The Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Executive Committee has decided to renew its opposition to the inclusion of Israel's Magen David Adom (MDA - Red Star of David) in the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Michael Freund reports in The Jerusalem Post that the group is also against allowing MDA's red Star of David to be recognized as an official symbol of the international humanitarian organization, and plans to convey its “categorical rejection” of MDA to all relevant international groups.
The irony in the Arab stand is poignant, notes Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson, in that MDA's application for membership in the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) has long been rejected because its emblem was a star, not a cross. This first occurred in 1949 - yet since that time some 25 Red Crescent Societies in the Muslim world have been admitted to the IFRC.
MDA's troubles transcend the Middle East, however. Canada's Federal Court of Appeal recently upheld a decision by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency to revoke the "charitable organization" status of MDA's Canadian branch. The decision has aroused opposition:
"Like the Red Cross," wrote Toronto lawyers Edward Greenspan and David Nathanson in an article last week in Canada's National Post, "MDA depends upon contributions from friends, volunteers and chapters worldwide. By denying charitable status, the judgment impedes fundraising needed to enable MDA to fulfill its humanitarian objectives... The majority [of the Federal Court] wondered whether or not MDA is truly a charitable organization and why the IFRC has not accepted Israel as a member. Does the majority not read the newspapers? Does it not understand there is an attempt to isolate Israel, to de-legitimize virtually all its organizations, an attempt stemming from hatred for Israel and its people? The effect of this judgment is to lend support to Israel's enemies. This judgment is wrong and should not stand."
The two lawyers noted that the ruling could be nullified either by an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, or by the Minister of National Revenue's refusing to publish the revocation notice in the Canada Gazette. Their article concludes,
"The cross is the symbol of Christianity. The crescent is the symbol of the Muslim world. The Star of David is the symbol of the Jewish people as well as of Israel. There is no reason on earth that the Red Star of David should not be accorded the same international recognition as the other two symbols."
The irony in the Arab stand is poignant, notes Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson, in that MDA's application for membership in the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) has long been rejected because its emblem was a star, not a cross. This first occurred in 1949 - yet since that time some 25 Red Crescent Societies in the Muslim world have been admitted to the IFRC.
MDA's troubles transcend the Middle East, however. Canada's Federal Court of Appeal recently upheld a decision by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency to revoke the "charitable organization" status of MDA's Canadian branch. The decision has aroused opposition:
"Like the Red Cross," wrote Toronto lawyers Edward Greenspan and David Nathanson in an article last week in Canada's National Post, "MDA depends upon contributions from friends, volunteers and chapters worldwide. By denying charitable status, the judgment impedes fundraising needed to enable MDA to fulfill its humanitarian objectives... The majority [of the Federal Court] wondered whether or not MDA is truly a charitable organization and why the IFRC has not accepted Israel as a member. Does the majority not read the newspapers? Does it not understand there is an attempt to isolate Israel, to de-legitimize virtually all its organizations, an attempt stemming from hatred for Israel and its people? The effect of this judgment is to lend support to Israel's enemies. This judgment is wrong and should not stand."
The two lawyers noted that the ruling could be nullified either by an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, or by the Minister of National Revenue's refusing to publish the revocation notice in the Canada Gazette. Their article concludes,
"The cross is the symbol of Christianity. The crescent is the symbol of the Muslim world. The Star of David is the symbol of the Jewish people as well as of Israel. There is no reason on earth that the Red Star of David should not be accorded the same international recognition as the other two symbols."