oppose Uppal's motion.
IAW
has grown in size and scope since it was first launched on campuses in
Toronto in 2005, and now includes dozens of events in over 50 cities
worldwide, including three cities in South Africa. IAW is marked by its
inclusive and diverse nature, its respect for discussion and debate,
and its call for peaceful solutions to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
IAW has been endorsed and supported by dozens of organizations
including student unions, trade unions, faith groups, and Jewish
solidarity organizations.
The
term "apartheid" is not a hateful one, nor is it on the "margins" of
mainstream debate. South African anti-apartheid campaigners, including
Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu and President of the
Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Willie Madisha,
regularly use the term "apartheid" to describe the conditions in which
Palestinians live, both inside Israel and in the Occupied Territories.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter uses the term in his best-selling
book Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid. The term is also used widely
inside Israel itself: former Israeli Prime Minister and current Israeli
Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently used the term in a speech about
the consequences of stalled peace talks.
The
conditions in which Palestinians live clearly meet the definition of
"apartheid" as described by the United Nations. The increasingly
differential system of roads, housing, laws, access to resources, basic
rights, living conditions, and quality of life between Jewish Israelis
and Palestinians all point to a system of apartheid. Palestinians have
the right to describe these conditions in the way they experience them
- without being condemned by the Parliament of Canada.
You
may disagree with such an analysis, but you have no right to limit or
restrict Palestinians and their supporters from expressing a completely
legitimate perspective. Uppal's motion to condemn IAW represents a
serious threat to free speech in Canada, and should be opposed. The
House of Commons should not be in the business of censorship.
Once
again, I strongly urge you to oppose the Conservative motion and to
demonstrate support for free speech in Canada – including for those
political perspectives with which you might disagree.
I
look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Step 5:
Press send!
Please
BCC emails to freespeechiaw2010 AT gmail.com so we can keep track of how
many emails are going out.
Conservative MP Tim
Uppal's (tentative) motion:
"That this House considers itself to be a friend of the State of
Israel; that this House is concerned about expressions of anti-Semitism
under the guise of "Israeli Apartheid Week"; and that this House
explicitly condemns any action in Canada as well as internationally
that would equate the State of Israel with the rejected and racist
policy of apartheid."
