Campaign of hate

Re: Meaning Of BDS, letters to the editor, Feb. 19; Liberals Back Anti- BDS Motion As NDP Calls It ‘ Thought Crime’ Creation, Feb. 23; The Truth Shall Not Set Us Free, Robyn Urback, Feb. 25.

I agree with the letter writers who regard the BDS ( boycott, divest and sanction) campaign against Israel as a campaign of hate, with the ultimate goal of destroying Israel. The Palestinian Authority refuses to sign a peace agreement with Israel because Israel will not agree to the “right to return” of the refugees and descendants of refugees, dating back as far as the war of 1947. There are five million of them. How could a tiny country the size of Israel handle such a huge influx? Clearly it could not. It would destroy Israel, which is the PA’s intention. It is time Canadian universities recognized this and should condemn this idea, along with BDS. Recently NDP leader Tom Mulcair spoke against the anti- BDS vote in parliament, saying it would suppress the civil liberties of advocacy groups. This issue is not about freedom of expression, but about mass murder. As much as I agree with Robyn Urback’s assessment of the BDS movement, I strongly believe in this particular case, the truth shall not set us free. A belief system that is not predicated on observable facts cannot successfully be challenged by a well- reasoned presentation of the truth.

Case in point: A few week ago, dozens of people in Chicago protested an Israel lobby group at the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Creating Change conference. Any reasonable effort to explain how Israel is the only safe place for LBGT members in the Middle East would be met with the ludicrous charge of “Pinkwashing.” How do you argue with a student protester whose main objective is to stop sales of Sabra hummus on campus?

Many student BDS supporters could do with a dose of reality in understanding the movement’s true objectives. One of the McGill students who helped draft t he BDS motion claims, “Nobody involved in this is racist or anti- Semitic.” Have these people bothered to read the BDS mission? Do they understand the implications of the Palestinians “Right to Return”?

This is a deep- rooted and pervasive problem without easy solutions. It requires serious introspection by the media, educators and world leaders who help propagate this narrative. Those who support the democratic state of Israel will also have to take a braver and more proactive stand in speaking up for their beliefs.