In a democracy, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. This includes those who choose to attack Canada for its record on Israel, either out of ignorance or maliciousness. However, before putting their opinion in writing and getting it published, people should first get their facts straight. In one unfortunate example, Irwin Graulich neglected to do that with his article "Oy Canada!", published by Arutz Sheva on November 24, 2002.
For example, Mr. Graulich claimed that Canada is anti-Israeli, just like France, because Canada is a former French colony. The facts are that Canada is not anti-Israeli, is not influenced by France and has not been a French colony since 1759, when the French were defeated by the British. That was 243 years ago, even before the Americans freed themselves from British colonial rule. In language, culture and outlook Canada is much closer to Britain than it is to France. But it is to the United States that Canada is closest of al l- geographically as well as in language, culture and outlook. Canadians absorb American culture with their mothers? milk.
So, you may ask: What are Canadians really like and how are they different than Americans? Let me tell you a little about some of the similarities and differences. Canadians are a quieter, more caring people. They are more reserved and more polite. I would say that generally Canadians act with self-confidence, while Americans have a tendency to act with arrogance. While both countries are English speaking, Canada has French as an ?official? second language; the US has Spanish as an ?unofficial? second language.
Like the US, Canada is a country of ?haves? and ?have-nots?. But in Canada, you will see a lot less of the extreme disparities. Canada has fewer poor per capita, and the poor are better treated by the various governments - they receive more benefits. Canada also has fewer wealthy per capita, and the rich are worse treated by the various governments - through the levy of higher taxes. Canada has universal ?socialized? medical coverage; the US has tens of millions of people who do not receive adequate medical care under their ?private? system. For these reasons, some right-wing Americans will denigrate our government as socialist, but in reality, they are no more socialistic than the Democratic Party in the US.
Both Canada and the US take in a lot of immigrants. Canada receives more immigrants per capita than the Americans do and a bigger proportion of our immigrants are non-white. We handle our minorities according to a policy of ?multi-culturalism?, wherein they are encouraged and even helped to retain their cultural distinctiveness. The Americans, on the other hand, try to homogenize their immigrants into one big ?melting pot?. Canadians are more tolerant of diversity than Americans. As a result you will see a lot less discrimination and hatred, a lot less violence, a lot more talking and a lot less shooting and killing.
Canadians pride themselves on being different than Americans. They are proud of being more caring and more tolerant. But they are afraid of absorbing too much American culture and American values; afraid of being swallowed up by their giant neighbour. Partly for this reason, Canadian governments sometimes insist on demonstrating that they have an independent foreign policy. As a separate country, we are bound to have our own foreign policy.
Like all countries with large immigrant populations, Canada is sometimes subject to the carry-over of antagonisms from the immigrants? home countries and cultures. For example, Benjamin Netanyahu was invited to speak to a group of students at Montreal?s Concordia University this past September. As widely reported in world media, there was an anti-Netanyahu demonstration by Palestinian students and other pro-Palestinian supporters. Some of the Palestinian demonstrators became overly excited. They called Netanyahu a war criminal and did their best to keep him from speaking. They attacked and wrecked university and private property. They attacked pro-Israeli students and others who were there to hear Netanyahu. This soon degenerated into an ugly, violent incident, which included some of the Jews in attendance being hit and spat upon. Unfortunately the pro-Palestinians succeeded in their objective, because the authorities cancelled the talk out of fear that Netanyahu or someone else would be in danger,.
So, in this one instance, violent anti-Semitic action won the day in Canada, just as similar acts at American universities have too often also been successful. But the incident received a lot of press criticism all over Canada. I read much of the coverage and did not notice any that was friendly to the pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Many of the articles also criticized the Concordia administration and the Montreal police for botching the incident and perhaps unnecessarily calling off the talk. The resulting hullabaloo was so widespread that I doubt that any similar disturbance will ever again be allowed to achieve a similar result. Hopefully, Netanyahu will soon return to Montreal and address his audience. I am sure that when he does, he will draw a much larger crowd than the first time.
Does the Concordia incident make Canada an anti-Israel or anti-Semitic country? If this one incident means that Canada is anti-Israel/anti-Semitic, then what country should not be similarly labeled? Comparable, and even worse, incidents have taken place in the US, as well as in England, France, Germany and other countries, even in Israel itself. There are left-wingers and anti-Semites all over the world who engage in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, both peaceful and violent. Many of these demonstrators are Arabs as well as Muslims from other countries. Such people often believe that the Palestinians are a poor and downtrodden people who are unjustly oppressed by the big, bad and powerful Israeli colonial occupiers.
There have been attacks against Jews in Canada, but not nearly enough to be considered "numerous". In fact, I would say that there have been more such attacks in the US. Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have occurred all over the world, including Canada, the US and Israel. There have been complaints that some of the US demonstrators and their placards have been virulently anti-Semitic. The same has been said about the US movements to divest from Israel.
What these increasing attacks on Jews and Israel have in common, both in Canada and elsewhere in the world, is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Muslims are sympathetic to the plight of their Palestinian brethren. Left-wingers are often sympathetic to what they see as a people suffering under a brutal occupation. Such feelings are sometimes channeled into demonstrations against Israel and anti-Semitic eruptions. This problem will not go away until the conflict comes to a peaceful conclusion.
Despite what some people may say, Canada is not anti-Israel. Canada is pro-Israel. Canada is also ?pro? a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. In fact, Canada seems to want to be "pro" everyone. They would like to be everyone?s friend and no one?s enemy. To be an honest broker who antagonizes no one and does not take sides. Maybe that is why Canada has been part of every UN peacekeeping force. Canadians are acceptable to everyone as impartial and competent.
The Canadian Federal Government tries to be cautious and prudent. Unfortunately that frequently means being slow, often too slow for the taste of those anxious to see a specific policy enacted or changed. Since 9/11, Canada, like many other countries, has enacted new security laws. While there are many similarities to those in the US, like many things Canadian, the laws are not as drastic. Hopefully, Canadian policies will prove effective enough to keep us secure.
As was done by the US and other countries, Canada has declared some organizations to be terrorist and therefore illegal. Here once again they acted more ?cautiously? than the US. As a consequence, the government did not outlaw Hamas and other terrorist groups until late November, even though the Americans outlawed these same groups many months earlier. This caution also meant that, even at that late date, Canada still had not outlawed the social/political side of Hezbollah, only its military wing. Following intense domestic pressure, government ministers subsequently began publicly condemning Hezbollah and finally outlawed all parts of Hezbollah on December 11. Some people categorize our slowness in outlawing terrorist groups as evidence that Canada is anti-Semitic. Such an alarmist claim is absolutely baseless. Canada has simply demonstrated another example of its trademark caution in action.
Canada is a small country, next door to the American giant. Canadians want to be everybody?s friend, so as a result we try to be seen as not too pro-American. In many ways we resemble Americans, but we are kinder, gentler, more polite and a lot less arrogant. Our government is sometimes so cautious and prudent that it has to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into changing a policy. Canada, like many other countries, suffers from increasing, but still rare, incidents of anti-Semitism, mostly from those sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians. And finally, never forget that Canada is a good friend of Israel.
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Bernard Ship writes from Canada.
For example, Mr. Graulich claimed that Canada is anti-Israeli, just like France, because Canada is a former French colony. The facts are that Canada is not anti-Israeli, is not influenced by France and has not been a French colony since 1759, when the French were defeated by the British. That was 243 years ago, even before the Americans freed themselves from British colonial rule. In language, culture and outlook Canada is much closer to Britain than it is to France. But it is to the United States that Canada is closest of al l- geographically as well as in language, culture and outlook. Canadians absorb American culture with their mothers? milk.
So, you may ask: What are Canadians really like and how are they different than Americans? Let me tell you a little about some of the similarities and differences. Canadians are a quieter, more caring people. They are more reserved and more polite. I would say that generally Canadians act with self-confidence, while Americans have a tendency to act with arrogance. While both countries are English speaking, Canada has French as an ?official? second language; the US has Spanish as an ?unofficial? second language.
Like the US, Canada is a country of ?haves? and ?have-nots?. But in Canada, you will see a lot less of the extreme disparities. Canada has fewer poor per capita, and the poor are better treated by the various governments - they receive more benefits. Canada also has fewer wealthy per capita, and the rich are worse treated by the various governments - through the levy of higher taxes. Canada has universal ?socialized? medical coverage; the US has tens of millions of people who do not receive adequate medical care under their ?private? system. For these reasons, some right-wing Americans will denigrate our government as socialist, but in reality, they are no more socialistic than the Democratic Party in the US.
Both Canada and the US take in a lot of immigrants. Canada receives more immigrants per capita than the Americans do and a bigger proportion of our immigrants are non-white. We handle our minorities according to a policy of ?multi-culturalism?, wherein they are encouraged and even helped to retain their cultural distinctiveness. The Americans, on the other hand, try to homogenize their immigrants into one big ?melting pot?. Canadians are more tolerant of diversity than Americans. As a result you will see a lot less discrimination and hatred, a lot less violence, a lot more talking and a lot less shooting and killing.
Canadians pride themselves on being different than Americans. They are proud of being more caring and more tolerant. But they are afraid of absorbing too much American culture and American values; afraid of being swallowed up by their giant neighbour. Partly for this reason, Canadian governments sometimes insist on demonstrating that they have an independent foreign policy. As a separate country, we are bound to have our own foreign policy.
Like all countries with large immigrant populations, Canada is sometimes subject to the carry-over of antagonisms from the immigrants? home countries and cultures. For example, Benjamin Netanyahu was invited to speak to a group of students at Montreal?s Concordia University this past September. As widely reported in world media, there was an anti-Netanyahu demonstration by Palestinian students and other pro-Palestinian supporters. Some of the Palestinian demonstrators became overly excited. They called Netanyahu a war criminal and did their best to keep him from speaking. They attacked and wrecked university and private property. They attacked pro-Israeli students and others who were there to hear Netanyahu. This soon degenerated into an ugly, violent incident, which included some of the Jews in attendance being hit and spat upon. Unfortunately the pro-Palestinians succeeded in their objective, because the authorities cancelled the talk out of fear that Netanyahu or someone else would be in danger,.
So, in this one instance, violent anti-Semitic action won the day in Canada, just as similar acts at American universities have too often also been successful. But the incident received a lot of press criticism all over Canada. I read much of the coverage and did not notice any that was friendly to the pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Many of the articles also criticized the Concordia administration and the Montreal police for botching the incident and perhaps unnecessarily calling off the talk. The resulting hullabaloo was so widespread that I doubt that any similar disturbance will ever again be allowed to achieve a similar result. Hopefully, Netanyahu will soon return to Montreal and address his audience. I am sure that when he does, he will draw a much larger crowd than the first time.
Does the Concordia incident make Canada an anti-Israel or anti-Semitic country? If this one incident means that Canada is anti-Israel/anti-Semitic, then what country should not be similarly labeled? Comparable, and even worse, incidents have taken place in the US, as well as in England, France, Germany and other countries, even in Israel itself. There are left-wingers and anti-Semites all over the world who engage in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, both peaceful and violent. Many of these demonstrators are Arabs as well as Muslims from other countries. Such people often believe that the Palestinians are a poor and downtrodden people who are unjustly oppressed by the big, bad and powerful Israeli colonial occupiers.
There have been attacks against Jews in Canada, but not nearly enough to be considered "numerous". In fact, I would say that there have been more such attacks in the US. Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have occurred all over the world, including Canada, the US and Israel. There have been complaints that some of the US demonstrators and their placards have been virulently anti-Semitic. The same has been said about the US movements to divest from Israel.
What these increasing attacks on Jews and Israel have in common, both in Canada and elsewhere in the world, is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Muslims are sympathetic to the plight of their Palestinian brethren. Left-wingers are often sympathetic to what they see as a people suffering under a brutal occupation. Such feelings are sometimes channeled into demonstrations against Israel and anti-Semitic eruptions. This problem will not go away until the conflict comes to a peaceful conclusion.
Despite what some people may say, Canada is not anti-Israel. Canada is pro-Israel. Canada is also ?pro? a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. In fact, Canada seems to want to be "pro" everyone. They would like to be everyone?s friend and no one?s enemy. To be an honest broker who antagonizes no one and does not take sides. Maybe that is why Canada has been part of every UN peacekeeping force. Canadians are acceptable to everyone as impartial and competent.
The Canadian Federal Government tries to be cautious and prudent. Unfortunately that frequently means being slow, often too slow for the taste of those anxious to see a specific policy enacted or changed. Since 9/11, Canada, like many other countries, has enacted new security laws. While there are many similarities to those in the US, like many things Canadian, the laws are not as drastic. Hopefully, Canadian policies will prove effective enough to keep us secure.
As was done by the US and other countries, Canada has declared some organizations to be terrorist and therefore illegal. Here once again they acted more ?cautiously? than the US. As a consequence, the government did not outlaw Hamas and other terrorist groups until late November, even though the Americans outlawed these same groups many months earlier. This caution also meant that, even at that late date, Canada still had not outlawed the social/political side of Hezbollah, only its military wing. Following intense domestic pressure, government ministers subsequently began publicly condemning Hezbollah and finally outlawed all parts of Hezbollah on December 11. Some people categorize our slowness in outlawing terrorist groups as evidence that Canada is anti-Semitic. Such an alarmist claim is absolutely baseless. Canada has simply demonstrated another example of its trademark caution in action.
Canada is a small country, next door to the American giant. Canadians want to be everybody?s friend, so as a result we try to be seen as not too pro-American. In many ways we resemble Americans, but we are kinder, gentler, more polite and a lot less arrogant. Our government is sometimes so cautious and prudent that it has to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into changing a policy. Canada, like many other countries, suffers from increasing, but still rare, incidents of anti-Semitism, mostly from those sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians. And finally, never forget that Canada is a good friend of Israel.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bernard Ship writes from Canada.