The Stretch for Moral Equivalency

Correction: The cost covered by the Police Services to go to Israel was $1900 not $5000.
Correction: The threat of violence was NOT against Bernie Farber of the Canadian Jewish Congress as originally reported via the media I got the information from, but against the Jewish community (in Ontario or in Canada? - you never know what connection extremists have to sleeper cells in any area of the world).
Addendum: My blog is now being accessed by individuals in these countries: Malaysia, India (Tamil Nadu), Iran and Morocco - the majority of hits are to the July 25th post: 'Will the Real Islam Please Stand-Up' - which is not a problem as long as there is no intention of malice. There was an excellent article in the National Post on page A23 called 'A Chill on Progressive Islam' by Tarak Fatah & Munir Pervaiz that compliments this post on this blog. These are two very brave men and I have the utmost respect for them authoring it.

I’m back briefly to report on a public forum that took place tonight at the Aquarius Theatre as I felt that CH’s reporting was biased and did not show one of the speakers loose all decorum by editing out her screaming.

The Hamilton Police Services Board felt they needed to address the issue publicly due to a complaint launched by the McMaster Chapter of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights and the Hamilton Community Coalition against Racism.

The complaint stemmed from Hamilton Police Chief Brian Mullen visiting Israel along with 30 other Chiefs of Police in Ontario to learn about suicide bombers paid for by Jewish groups and about $5000 out of the City of Hamilton’s public purse and the appearance of bias and the perception that Ontario’s police forces would adopt similar policing tactics used in Israel.

I arrived late to standing room only and could barely hear a young woman speaking on behalf of the Hamilton Steelworkers Area Council explaining Israel’s various human rights abuses and ignored Security Council resolutions. She was heckled because it was obviously political and had to stop.

I managed to get into the room in time to hear Susan Howard-Azzeh, President of the Niagara Palestinian Association and the Co-Chair for the Niagara Coalition for Peace. While she was speaking two others started a power-point presentation showing images of dead Palestinian children.

This was particularly offensive to a number of individuals including myself because it just underscores propaganda that I left the community for. These are the kinds of images that Arab television replay over and over and over again, misusing these images to vilify their enemy (the Israeli government and by attrition, the Jewish people). They are also used to attempt to justify suicide bombing and reach for moral equivalency.

Bernie Morelli, the Chair of the Police Services Board asked Ms. Howard-Azzeh to stop the images as they were not part of the agreed upon rules of presentation. Ms. Howard-Azzeh refused and stated there were not rules outlined. Repeated requests from Ms. Howard-Azzeh were adamantly denied. The Chair became abrupt with her and ordered her off the podium to allow the other 13 speakers a voice.

Again Ms. Howard-Azzeh refused unless she was allowed to show the picture props. She accused the Chair of adverse affect discrimination, as she stated his request was not intentional but she felt the impact of it. At the same time supporters of the Palestinian cause got up to leave protesting on their way out, citing discrimination because they weren’t allowed to show the pictures.

Security approached Ms. Howard-Azzeh at the podium and asked her to leave and she accused him of harassing her and threatening using the microphone to announce this to the audience, refusing to leave the podium.

Mr. Morelli called a break, which gave the media time to tape Ms. Howard-Azzeh and others protesting the Chief’s visit to Israel. When he returned the public forum was cancelled and asked the parties to submit their rebuttals in writing as the previous heckling and turn of the event started to get riled.

While Mr. Morelli was speaking Ms. Howard-Azzeh took the microphone right out of his hand. The room made a collective sigh as she attempted to continue her speech, the images once again starting to run. By the time her supporters tried to calm her down she was screaming. Even though CH’s camera’s were right in her face taping her meltdown they didn’t add that into their 11 p.m. news report.

She continued screaming for about 5 or 10 minutes while the press was getting it’s fill and the rest of the bewildered crowd started to clear out of the auditorium. Her emotions were so high it was hard not to experience similar anxiety. For me the anxiety was from remembering the indoctrination of believing one point of view that I could see clearly in Ms. Howard-Azzeh’s hatred fuming for the audience to take note.

I managed to get up to the front wanting to ask Ms. Howard-Azzeh how any of this could justify suicide bombing. By this time her family and supporters were trying to calm her down and tell her it wasn’t the best way to go about what she was trying to achieve. I asked one of the Muslim women surrounding her this question and I was told that it was Israel and America that made the suicide bombers.

I wanted to know if she thought it was the C.I.A getting people to strap on suicide belts since I’ve heard enough conspiracy theories that it’s everybody else’s fault. I was told I needed to live there to know who was doing it. I know that there is enough hatred for the Jewish community within the Muslim community in Ontario that their arguments about racism become impotent.

It is much easier to blame than to change and take responsibility for a collective group’s own human rights abuses. This is Canada and not Israel. Israel is in a difficult position because of their placement within the Middle East, surrounded by countries that hate them. They also have to deal with suicide bombers on a daily basis.

In Canada, we don’t have suicide bombers and we don’t want to. But if that were to ever happen, I want my Chief of Police to know what to look for when dealing with suicide bombers and the community that breeds them. It’s happened in Britain, it’s happened in Bali, it happened in America. Britain’s Muslim community is connected to Ontario’s Muslim community more intimately than the press and those speakers care to admit.

Hatred breeds them through biased propaganda and argument, self-imposed segregation of a community’s individuals. Ms. Howard-Azzeh disrespected those with opposing viewpoints that should be taken into consideration in a pluralistic and forum by not respecting the Chair’s requests.

Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights has not condemned suicide bombing in the past. In some cases they argue in support of it. You cannot speak of human rights when you cannot condemn the abuses of your own people.

Israel is made the effort to remove settlers from the occupied territories. They want peace. Why did Ms. Howard-Azzeh not acknowledge this? From what I could gather old arguments were used to continue to fan the flame of hate not peace.

As Ms. Howard-Azzeh left she was abusing Bernie Farber of the Canadian Jewish Congress. She accused him of laughing at the fact that the forum had shut down, as if he had planned it. What I saw was Ms. Howard-Azzeh’s spiral into that indoctrinated hatred I removed myself from years ago. Mr. Farber was probably bewildered like the rest of us at Ms. Howard-Azzeh’s irrational behavior caused by her refusal to respect the Chair’s requests. It has nothing to do with conspiracies like the community likes to find fodder.

I don’t buy anyone’s opinion that the Hamilton Police Services Board wanted to shut down the forum. What I do blame them for is naivete. I could have told them that it would end up in the mess it did. Conspiracy theories are part of the misinformation in an attempt to draw away the fact that what is supported by these groups including unions such as C.U.P.E and the Hamilton Steelworker's Council happen to be supporting global terrorism. Period.

Update September 22: Chief Mullen met with the Palestinian Authority which was not reported the day before by Hamilton Spectator journalist Sharon Boase. Also the sentiments expressed by those supporting the Palestinians is not fringe groups. It is very maintstream and those who voice their contempt at terrorism are in the minority within the Muslim community.

Hamilton Lawyer and Muslim activist Hussein Hamdani reports in another of Ms. Boase's articles that the Canadian community is isolating Muslims which is far from the truth. There are a number of iya's in the Quran that tell Muslims to stay away from non-Muslims, therefore it is religious law (sharia) that gives this rule and good Muslims must follow it.

It is the Muslim community that isolates themselves from Canadians and does not allow differential opinions and is exacerbated by one sided propaganda, either from CAIR or CAIR Canada or other professionals (engineers, doctors) in the community. For example, the London Muslim Mosque forbade any Muslim in the mosque to even say the word 'Israel'.

Update September 22 6:50 pm: CH redeemed themselves with Mark Hebscher and Donna Skelly with Talk Back at 5:30 tonight. Their guests was Susan Howard-Azzeh and Stewart Bell. Mark and Donna kept the indignant Ms. Howard-Azzeh on track asking her to stick to the questions they asked her after attempting to spew unrelated information to the viewers.

Mark almost got her to admit that she supports suicide bombing fully. I would have let her say it and then she would be in a position of supporting sabotage if anything adverse happened in the area. Not surprising, that her husband was charged for uttering death threats at Bernie Farber.

CH also interviewed her for their 6 pm newscast where she told the reporter it was out of character for her to grab the mic from Mr. Morelli. What isn't true is that she conceded to forgoe the powerpoint presentation, her rationale for grabbing the mic. She had no intention of stopping the powerpoint presentation as it started up again once she just grabbed the mic and continued on her tirade.