Calgary Herald: Christian Nardella (letter to editor) "Imperfections" (5/3/2011) "I wonder how Naomi Lakritz defines civil rights, which she says is a worthy cause, unlike the apartheid in Israel, which she claims is non-existent. Just like blacks in the U.S. leading up to the civil rights movement, the Palestinians find themselves a minority group oppressed within their own country with limited access to things that the rest of the country’s citizens enjoy, like free travel. Read: apartheid." Send letter to editor
Calgary Herald: Benjamin Pomeroy (letter to editor) "Not anti-Semitic" (7/3/2011) "I wish to contend the notion that the Israeli apartheid is a "non-issue." The occupation of Palestine by Israel has been documented by numerous human rights groups the world over as violating Palestinians’ innate human rights. Importantly, Israeli Apartheid Week is not anti-Semitic; it is against what Israel is doing, but not against Israel itself or Judaism. The alternative causes that Naomi Lakritz mentions are indeed worthy of attention, but in no way do they detract from the severity of the situation in Palestine." Send letter to editor
Hamilton Spectator: Michelle Gibson (letter to editor) "Article supporting Israel was ‘incoherent ramblings’; When evil goes unrecognized; Political correctness and backwards thinking demonizes Israel and benefits its enemies" (7/3/2011) "I am amazed The Spectator would publish an opinion piece as poorly argued as Stuart Laughton’s. It consisted of incoherent attacks on the UN and on Canada’s university scholars in his quest to vilify all the "backwards thinkers" who condemn the violence in Israel. He has never been to Israel, so he relies on statements from hardcore right-wing American conservative Dennis Prager, who talks about the sins of the "post-Christian world" as if this were a scientifically recognized era in history. Laughton also likens denouncing violence in Israel to denouncing democracy and Christianity, and accusing the UN of intolerance toward a hypothetical organization of 56 Jewish nations. Pardon? …" Send letter to editor
Calgary Herald: Richard Strachan (letter to editor) "Just wait" (7/3/2011) "It is amazing that Naomi Lakritz should state that Israeli Apartheid Week is a non-issue when a simple Google search provides ample evidence to the contrary for more than half a century. Her statement that "Nobody’s rising up in Israel" also shows her ignorance of the many demonstrations of opposition in the occupied territories and the worldwide condemnation of Israeli’s many crimes against humanity. Rather than crow that the Middle East revolution is not happening in the free and democratic country of Israel, she may well better research this subject so that she can write a more intelligent column when the Palestinians’ plight returns to public attention and Susan Rice’s recent dire warnings to Moammar Gadhafi are applied to Israel." Send letter to editor
Calgary Herald: John Rodriguez (letter to the editor): "Students clueless" (5/3/2011) "I don’t know why Naomi Lakritz is so surprised about university students making March the month of Israeli Apartheid Week. I don’t want to sound like your typical old man, but students used to be better informed, geopolitically at least. Today, to form an opinion, you go to Google and voila, you have the answer. Except that it may be the wrong answer. I really would love to ask these students if they know where Israel is on a map or anything about its government without looking on the Internet. Heck, sometimes I have the feeling that the only reason these students like to get involved in this kind of endeavour is wearing that Palestinian scarf is more fashionable than those yarmulkes. I’m sorry. I don’t have much hope about today’s students."
Toronto Star: AP: "Republican Newt Gingrich expects presidential run" (5/3/2011) "Gingrich also continued his assault on the Obama administration’s foreign policy. “This was an administration which was very aggressive about an American ally, Mubarak in Egypt, and very confused about an American opponent, Gadhafi in Libya. This is an administration which doesn’t notice the demonstrations and the brutality in Tehran, and it confuses Israelis building apartments with Iranians building nuclear weapons. And I think it’s very, very dangerous.” Send letter to editor
National Post: Editorial: "The UN’s latest insult to women" (7/3/2011) "Even for the UN, which has a long record of exonerating dictatorships even as it obsessively attacks Israel, this display of insensitivity just a few days before an important anniversary represents a new low. The incident helps explain why intelligent people long ago stopped taking ther UN’s pronouncements seriously." Send letter to editorSubmit online comment
National Post: Heidi Kingstone: "Beyond Shariah: The fight for women’s rights in Afghanistan" (7/3/2011) "A young girl in Afghanistan was sold twice, once for US$2,000 and again for US$5,000. The case came before a judge. He ruled that the man who bought the girl for US$5,000 was her husband and so the girl should stay with him. In other countries and in other contexts, this would clearly be seen as slavery. In Afghanistan, it is an all too common story." Send letter to editor
Toronto Star: Oakland Ross: "Egyptians steadfast in their hope for the future" (5/3/2011) "For its part, the Muslim Brotherhood has been at pains to reassure those who fear the group could take Egypt down the same road travelled by Iran after its 1979 revolution, exchanging a secular dictatorship for a theistic autocracy. The brotherhood has already selected a voter-friendly slogan — “Freedom and Justice” — and declines to be drawn out even on the fate of Egypt’s contentious, three-decade-old peace pact with Israel, which it opposes" Send letter to editor
CBC.ca: Staff: "Terror-linked Lebanese-Cdn. bank to merge" (4/3/2011) "A Lebanese bank accused by the U.S. of money laundering for smugglers tied to the militant Hezbollah group is merging with an affiliate of France’s Societe Generale as a way to restore confidence, Lebanon’s Central Bank governor said."
Macleans.ca: Robyn Urback: "Jewish Defence League to hold event to counter Israeli Apartheid Week" (5/3/2011) "The Jewish Defence League of Canada has announced it will be hosting an event called “Islamic State Apartheid Week” in Toronto next week. Its stated goal is to “counter the campus lies against Jews and highlight the truth of Islam,” as well as “expose and confront the Israel bashers and Jew haters during IAW [Israeli Apartheid Week]."
Mike is the Executive Director of HonestReporting Canada and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the organization, its financial management and project development. A seventeen-year veteran of the Canadian journalism industry, Mike was a former editor-in-chief, reporter, and anchor of various news programs and publications. Mike's focus is on delivering efficiency and professionalism as HRC moves into new technological and geographical spheres. Mike is a human rights expert and a frequent on-air commentator. His work has been published in the Globe and Mail, the National Post, Toronto Star, CBC News and more.
