Phew, it's finally done: I've finished writing about my experiences at this year's "Israeli Apartheid Week" (IAW).
I attended two nights in Toronto. On the first night (a Monday), I couldn't get into the auditorium, so I stayed with the crowd inside the lobby and outside. On the Thursday night, I arrived early, got a seat and listened to the anti-Israel lectures.
I wrote about my experiences here:
Intro
March 2nd: Part 1
March 2nd: Part 2
March 2nd: Part 3
March 2nd: Part 4
March 5th: Part 1
March 5th: Part 2
March 5th: Part 3
March 5th: Part 4
March 5th: Part 5
March 5th: Part 6
Keep in mind that Leila Farsakh will be one of the guest speakers at the anti-Israel bash being held as part of York University's 50th anniversary party.
These people have one goal in mind: the conquest and dismantling of the only Jewish state in the world.
The arguments don't matter much to them: they're trying every tactic they can think of to convince the world that the Jewish people are not entitled to their ancestral homeland, that of all the UN-mandated countries in the Middle East, somehow Israel is illegitimate while all the others remain legitimate.
They don't actually care about "apartheid" or the living conditions of the perpetual "Palestinians". If they did, they'd be protesting against Hamas, Fatah and Hezbollah.
Jews have lived in Israel for more than 3,000 years.
Israel is the legal and legitimate homeland of the Jewish people.
Facts don't matter to these people (who include in their number Muslims, communists and socialists, all with their own anti-Jewish and/or anti-capitalist agendas).
They can call it anti-Zionism all they like and pretend it has nothing to do with anti-Semitism: but Israel is the Zionist project. To be anti-Zionist is to be anti-Israel.
They want to end Israel, "the Zionist project". They want to transform it into another Muslim country: that's their bottom line.
All the rest is just window dressing.
Showing posts with label Ryerson University. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ryerson University. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
No Surahs for You!
"Israeli Apartheid Week" 2009
Monday, March 2nd: Part 3
Ryerson University
But, but, the girls said, Israel is bombing our holy places and that's just wrong!
Then, perhaps to appeal to my religious sensibilities, they delivered the standard Muslim canard: "We worship the same God. We honour the prophet Jesus."
Attention Muslims: It is highly insulting to tell a Bible-based Christian that we worship the same God and you consider Jesus to be a lesser prophet. Don't get me wrong, you haven't insulted my faith: you've insulted my intelligence and my reading comprehension. I know what the New Testament teaches about Christ and I know what the Koran teaches about Issa: the two books are not talking about the same person. And, since my God had a Son and yours didn't, we're also talking about two different deities.
I listed those reasons as well as a few more and was denounced for insulting their religion. Oh, the shocked expressions, the turned-away faces and bodies, the affirmations of respect for the prophet Jesus!
At this point, a quiet, well-spoken man chimed in and helped to calm the rhetoric. First, he had the girls agree that Islam teaches that God does not have a Son and Christianity teaches that God does, indeed, have a Son. I think the man was Jewish, which would explain why he didn't mention the third part of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit.
He moved the conversation forward by saying, "We can argue about the causes and our differences but let's talk about solutions. What would you do to solve the problems and bring peace to the area?"
Neither of the girls had any ideas. It wasn't long before one of them went silent and walked away.
Higher Learning Lesson #3: Cut to the chase. Agree that there are problems and focus on creating solutions.
On my own with the quieter girl, the discussion slowed down. No more fingers flung in my face, no more overt anger.
She said, "So, you're a Christian," and seemed relieved when I said yes.
"So," she said, "it's not about religion for you."
That's right: it's about politics and common sense for me.
"The situation is very complicated," she said, "because God promised Israel to the Jews through Musa and He promised Palestine to the Muslims through Mohammed."
"Who's Musa?" I asked. "You mean Moses?"
"Yes, Moses."
"Humph," I said. "Israel is not mentioned in the Koran and neither is Palestine."
Oh, but it most certainly is, she said. At my request, she wrote down the references for me: Surah Baqarah and Surah Imran.
Later, at home, I gave her the benefit of the doubt and checked those two chapters and, of course, neither mentions Palestine or Israel.
Tricksy Muslima: made me look!
To paraphrase the two chapters: Muslims are the best. Mohammed is the best. Allah is the best. Jews are terrible and are going to hell. Christians are terrible and are going to hell. Oh, did we mention that Allah, Mohammed and Islam are the best and that Christians and Jews are going to burn forever in hell?
I also learned that, when I'm alone, I bite the tips of my fingers at Muslims in rage. Hooboy, that Mohammed had me all figured out. My fingertips are bloody stumps. In fact, there is a booming black market for fake fingertips for Christians. Shhhhhh, don't tell the Muslims it's true.
But I thought we weren't talking about religion.
Somehow the conversation moved on to modesty in clothing for women. According to this girl, women in Saudi Arabia voluntarily cover themselves from head to toe – they are not forced to do this, oh no – and as a result, there is no rape or child molestation in Saudi Arabia. None whatsoever! But Canada, she said, is experiencing an epidemic of rape and molestation because men are too tempted by the way women dress. She said, "There is a street in Toronto where all the pedophiles live!"
I told her that I'm glad I live in Canada, where I am, by law, equal to a man and where men are obliged morally and legally to control their own urges.
Our conversation wound down. She seemed like a nice enough girl. Was she simply misinformed or deliberately lying to me? I couldn't say. She proved to be a sneaky proselytizer, which I do not respect.
To be continued...
Monday, March 2nd: Part 3
Ryerson University
But, but, the girls said, Israel is bombing our holy places and that's just wrong!
Then, perhaps to appeal to my religious sensibilities, they delivered the standard Muslim canard: "We worship the same God. We honour the prophet Jesus."
Attention Muslims: It is highly insulting to tell a Bible-based Christian that we worship the same God and you consider Jesus to be a lesser prophet. Don't get me wrong, you haven't insulted my faith: you've insulted my intelligence and my reading comprehension. I know what the New Testament teaches about Christ and I know what the Koran teaches about Issa: the two books are not talking about the same person. And, since my God had a Son and yours didn't, we're also talking about two different deities.
I listed those reasons as well as a few more and was denounced for insulting their religion. Oh, the shocked expressions, the turned-away faces and bodies, the affirmations of respect for the prophet Jesus!
At this point, a quiet, well-spoken man chimed in and helped to calm the rhetoric. First, he had the girls agree that Islam teaches that God does not have a Son and Christianity teaches that God does, indeed, have a Son. I think the man was Jewish, which would explain why he didn't mention the third part of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit.
He moved the conversation forward by saying, "We can argue about the causes and our differences but let's talk about solutions. What would you do to solve the problems and bring peace to the area?"
Neither of the girls had any ideas. It wasn't long before one of them went silent and walked away.
Higher Learning Lesson #3: Cut to the chase. Agree that there are problems and focus on creating solutions.
On my own with the quieter girl, the discussion slowed down. No more fingers flung in my face, no more overt anger.
She said, "So, you're a Christian," and seemed relieved when I said yes.
"So," she said, "it's not about religion for you."
That's right: it's about politics and common sense for me.
"The situation is very complicated," she said, "because God promised Israel to the Jews through Musa and He promised Palestine to the Muslims through Mohammed."
"Who's Musa?" I asked. "You mean Moses?"
"Yes, Moses."
"Humph," I said. "Israel is not mentioned in the Koran and neither is Palestine."
Oh, but it most certainly is, she said. At my request, she wrote down the references for me: Surah Baqarah and Surah Imran.
Later, at home, I gave her the benefit of the doubt and checked those two chapters and, of course, neither mentions Palestine or Israel.
Tricksy Muslima: made me look!
To paraphrase the two chapters: Muslims are the best. Mohammed is the best. Allah is the best. Jews are terrible and are going to hell. Christians are terrible and are going to hell. Oh, did we mention that Allah, Mohammed and Islam are the best and that Christians and Jews are going to burn forever in hell?
I also learned that, when I'm alone, I bite the tips of my fingers at Muslims in rage. Hooboy, that Mohammed had me all figured out. My fingertips are bloody stumps. In fact, there is a booming black market for fake fingertips for Christians. Shhhhhh, don't tell the Muslims it's true.
But I thought we weren't talking about religion.
Somehow the conversation moved on to modesty in clothing for women. According to this girl, women in Saudi Arabia voluntarily cover themselves from head to toe – they are not forced to do this, oh no – and as a result, there is no rape or child molestation in Saudi Arabia. None whatsoever! But Canada, she said, is experiencing an epidemic of rape and molestation because men are too tempted by the way women dress. She said, "There is a street in Toronto where all the pedophiles live!"
I told her that I'm glad I live in Canada, where I am, by law, equal to a man and where men are obliged morally and legally to control their own urges.
Our conversation wound down. She seemed like a nice enough girl. Was she simply misinformed or deliberately lying to me? I couldn't say. She proved to be a sneaky proselytizer, which I do not respect.
To be continued...
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
We have the technology
"Israeli Apartheid Week" 2009
Monday, March 2nd: Part 2
Monday, March 2nd: Part 2
Ryerson University
A friend handed me a few homemade flyers to distribute to the crowd in the lobby. I asked her for more and she scoffed, "You want more? Really? Hand those out first and then ask me for more."
She was surprised when I returned and asked for more... twice.
Now, I wouldn't want to call anyone an anti-Semite, but I noticed that the pro-Palestinians were more likely to accept a flyer from me than from a Jewish person. Their faces showed confusion when I brightly asked if they wanted a flyer and they looked from the flyer to my face and back again. Could their eyes be fooling them? I wasn't wearing an Arafat-scarf, so it was a quick judgment call. Was I for or against their ideas?
I didn't fool two young, black, hijab-wearing Ryerson students, though. They read the cover of the flyer and exclaimed, "Are you kidding?"
A few minutes later, they approached me and started to ask questions. Not friendly questions, mind you: one girl started off by demanding a yes or no answer to the question, "Do you support Israel's actions in Gaza?"
When I said yes, their heads went back, eyes raised to the ceiling, their hands flew into the air and they shouted, "Oh-Ho-o-o-oh!" They had me pegged, alright, and they were going to make me answer for Israel's "war crimes".
Our ensuing discussion demonstrated to me that Canada's schools are doing a terrible job of teaching young people to use logic and reason. The "arguments" these girls used were either incorrect or just plain lies. Underlying it all was an appeal to the base emotions of pity and hatred. Logic? Statistics? Theology? What have they got to do with tugging at heartstrings? Palestinian babies are being killed as we speak!
Higher Learning Lesson #2: It's all one big sob story and Israel is always to blame.
The first thing one girl said was that the situation in Gaza is "exactly the same as the Holocaust". She said it with a straight face, too. Never mind that most of the hundreds of Gazans who were killed during Operation Cast Lead were terrorists, compared to the 12 million people who died in the Holocaust.
When they countered with, "It's ethnic cleansing," I replied, "The population in Gaza is booming, actually."
"But Israel is bombing our mosques! It's our holy place! Do you support the bombing of mosques? What would you do if someone bombed a church? It's your holy place! I'm a Muslim and I wouldn't want someone to bomb a church!"
"If someone was stupid enough to store munitions inside a church," I said, "I'd tell the government to bomb the hell out of it."
Shock! Horror! And I call myself a Christian!
The girls laughed in derision when I said that Israel has the technology to detect weaponry that is stashed inside or beneath apartment buildings and mosques. Those images had obviously been faked, they said; I shouldn't trust anything unless it appears on the BBC's UK-based website.
A few minutes later they told me, again with straight faces, that Israel has the technology to distinguish between men, women and children and is using it to target and kill women and children.
Let me get this straight: Israel can see teeny-tiny private parts on its radar screens but not big, honking missiles and launchers.
"Hey, big fella, is that a missile launcher in your pocket or are you just trying to evade Israeli technology, inshallah?"
To be continued...
A friend handed me a few homemade flyers to distribute to the crowd in the lobby. I asked her for more and she scoffed, "You want more? Really? Hand those out first and then ask me for more."
She was surprised when I returned and asked for more... twice.
Now, I wouldn't want to call anyone an anti-Semite, but I noticed that the pro-Palestinians were more likely to accept a flyer from me than from a Jewish person. Their faces showed confusion when I brightly asked if they wanted a flyer and they looked from the flyer to my face and back again. Could their eyes be fooling them? I wasn't wearing an Arafat-scarf, so it was a quick judgment call. Was I for or against their ideas?
I didn't fool two young, black, hijab-wearing Ryerson students, though. They read the cover of the flyer and exclaimed, "Are you kidding?"
A few minutes later, they approached me and started to ask questions. Not friendly questions, mind you: one girl started off by demanding a yes or no answer to the question, "Do you support Israel's actions in Gaza?"
When I said yes, their heads went back, eyes raised to the ceiling, their hands flew into the air and they shouted, "Oh-Ho-o-o-oh!" They had me pegged, alright, and they were going to make me answer for Israel's "war crimes".
Our ensuing discussion demonstrated to me that Canada's schools are doing a terrible job of teaching young people to use logic and reason. The "arguments" these girls used were either incorrect or just plain lies. Underlying it all was an appeal to the base emotions of pity and hatred. Logic? Statistics? Theology? What have they got to do with tugging at heartstrings? Palestinian babies are being killed as we speak!
Higher Learning Lesson #2: It's all one big sob story and Israel is always to blame.
The first thing one girl said was that the situation in Gaza is "exactly the same as the Holocaust". She said it with a straight face, too. Never mind that most of the hundreds of Gazans who were killed during Operation Cast Lead were terrorists, compared to the 12 million people who died in the Holocaust.
When they countered with, "It's ethnic cleansing," I replied, "The population in Gaza is booming, actually."
"But Israel is bombing our mosques! It's our holy place! Do you support the bombing of mosques? What would you do if someone bombed a church? It's your holy place! I'm a Muslim and I wouldn't want someone to bomb a church!"
"If someone was stupid enough to store munitions inside a church," I said, "I'd tell the government to bomb the hell out of it."
Shock! Horror! And I call myself a Christian!
The girls laughed in derision when I said that Israel has the technology to detect weaponry that is stashed inside or beneath apartment buildings and mosques. Those images had obviously been faked, they said; I shouldn't trust anything unless it appears on the BBC's UK-based website.
A few minutes later they told me, again with straight faces, that Israel has the technology to distinguish between men, women and children and is using it to target and kill women and children.
Let me get this straight: Israel can see teeny-tiny private parts on its radar screens but not big, honking missiles and launchers.
"Hey, big fella, is that a missile launcher in your pocket or are you just trying to evade Israeli technology, inshallah?"
To be continued...
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Dorks in Snow Pants for Israel
"Israeli Apartheid Week" 2009
Monday, March 2nd: Part 1
Monday, March 2nd: Part 1
Ryerson University
Wait... I was the only one wearing snow pants? You're sure about that?
It was extremely cold: the City of Toronto had already declared a cold weather alert and we were close to a cold weather warning by the time I left my warm, cozy home.
At such low temperatures, the battery on my video camera drains quickly, so it spent most of the evening tucked between the layers of my short-sleeved t-shirt, long-sleeved t-shirt, sweatshirt and coat. (Thus adding to the lumpiness of my frumpiness.)
I deftly avoided what they used to call a "power-out situation" on the subway line by hopping onto a streetcar for the last leg of my trek. (Yeah, okay, dames in snow pants don't hop, they squeak, squeak, squeak along. It was more like a hop, squeak and a jump onto the streetcar, with a squoosh of air leaving the snow pants as I sat down.)
Once downtown, I was gladdened by the sight of several Israeli flags held aloft by the pro-Israel crowd outside Ryerson University. I picked up a flag and stood in solidarity with them.
My friend arrived and we entered the lobby, grateful for its warmth, and stood patiently in line: me first, then some Jewish friends. As we reached the front of the line, the male, Muslim bouncers closed the doors and announced that the room was full. We had lined up late, so I knew there was a chance we might not get in.
I stood there, first in line, with my Jewish friends behind me, and waited, convinced I would be the next person to enter the lecture hall. I was baffled, then disgruntled, as the bouncers started to pick various people from behind us in the line-up and let them into the auditorium. When my petite, middle-aged, female friend moved to follow some of them into the room, one of the bouncers physically blocked her upper body with his arms and pushed her away. I protested, so he apologized and backed off.
The people around me noticed what was happening and we started to grumble. Ignoring our complaints of "Apartheid Toronto!", the security guards let in about a dozen people from here and there in the crowd behind us.
One bouncer said, "They're organizers. It wouldn't be fair for them not to see it."
I didn't believe him because the people he let in were not dressed in any particular way (except their keffiyehs) and were not wearing badges; most did not approach him at the door but instead stood silently in line.
Remember the scene in Zoolander when Derek greets celebrities at a nightclub? "Hey, Paris." It was like that, only the celebrities were the ones wearing hijabs or keffiyehs and they all had the same name. "Hey, pro-Palestinian!" Same difference.
More smug bouncers arrived at the auditorium doors as if they'd received a warning on their headsets: "Grumbling alert! Quick, send reinforcements!"
They weren't interested in the unfairness of it all. Social Justice is a one-way street in Palestine.
They announced that we had to move several feet to the left to clear the doors. Well, that made sense in terms of fire safety, but I didn't want to lose my place at the head of the line. I wound up third in the new line-up but it didn't matter: first or third, I wasn't getting in. After 10-15 minutes, we gave up and dispersed.
Higher Learning Lesson #1: Get there early so the bouncers have no excuse for keeping you out. Once the lecture starts and the doors close, they will only let in obvious Muslims, known allies and keffiyeh-wearers.
Islamic Security Apartheid!
To be continued...
Wait... I was the only one wearing snow pants? You're sure about that?
It was extremely cold: the City of Toronto had already declared a cold weather alert and we were close to a cold weather warning by the time I left my warm, cozy home.
At such low temperatures, the battery on my video camera drains quickly, so it spent most of the evening tucked between the layers of my short-sleeved t-shirt, long-sleeved t-shirt, sweatshirt and coat. (Thus adding to the lumpiness of my frumpiness.)
I deftly avoided what they used to call a "power-out situation" on the subway line by hopping onto a streetcar for the last leg of my trek. (Yeah, okay, dames in snow pants don't hop, they squeak, squeak, squeak along. It was more like a hop, squeak and a jump onto the streetcar, with a squoosh of air leaving the snow pants as I sat down.)
Once downtown, I was gladdened by the sight of several Israeli flags held aloft by the pro-Israel crowd outside Ryerson University. I picked up a flag and stood in solidarity with them.
My friend arrived and we entered the lobby, grateful for its warmth, and stood patiently in line: me first, then some Jewish friends. As we reached the front of the line, the male, Muslim bouncers closed the doors and announced that the room was full. We had lined up late, so I knew there was a chance we might not get in.
I stood there, first in line, with my Jewish friends behind me, and waited, convinced I would be the next person to enter the lecture hall. I was baffled, then disgruntled, as the bouncers started to pick various people from behind us in the line-up and let them into the auditorium. When my petite, middle-aged, female friend moved to follow some of them into the room, one of the bouncers physically blocked her upper body with his arms and pushed her away. I protested, so he apologized and backed off.
The people around me noticed what was happening and we started to grumble. Ignoring our complaints of "Apartheid Toronto!", the security guards let in about a dozen people from here and there in the crowd behind us.
One bouncer said, "They're organizers. It wouldn't be fair for them not to see it."
I didn't believe him because the people he let in were not dressed in any particular way (except their keffiyehs) and were not wearing badges; most did not approach him at the door but instead stood silently in line.
Remember the scene in Zoolander when Derek greets celebrities at a nightclub? "Hey, Paris." It was like that, only the celebrities were the ones wearing hijabs or keffiyehs and they all had the same name. "Hey, pro-Palestinian!" Same difference.
More smug bouncers arrived at the auditorium doors as if they'd received a warning on their headsets: "Grumbling alert! Quick, send reinforcements!"
They weren't interested in the unfairness of it all. Social Justice is a one-way street in Palestine.
They announced that we had to move several feet to the left to clear the doors. Well, that made sense in terms of fire safety, but I didn't want to lose my place at the head of the line. I wound up third in the new line-up but it didn't matter: first or third, I wasn't getting in. After 10-15 minutes, we gave up and dispersed.
Higher Learning Lesson #1: Get there early so the bouncers have no excuse for keeping you out. Once the lecture starts and the doors close, they will only let in obvious Muslims, known allies and keffiyeh-wearers.
Islamic Security Apartheid!
To be continued...
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