Dear Friend,

I would like to inform you of a rare event on Wednesday, March 20th at 7:00PM. This program, presented by “The Irwin M. and H. Ethel Hausman Memorial Free Speech Speakers’ Series” is titled:

“Shariah’s Assault on Free Speech:
Warriors Who Refuse to be Silenced“

This extraordinary panel discussion will include the following participants:

• Lars Hedegaard
• Robert Spencer
• Tiffany Gabbey
• *Moderated by Michael Graham

Each of these individuals possess deep knowledge forged by years of involvement. No doubt this will prove to be an enlightening evening.

This event is co-sponsored by: Act for America New England Chapters, and Michael Graham’s “New England Talk Network”.

Please see below for details. I look forward to seeing you on March 20th!

Sincerely,
Rabbi Jonathan Hausman
Hausman Memorial Speaker Series

Event Details

JOINT MEDIA RELEASE: March 08, 2013  [PDF]

 ‘Non-Jewish groups join forces for Israel Truth Week Vigil at York University, March 11-15, 11:00am -1:00 pm daily

The Canadian Patriotic Society (CPS), led by Ms. Shobie Kapoor who spearheaded the petition drive to keep Omar Khadr out of Canada, is holding a daily ‘Israel Truth Week Vigil’ between 11am-1pm, from Monday March 11th until Friday March 15th inclusive at the Founders Road entrance to York University (off Steeles Ave. W., between Jane & Keele; MAP: http://goo.gl/maps/I2641). The purpose of this vigil is to show solidarity with Jewish students and their families so they know they are not alone when dealing with campus anti-Semitic hate campaigns.

We encourage all pro-Israel groups & individuals – Jewish and non-Jewish — to join us to help send a strong message that racism and hate directed against Jewish students is not acceptable.

Parliamentarians condemn IAW

The Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney; the Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Bob Rae; and MPs such as Conservative Marc Adler and Liberal Joyce Murray – herself a former citizen of South Africa who “lived out the harms and injuries caused…by the policies of Apartheid”  each condemned, in their own way, the intrinsic anti-Semitism and intolerance of the Israel Apartheid activities [LINK].

From Bob Rae: “Israeli Apartheid Week continues to defy logic and the cause of social justice. From MP Adler: [These views] are a disgrace and their hate-filled words and tactics must be condemned by all who believe in freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. I urge all members to join me in condemning this ugly smear campaign.”

Israel Truth Week and the Canadian Patriotic Society agree: ‘Israel Apartheid Week’ is about attacking values. Israel stands as a proxy for all the liberal democratic values that we in the West hold dear: Respect for the rule of law; freedom of expression; freedom of religion, and the right to be treated equally before the law and to be protected equally by the law. People who share those values are being attacked, persecuted and terrorized, even murdered. Israel Truth Week is not just about religion or borders, it is about defending those values and the people who hold them whether they live in Israel or in Canada.”

 Additional Israel Truth Week events  

• TORONTO – Ryerson University, March 14, 6:30pm: Ryerson Israeli Student Association/Ryerson Campus Conservatives present author Salomon Benzimra who will present research from his book, ‘The Jewish People’s Rights to the Land of Israel.’ Mr. Benzimra was a presenter at the recent 2013 Israel Truth Week Conference as was ISA President, Eitan Gilboord.  [LINK]
• HAMILTON – Hamilton Christian Fellowship, March 18, 7pm;
  LONDON – Royal View Church, March 20, 7pm: Screening of award-winning documentary Precious Life, the story of an Israeli doctor who saves the life of a Palestinian child only to discover that the mother supports suicide bombers. [LINK]

About the Canadian Patriotic Society (www.CanadianPatrioticSociety.com)

The Canadian Patriotic Society unites Canadians who are concerned about public safety, national security and justice. They opposed the repatriation of Omar Khadr and presented Roxanne James, M.P. for Scarborough Central with a petition requesting that the Government of Canada try Omar Khadr for treason under the laws of Canada for his actions against coalition forces in Afghanistan.

About Israel Truth Week (www.IsraelTruthWeek.org/)

The mission of Israel Truth Week is to promote a truthful image of Israel; to assist pro-Israel organizations stand up for Israel; and to let Jewish students and their families know they are not alone when faced with Israel Apartheid Week vilification. Our approach is promote a peaceful, determined, reasoned, unified response to anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism – on and off campus. ITW seeks to provide an identity under which organizations and individuals can respond to ‘Israel Apartheid Week’ activities in their home campuses and cities.

 CONTACTS:

Israel Truth Week
Mark Vandermaas, Founder
519.457.0709
mark@israeltruthweek.org

 Canadian Patriotic Society
Sharon Isac
416.562.8493
sharon.isac@yahoo.ca

‘Precious Life” is a documentary film about an Israeli doctor who saves life of Palestinian child whose mother then says she supports suicide bombings. [Trailer/info].

Two screenings are available as part of Israel Truth Week:

1. HAMILTON – March 18, 2013,
7-10pm, doors open 6:30

• Hamilton Christian Fellowship, 135 Strathcona Ave. North, Hamilton, ON L8R 3C2 (MAP)

ADMISSION: Free, but donations to the children supported by Canadian Friends of ALYN Hospital gratefully accepted. Canadian income tax receipts issued.

ONLINE DONATIONS: www.ALYNUS.org/IsraelTruthWeek

SPEAKERS:

• Dr. Paul Ranalli, Doctors Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (www.DARADocs.org)
• Evelyn DiFrancesco (Presenter, 2013 Israel Truth Week Conference): ‘Baptism By Wind, Rain And Fire: Riding Under Missiles From Gaza For ALL The Children of ALYN Hospital — Jewish, Christian And Arab’)
• Mark Vandermaas (Founder, Israel Truth Week)

ORGANIZER: Pastor David Cummings, pastordave@hcfchurch.ca, 905.527.4070

2. LONDON – March 20, 2013,
7-10pm, doors open 6:30

• Royal View Church, 218 Clarke Road, London, ON, Canada N5W 5E4 (MAP)

ADMISSION: Free, but donations to Canadian Magen David Adom for Israel (Israel’s Red Cross/ambulance svc) gratefully accepted. Canadian income tax receipts issued.

ONLINE DONATIONS: 1. Visit this page and click on ‘DONATE NOW‘;
2. Use the ‘Fund/Designation‘ drop-down menu to choose, ‘Israel Truth Week – London, ON. Fund‘ and then fill in the details of your donation. Canadian income tax receipts issued. Thank you!

SPEAKERS:

• Dean Bye (Return Ministries, Board of Trustees for Magen David Adom);
• Monica DiFrancesco (Return Ministries, fundraiser for MDA);
• Andrew Lawton (The Landmark Report);
• Mark Vandermaas (Israel Truth Week).

ORGANIZER: Rev. Joe Campbell, rev.joe.campbell@rogers.com

- Other Israel Truth Week Events -

3. Ryerson Israeli Student Association presents Author Salomon Benzimra, Thurs, March 14/13: ‘The Jewish People’s Rights to the Land of Israel’ [MORE INFO]

4. Canadian Patriotic Society is holding an Israel Truth Week Vigil at the entrance to York University in support of Jewish students and their families, Mon-Fri, March 11-15, 11am-1pm daily. [MORE INFO]

POSTED BY: Mark Vandermaas, Israel Truth Week, mark@israeltruthweek.org

present the first-ever, student-organized
Israel Truth Week event on a university campus…

Author, Salomon Benzimra, P.Eng.
‘The Jewish People’s Rights to the Land of Israel‘

Mr. Benzimra will present the truth about Israel’s legitimacy under International Law via
indisputable facts from history those who demonize Israel would prefer you did not know.

RYERSON UNIVERSITY
Kerr Hall South (enter through Gould Street)
2nd floor, Room 239  (MAP)

March 14, 2013, 6:30-9:00pm, doors open 6pm

Admission: FREE

- Other Speakers -

• Mark Vandermaas, Founder, Israel Truth Week
• Goldi Steiner, Chair, Canadians for Israel’s Legal Rights (CILR)

Contact:

Eitan Gilboord, President, Ryerson Israeli Student Association, israel@ryerson.ca
www.facebook.com/ryersonisrael

ABOUT SALOMON BENZIMRA

Salomon Benzimra has led a fascinating life. He was born in 1943 in the International Zone of Tangiers (now Morocco) which was a refuge for many cultures. His early education was in French schools, but his family was Spanish-speaking. In fact, his distant ancestors lived in Spain during the 1400’s and were among the many who crossed the Straits of Gilbralter to escape the Inquisition. In addition to French, Spanish and English, Salomon also reads Hebrew, and reads and speaks a bit of Arabic.

He studied chemical engineering in France and worked in Morocco and Montreal before moving to Toronto in 1976.  He became involved in Israeli and world affairs after 9/11 and began writing for publication.

With Goldi Steiner he founded Canadians for Israel’s Legal Rights (CILR), comprising a group of dedicated volunteers based in Toronto.

CILR has recently published, in Kindle format, The Jewish People’s Rights to the Land of Israel by Salomon Benzimra. This e-book is available on Amazon, and details the momentous decisions made at the 1920 San Remo Conference after the Ottoman Empire lost all its territories in the Middle East; decisions made in San Remo are crucial to understanding the present situation in the Middle East. Although suitable for any mature reader, the book was written specifically to prepare Jewish high school students to defend themselves against the defamation, lies and distortions about Israel that many face in university. The book is fact-based and educational, not political, and it debunks the current perception of Jewish Israelis as occupiers and settlers.

On March 5, 2013 he presented the keynote address by the same title for the Day 1 afternoon session at the 2013 Israel Truth Week Conference in Hamilton, Ontario. One day later, on Day 2, ISA President Eitan Gilboord presented, ‘Combatting Anti-Semitism At Ryerson University.’

POSTED BY: Mark Vandermaas, Israel Truth Week, mark@israeltruthweek.org

“The resistance has begun!,” Michael Coren

1. Final-program is now available for download on conference page.

2. Watch SUN TV’s ‘The Arena’ w/Michael Coren next week: Cathy Lanyard, Executive Director of Friends of ALYN Hospital, who is flying up from NYC to be with us (we’re trying to raise $25K for her sick & disabled kids in Jerusalem), as is ITW allyRabbi Jonathan Hausman from Boston, will be recording segments next Monday. Possibly also… our new keynote finale speaker, Rev. Majed El Shafie.

Help the heroic children of ALYN Hospital in Jerusalem. Click here to make their lives a little easier.

3. If you can’t be with us at the conference…would you consider helping Cathy’s kids? Even a $5 donation helps, and it’s for a great cause: Alyn treats kids of all races and religions, and their annual operating budget is about the same as a medium-sized hospital in the USA…for ONE week. Click here for the special ALYN/Israel Truth Week donation page.

4. ITW keynote presenter Rev. Majed El Shafie spoke at the United Nations last Thursday at a conference organized by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) before the group presented a draft convention to the UN to stop the incitement to terror. We are thrilled to have him as our finale speaker next Wednesday evening.

5. NEW Day 1 speaker: Tahir Aslam Gora, Founder of Muslim Committee Against Antisemitism, will step in to replace Shobie Kapoor of the Canadian Patriotic Society who was, regretfully, called out of town for a family emergency. His topic: ‘A Muslim Case Against Anti-Semitism.’ Come and meet Tahir at the ITW Tradeshow in the large lobby of Victory International Church, our venue. We are honoured to have Tahir with us, and I think you will want to hear what he has to say when you read what he already has said about freedom, anti-Semitism and Islamic extremism:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahir_Aslam_Gora
• http://www.jewishtribune.ca/news/2013/02/06/moderate-muslims-in-canada-stand-up-to-fight-anti-zionism-antisemitism
• http://jdlcanada.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/tahir-aslam-gora/

Tahir will also be speaking March 10th at a special event organized by the Muslim Committee Against Antisemitism at Mississauga’s Promenade Art Gallery from 2-6pm, 943 B Lakeshore Road East between Dixie & Cawthra. The event’s theme is, ‘Why is it important for Muslims to recognize Israel’s right to exist in order to curb prevailing Anti-Semitism within the Muslim Diaspora?’ Complimentary treats & refreshments included. More info: 905.320.0906, canadianthinkersforum@gmail.com.

6. NEW Day 2 speaker: Eitan Gilboord, President of Ryerson Israeli Student Association, Ryerson University. His topic: ‘Combatting Anti-Semitism At Ryerson University.’ Eitan’s organization has become the first student group to organize an event under the Israel Truth Week name; on March 14/13 Author Salomon Benzimra will present ‘The Jewish Peoples’ Rights To The Land of Israel’ on campus. More details on the Find An Event page. Welcome Eitan!

7. The Hamilton Jewish Federation promoted the ITW conference this week to their members. Many thanks!

8. The Toronto Zionist Council included an announcement re ITW on its front page thanks to a submission by Goldi Steiner, Chair of Canadians for Israel’s Legal Rights (CILR). Thank you Goldi and TZC.

9. The Canadian Jewish News also included an announcement about the ITW conference, again thanks to a submission by Goldi Steiner of CILR. (Goldi has been very busy supporting ITW!)

10. Rev. Joe Campbell is hosting an ITW event at Royal View Church in London, ON (site of the inaugural 2012 ITW conference). The event will be a screening of the documentary, ‘Precious Life,’ a story about an Israeli doctor who saves the life of a Palestinian child whose mother supports suicide bombers. More details on the Find An Event page. Reverend Joe will be blowing the shofar for us at the open of each day of the conference.

11. A Hamilton church has tentatively agreed to host a screening of ‘Precious Life’ on March 18th. Still working out details. Watch the Find An Event page.

There are other things happening behind the scenes that cannot be announced, but be assured that excitement is building as news of Israel Truth Week and our message spreads across provincial and international borders.

POSTED BY: Mark Vandermaas, Israel Truth Week, mark@israeltruthweek.org

The Never Again Group & Israel Truth Week present…

Rev. Majed El Shafie of One Free World International has graciously agreed to extend his time with us to accommodate a new evening session at Victory International Church. He will present his award-winning documentary ‘Freedom Fighter,’ following which he will participate in an extended question and answer session, followed by a ‘mingle’ session which will close the conference. This exciting new keynote finale session will take place at Victory during the evening of March 6th (Day 2), 6:30-7:00pm, doors open 6:00pm.  Please see the revised program for complete details.

ABOUT REV. MAJED EL SHAFIE: Rev. El Shafie is a former Muslim who was tortured and sentenced to die after converting to Christianity. He escaped to Israel and now, from Canada, he rescues other persecuted people, and travels the world’s hot spots speaking out against violence against innocents.

He has just returned from meeting numerous dignitaries in India, and he will be speaking at the United Nations this Thursday, Feb 28th at a conference organized by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, following which a ‘Draft International Convention for the Prevention of Incitement to Terror’ will be presented to the UN. His topic will be ‘Anti-Christian Incitement and Persecution.’ Other speakers include:

• Ambassador Ron Prosor, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations;
• Ambassador Dore Gold, former Permanent Representative of Israel to the UN, President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
• Yossi Kuperwasser, Director-General of Israel Ministry of Strategic Affairs
• Prof. Gregory Gordon, University of North Dakota; former Legal Officer, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

We are so honoured that Rev. El Shafie will be joining us, on very short notice, to help us overcome such a sad development at a difficult time. Israel Truth Week is profoundly grateful to the wonderful people at Victory International Church for being able and willing to accommodate our new evening session on such short notice.

Click here for more information about the 2013 Israel Truth Week Conference and to download the revised agenda.

POSTED BY: Mark Vandermaas, Israel Truth Week, info@israeltruthweek.org

1. SHOBIE KAPOOR TO SPEAK: Very pleased to advise you that Shobie Kapoor, the young lady who led the charge to try to keep Omar Khadr out of Canada, co-founder of the Canadian Patriotic Society, has agreed to speak at the Israel Truth Week conference on Day 1 during the afternoon session. Her topic will be, ‘An East Indian-Canadian’s Case For Israel.’ She is an amazing woman with a beautiful heart and a determination to act. We are lucky to have her with us.

A new agenda is available on the conference page.

2. MEETINGS WITH JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS: The Never Again Group (sponsors of the McMaster U keynote finale for Tammi-Rossman-Benjamin of U of California) and I have had meetings with various Jewish organizations to introduce ourselves; all have given us warm welcomes. I do not know, as of this moment, whether they will be helping us to publicize this year’s conference, but I suspect by 2014 one or more will be on board. This is a long term project to build relationships and unity, and so patience is required.

3. CAMPUS ITW EVENTS: The Never Again Group and I are in talks with various students and concerned organizations/citizens to develop a response to Israel Apartheid Week at several campuses in Southern Ontario.

4. LONDON ITW EVENT: Rev. Joe Campbell of London, ON is organizing an ITW event at Royal View Church, the venue for the first ITW conference last year. The event will be a screening of the movie Precious Life (Israeli dr. saves Palestinian child whose mother supports suicide bombers) to take place March 20. Event is in support of the Magen David Adom (Israeli ambulance service). Details have been posted on the ‘Find An Event’ page.

5. ISRAEL TRUTH WEEK PIN: A kindly benefactor from the Never Again Group has agreed to pay for a supply of lapel pins in order to help promote ITW. This is a virtual sample of what they will look like. The actual size will be 1x 3/4″. They will be given away to guests, speakers and volunteers:

Click the image to watch Gary’s speech from the 2012 Israel Truth Week conference: ‘Dr. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail: A Blueprint for Victory Over Anti-Israelism and Anti-Semitism’

6. ITW SPEAKER GARY MCHALE TO SPEAK AT ‘FREEDOM’ SYMPOSIUM: On April 20/13 my Caledonia ally, friend and Israel Truth Week speaker/supporter Gary McHale (recently awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal) will speak at the Freedom Press symposium, ‘Freedom in Canada: Tribute or Eulogy?’ along with other illuminaries such as William Gairdner, David Solway, Barbara Kay, and Farzana Hassan. His upcoming book will also be announced as well.

Gary & I will be addressing the critical issues associated with Caledonia, and why Jews should care about them at the conference. Pls see the agenda here.

7. CONFERENCE MAP: VENUES + HOTEL INFO: I have been getting inquiries about hotels in the area, so I have created a special google map showing 2 hotels in relation to the venues: http://goo.gl/maps/2fiit. It is also posted on the main conference page below — see link below my signature. Both are just 5 mins from Victory International Church.

8. HELP THE HEROIC CHILDREN OF ALYN HOSPITAL: If you can, would you please consider making a donation at our special Israel Truth Week page on the ALYN website? Donations are definitely tax deductible for Canadians:

www.alynus.org/israeltruthweek

This wonderful hospital treats children in Jerusalem irrespective of race or religion. Our goal is to raise $25K during the ITW conference campaign to convince Cathy Lanyard, President of Canadian Friends of ALYN, to come up again next year to spend nearly a week in Canada for this event. That’s right — Cathy is flying up from New York City just to be with us for the entire conference!

Both Cathy and her kids would be very grateful for your generous support.

9. For those who missed it ITW was on the front page of Shalom Toronto this week.

Thank you to all who have offered your support and encouragement. This has been a very exciting few months!

Regards,
Mark

POSTED BY:

Mark Vandermaas
Israel Truth Week
mark@israeltruthweek.org

SHALOM TORONTO, Feb 14/13

Doris Strub Epstein

[PDF] ENGLISH   [PDF] HEBREW

The Israel Truth Week conference, to be held in early March, is “born of Nazi occupied Holland and the Caledonia crisis,” says founder Mark Vandermaas, who was adopted at the age of six by a Dutch couple who had survived the Nazi occupation of Holland. He grew up hearing about the plight of Jews under the Nazis and forged a deep connection with the Holocaust. Later, as a member of the Canadian Forces, he served with a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Middle East. But it was his experience with the violence and break-down of law and order by “racially biased” police against the residents of Caledonia that galvanized him to action on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people.

The Caledonia crisis began in February 28, 2006, when a handful of protesters from the nearby Six Nations reserve, walked onto Douglas Creek Estates, (DCE) which was then a residential subdivision of Caledonia, under construction, and blocked workers from entering it.

Over the next four years until today, as the occupation continued, the rule of law was destroyed. Major roads were closed and lawlessness ran rampant. Those who lived adjacent to DCE, about 450 families, were openly terrorized while the OPP police stood by. “They destroyed houses on a construction site; they burned down a bridge, attacked a builder in the home he was building for his daughter and left him with brain damage, they tore up the road. The non natives were victimized,” Mark said. “People had to get passes to get to their houses.

I saw the rule of law collapsing. I saw racial policing. Innocent people being victimized while the police did little or nothing. People were terrified even to speak out.”

Mark was then working in real estate, selling homes in Cayuga, Hagersville and Caledonia, communities which would be victimized by illegal occupations, extortion and intimidation. After his arrest on December 2006 – the first of five arrests – while attempting to raise a Canadian flag in Caledonia- Mark put aside his promising real estate career and award- winning online real estate college course and became a full time, volunteer, activist, with the goal of permanently ending the race-based policing in Ontario. A man with a massive frame and ernest blue eyes, he has massive, tireless resolve.

He is mentioned several times in the book Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, and How the Law Failed All Of Us, by Christie Blatchford. She writes: “The town was for all practical purposes, abandoned by the State… The book is about the failure of government to govern and to protect all its citizens equally. …The Ontario Provincial Police stood by while occupiers broke the law, often violently, right under their noses.” she writes.

Why should Jews be concerned with Caledonia? “Caledonia is the front line in the struggle against the extreme left who use Palestinian militants as pawns for their own anti-capitalist agenda just as they use Six Nations extremists. None of us are safe if the lessons of Caledonia are not learned,” says Mark.

Supporting the natives as proxy for their own causes, swarm a bunch of anti- Israel, anti-West groups. “All of Israel’s enemies converged in Caledonia and are still there to this day,” he said grimly, “with the Mohawk Warriors in charge of the worst of the violence. The Palestinian flag flew underneath the Mohawk Warrior flag. It was put there by the Niagara Palestinian Association under the watchful eye of the McMaster University Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights Club.”

The Never Again Group (NAG), a group of Jews and non Jews, were the first to understand why Caledonia should matter to the Jews. When a mosque in London where Mark lives, sent a delegate and raised money for the Gaza flotilla that intended to break the Gaza blockade, together they staged a 26 day protest.

But the last straw was a Jewish student event at Western University London. The police stood by while the Jewish students were harassed and intimidated. For Mark, it was the catalyst for the first Israel Truth Conference last year in London.

Israel Truth Week Conference 2013, March fifth and sixth, has a stellar array of speakers revolving around the theme; Pushing Back With Truth And Action. Admission is free with a suggested donation to ALYN Hospital in Israel. It will be held at Victory International Church, 2799 Barton St. East in Hamilton. The keynote finale, sponsored by the Never Again Group, will be at McMaster University. For details visit http://www.IsraelTruthWeek.org. Or contact: Mark Vandermaas at 519 457 0709; mark@israeltruthweek.org.

depstein@rogers.com

Reprinted with permission.

Commentary

I am profoundly grateful to reporter Doris Strub Epstein and her paper for grasping the essence of what Israel Truth Week is all about and sharing it in such a prominent manner. This story represents a milestone in my six year quest to help Jews and non-Jews understand that we all must work together to defend the liberal democratic values that we in the West hold in common, whether the enemies of freedom are attacking the innocents of Caledonia or of Israel. The Israel Truth Week mission/vision states this, in part:

Israel Apartheid Week and other anti-Israel slurs are about attacking values. Israel stands as a proxy for all the liberal democratic values that we in the West hold dear: Truth; free enterprise; democracy; respect for the rule of law; freedom of expression; freedom of religion; and the right to be treated equally before the law and to be protected equally by the law. People who share those values are being attacked, persecuted and terrorized, even murdered. Israel Truth Week is not just about religion or borders, it is about defending those values and the people who hold them.

We must understand that Israel Apartheid Week is not the enemy, it is a tool of the enemy, one that must be countered of course, but the reality is that even if every dean on every campus in the world decreed an end to IAW, our enemies would remain: 1) the radical left who use militants, be they Islamists in the Middle East, Canada or Europe or Mohawk Warriors in Caledonia, as proxies for their own anti-West, anti-freedom, anti-capitalist, anti-democratic agenda; and 2) our governments and police forces — be they the Ontario government and OPP in Caledonia, or the United Nations vis a vis Israel — who appease their twisted, lawless agenda instead of doing their sworn duty to uphold the law and protect the innocent.

If you have not already done so I recommend that you view these two videos from last year’s conference which explain the role of anti-Israel, anti-capitalist forces in Caledonia, and how we have confronted them by applying Dr. King’s non-violent teachings:

1. MARK VANDERMAAS, Israel TruthWeek/Caledonia Victims Project (info)

‘Israel Truth Week: Born of Nazi-Occupied Holland And The Caledonia Crisis’
[VIDEO, 26:42 (includes intros; Mark's presentation begins at 7:35)]

2. GARY MCHALE, Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality (info)

‘Dr. King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’: A Blueprint for Victory Over Anti-Israelism and Anti-Semitism’  [VIDEO, 39.42; NOTES, 15p] 

Unity – we must stand together despite our differences

Never Again Group poster: Tammi Rossman-Benjamin event, McMaster University – keynote finale to Israel Truth Week conference

One of the key objectives of the Israel Truth Week concept is to unite Jewish and non-Jewish groups in defence of Israel, and liberal values of freedom and equality here in Canada, to encourage co-operation despite differences of opinion or approach, without regard to politics or turf. This vision is best epitomized by the members of the Never Again Group from the Hamilton whose remarkable cooperation in first understanding why Jews should care about Caledonia, and then helping to make the Israel Truth Week concept and our upcoming conference a shining example of the unity we all need to embrace.

About the 2013 Israel Truth Week Conference

I do hope you will join us at the 2013 Israel Truth Week Conference which takes place March 5-6 at Victory International Church and McMaster University where, thanks to the Never Again Group, our keynote finale will take place with Tammi Rossman-Benjamin of the University of California (founder of the Investigative Task Force on Campus Antisemitism) who will speak on the topic of, Anti-Semitism On Campus And How To Combat It. Admission is free, but we are trying to raise $25K for the children of ALYN Hospital in Jerusalem.  Full agenda, news releases, hotel info, donation link here:

• Israel Truth Week: 2013 Conference

POSTED BY:

Mark Vandermaas
Israel Truth Week
mark@israeltruthweek.org

Doris Strub Epstein

ISRAELI ELECTIONS REFLECT “DEEP CHANGES” IN THE COUNTRY; KEDAR

The overflowing audience at Temple Sinai Sunday night was treated to an in-depth, insider’s analysis of the recent Israeli elections and an unvarnished, profoundly knowledgeable look at the Middle East, from a man who tells it as it is with no fear of being politically incorrect. Dr. Mordechai Kedar. He is an Israeli scholar of Arabic and Islam who is fluent in Arabic, a lecturer at Bar Ilan University and Director of the Centre for the Study of the Middle East and Islam. He also spent 25 years in IDF Military Intelligence acheiving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Short of stature but huge in personality, he cut through the complexities of Israel and the Middle East in simple language. He was called a “ball of fire” at the Brooklyn synagogue where he spoke last week, part of a month long North American visit and lecture tour.

Kedar’s analysis and insights of the recent election, sheds light on what the results tell us about today’s Israelis. Likud had 40 seats in the Knesset and expected even more. Instead they lost by 25 per cent. By concentrating on security in their campaign, and ignoring the economic complaints especially of the younger generation, Likud “missed the point”, Kedar said. Their slogan was a “Powerful Prime Minister for a Powerful Israel”. “Israelis didn’t buy it.” The reason he gave was that because of the chaos of the Arab Spring, Israel’s neighbours and enemies do not at present, pose an imminent danger.

In Egypt with its 90 million, at least 30 million live in” boxes” with no running water, sewage or electricity. Tourism is almost nil, no external investments and no jobs. He predicts bankruptcy in a few months. “Egypt is at the edge of the abyss. The next revolution will not be about democracy or the Muslim Brotherhood, it will be about hunger and food.”

Syria poses no threat with its disastrous infighting. “Rape in masses, butchering it’s own people. Seventy thousand dead, ten per cent refugees, the economy non functional and the infra structure destroyed.”

Demonstrators in Jordan are carrying signs that say ”go away”. With roughly 70 per cent Palestinians residing there, “there could be a Palestine in Jordan and it’s not the Israeli right wing saying it,” said Kedar. “The domino effect will come; it’s not if, it’s when. King Abdullah comes to Washington each month, primarily to urge Obama to exert pressure on Israel to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza, Judea and Samaria”.

With no gateway through Syria for Iran to funnel armaments to Nasralla, he is “left alone” in Lebanon and is not an immediate threat.

“When our neighbours fight each other, we can start dealing with housing, university tuition and cottage cheese,” he said. “The leaders of the Occupy movement on the streets of the main cities in Israel are in the Knesset now.” But Likud didn’t pay attention to this change in emphasis to a social agenda. They lost because they did not address the issues of the 18 to 30 year olds. “This shift to social issues was fermenting several years in Israeli society and expressed itself in the elections.”

Labour with 15 seats and the Jewish Home Party with 12, drained away voters from Likud. Kedar extolled the virtues of the 40 year old Naftali Bennet , whose “young vibrant” party the Jewish Home, won 12 seats. He was a major in the top elite commando unit, Secretary of the Judea-Samaria block, so successful as a high tech entrepreneur, he sold his business for 150 million dollars. “He doesn’t need anybody slipping him envelopes,” Kedar joked.

Shas with ll seats, lost to Jewish Home too, even though it is not a religious party.

Another shift, he pointed out, has been from a secular oriented Knesset, to more religious, with about 40 men and women – a third- covering their heads. There has been a significant increase in the religious population in recent years, because the religious tend to have more children. “Take me for example” said Kedar, who wears a kippah and is religious. “I have five children, more than the norm.”

Iran was not on any parties’ political campaign because Israelis don’t want it discussed in public, he said. “Iran is never discussed in the public sphere , only in secret and by professionals not politicians.”

The two state solution is fading in appeal. It was not on the public agenda because “we saw what happened in Gaza. and it’s understood that a Palestinian State on the West Bank might turn into another Hamas. And those that advocate it (outside of Israel) won’t come to save us if that happens,” said Kedar who opposes a Palestinian state.

Kedar has devised the eight state solution based on existing clans. They would be independent Palestinian emirate type city -states located in eight major Palestinian population centers with foundations in homogenous populations. The notion of nationalism and loyalty to a country or state is alien to Arabs. Their loyalty is to the tribe, the ethnic group , the religious group.

Palestinian society is based on clans and tribes who have little trust of each other. He compares it with Afganistan a “failed state of 11 ethnic groups that don’t share language, mindset, tradition, behaviour, nothing. Nobody can expect they’ll cooperate in anything. There is no Afghani people.”

“It goes back to the hot bosom of the original Middle East. Democracy, the state, nationalism – everything imported by Europe failed.” Unlike Yemen, Syria, Libya, Lebanon, Iraq and even Iran, the Arab Emirates are stable because they are socially homogeneous societies.” He calls his concept, the Palestinian Emirates.

Dr. Kedar’s lecture was sponsored by Temple Sinai, The Speaker’s Action Group and the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research.
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Doris Strub Epstein is a journalist with Shalom Toronto and MENSCHlife TV. She can be reached at depstein@rogers.com .

POSTED BY:

Mark Vandermaas
Israel Truth Week
mark@israeltruthweek.org

About the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research (CIJR)

In November 2012 CIJR and the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) held a very informative and well-attended international conference entitled, ‘Combatting The Delegitimation of Israel’ which featured – - among many other distinguished scholars — Ambassador Alan Baker, a legal expert in the field of Israel’s land rights under international law. It was a fascinating event and the Dr. Kedar lecture will no doubt be the same. Do register as soon as possible.

The respected CIJR is one of the various organizations sending speakers to the 2013 Israel Truth Week Conference which takes place on March 5-6 at the Victory International Church in Hamilton, Canada.  CIJR’s Alan Herman and Zach Paikin will be speaking about the Student Israel-Advocacy Program (SIAP) at Concordia University headed by Professor Fred Krantz, Director of CIJR.

According to CIJR, the SIAP was designed to give students the information and tools necessary to “take back the campus, by empowering Jewish and interested non-Jewish students…with critically-important speaking, writing and on-campus organizing skills.” Certainly an objective in keeping with the Israel Truth Week mission.

About the Speaker’s Action Group

“The Speakers Action Group is a nonprofit, grassroots organization dedicated to interfaith education to help combat racism and antisemitism. We have a roster of distinguished speakers who volunteer their time to promote tolerance and enhance awareness about cross-cultural issues that affect our community.”

POSTED BY:
Mark Vandermaas
mark@israeltruthweek.org