An Open letter to Harper

The open letter below was written by some of the members of Shalom-Salaam Montreal, an Arab-Jewish dialogue group in Montreal to which I belong.

The Globe and Mail published it yesterday and it is available as a petition at the link below. I encourage you to sign it along with the 2,450 others who already did and ask people to sign as well.

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/me2006

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July 24, 2006

Shame on you, Mr. Harper

The Globe and Mail

The deliberate targeting by the Israeli army of civilian dwellings, cars and food convoys, the destruction of roads and civilian infrastructure, and the consequent death of hundreds of civilians is not a justified self-defence, nor does it constitute a moderate response, Mr. Harper.

"This is unequivocally a war of choice," wrote Israeli columnist Gideon Levy, a choice to destroy any political force that resists its occupation of Arab lands.

The idea that this is self-defence or a response to aggression is naive or cynical.

It is not fair. On July 18, you claimed that violence is not the solution. Why doesn't this apply to Israeli violence? Are you comparing the capture of two soldiers with the destruction of a whole country? After all, Israel also has several captured Lebanese, not to mention the 9,000 Palestinians in Israeli jails, including members of the Palestinian parliament. Would this be a reason to destroy Israel? Do you realize the depth of your bias, Mr. Harper?

It is not self-defence. The crisis did not begin with the capture of two Israeli soldiers. It is part of the larger Middle East conflict. It started with the expulsion of two-thirds of the Palestinian population in 1948, and it was exacerbated in the 1967 war when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza.

"An underlying reason that years of U.S. diplomacy have failed and violence in the Middle East persists is that some Israeli leaders continue to create facts by building settlements in occupied territory," wrote former U.S. president Jimmy Carter in 2000. The violence that we witness today is a result of Israel's desire to enforce its occupation. It is not self-defence.

Supporting it is not Canadian. We, Canadians from diverse backgrounds -- including Jews and Israeli Canadians, Arab Canadians, English and French Canadians, and immigrants -- are outraged at your blind support for a policy of aggression that has resulted in the death of hundreds of civilians and massive destruction.

Your government's position is not fostering peace in the region nor Canada's reputation as an honest broker.

We demand that the government of Canada stop supporting Israeli violence, the destructive power of which is far more lethal than the combined violence used by militant non-state groups.

We demand that Canada adopt an objective position, based on international law as well as Canada's historical reputation as a peacemaker -- fostering a Canadian tradition of independent thought and action regarding international diplomacy -- as opposed to support for an unjustified war and a brutal occupation.

This letter was initiated by members of Shalom-Salaam, a Jewish-Arab Montreal dialogue group and has been signed by more than 2000 others. The authors include:

• Abby Lippman
• Caroyln Shaffer
• Rachad Antonius
• Ehab Lotayef
• Jihad Bahlis
• A. Maeser Lemieux
• Ronit Yarosky
• Stephen Block
• Nada Sefian

Shame ... Oh Lebanon

My heart weeps for you Oh Lebanon!

There is no one to protect you. Unable to defend yourself against falling bombs from the skies. Pounding tons of explosives fired from the sea. Who will save Thee from artillery shells hurled indiscriminately on your people and everything which brings you life support. The free and democratic countries all turn a blind eye towards your suffering. They do not see your dead children for they are not humans. They deserve no peace nor freedom for they are Barbarians. Nothing has changed since the late 1600's. Weren't the native North Americans Barbarians and deserved extinction? You will share the same fate. Accept that fate Oh Lebanon. Look on the bright side, in 200 years from now you will be given an apology and a right to open a casino on a small peace of land which was once yours.


The United Nations, United States, and United Kingdom are United in being slaves to your rapist. The country of Israel. A country which hijacked this world and hijacked its morality and conscience. After all it is only defending itself by raping you Oh Lebanon. It is only defending itself by maiming your children. By shredding your women and destroying everything you built in the last 20 years.

How else can it defend itself? How do you expect it to defend what it took away from you? Do you honestly think it will allow you to take back what is rightfully yours? How dare you resist its aggression Oh Lebanon? There are only one Chosen People.

Do you sincerely think it will allow you to stand for justice and support your raped Palestinian sister? There will be no such nonsense. For no one is human but the sons of Israel.

After all this is what God told us in the Old Testament.

How dare you kidnap soldiers? It is kidnapping isn't it? Those soldiers surely were unarmed. As soldiers usually are. They were helpless and sitting ducks. They were roaming around so peacefully until you kidnapped them.

How dare you ask for the release and exchange the kidnapped with prisoners? Those women and Children in Israel's prisons are criminals, terrorists and prisoners of war. How dare you ask them to be exchanged with unarmed helpless kidnapped soldiers ? How dare you asked for the exchanged of the helpless and unarmed with the dangerous armed killers that are your children?

How dare you Oh Lebanon stir the world's emotions? How dare you ask for justice of this democratic free world? How dare you ask from those countries who can make a difference to do something?

Do you honestly want to wake up their conscience? Let them sleep in their freedom. Do you honestly expect them to stop going to pubs and night clubs and stop smiling because you are being raped? Do you honestly want them to stop making more money and living a peaceful life to stop injustice in another part of the globe? You talk as if you share the globe with them?

How dare you be envious of their freedom? Are you human too?

How dare you Oh Lebanon ask this world to take charge and say enough is enough? How dare you ask: "Who will put an end to this injustice?". HOW DARE YOU!

Do you really expect people to make a difference? It is not humans responsibility to make a difference on this earth. For the earth is not theirs.

Look at the environment. What have you learnt Oh Lebanon from it? Do you see humans securing their own future? Do you see humans put an end to Global Warming? Do you see humans stand up for Big Corporations? Do you see humans stand up for anything right? Humans only stand up to what they are told to stand up for. They will stand up only if their emotions are stirred by mass media. Surely, though mass media will not stir emotions for anyone who is rapped by Israel.

How dare you Oh Lebanon? Shame on you Oh Lebanon. After all it is Arabic men who oppress and rape helpless women. This is unheard of in Democratic and Free countries.

This is how they pick them ...

Probably just like Zarqawi the new so called "Leader" doesn't even have to exist. Rather he should have a short video footage and a criminal record somewhere (curiously enough in an allied country like Jordan or Egypt).

Even more proof that the Zarqawi stories were all fabrications. What we should learn from this and end up asking ourselves is "What about all the Zarqawi Operations in Iraq?" . "If Zarqawi's existence is a huge question mark. What about all the operations attributed to him? Is it possible that the same people who created the Zarqawi master mind be the ones behind all these operations? I sure think so ...
After all , who would have benefited most from the first Zarqawi attributed operation [ Bombing of the UN HQ ] ? The US of course. After all, they didn't want anyone to interfere in Iraq's post war re-building efforts.