As the Tory government announce intentions to bring in legislation
aimed at combatting "extremism" with Cameron saying "The
definition of harmful is to include a risk of public disorder, a risk of
harassment, alarm or distress or creating a “threat to the functioning of
democracy". Couple this with their their desire to abolish the Human
Rights Act and replace by British “bill
of rights” we should all be aware of the potential of those laws being extended
and expanded in scope.
In Canada, the pro-Israeli Conservative government of
Stephen Harper intends to list the boycotting of Israel as a “hate crime” to
counter the BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) campaign. It assumes that anyone
opposed to Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians and the policy of land-grab is
not only an anti-Semite, but is also anti-democratic. The former Canadian
Foreign minister John Baird has described Canada’s Boycott Israel movement as
“the new face of anti-Semitism”. Steven Blaney, Canada’s “Minister of Public
Safety”, says that boycotts of Israel cannot be separated from anti-Semitic
hate speech and the recent attacks against Jews in France. Cloaked in clichés Canadians
are told that their government will show “zero tolerance” towards groups
advocating a boycott of Israel.
If you decline to buy Israeli-produced oranges at a British
supermarket in solidarity with the Palestinian people, this doesn’t make you
akin to a Holocaust denier. To criticise Israeli policies in regards to the
blockade of Gaza doesn’t turn you into into a Jew-hater. Jewish members of
boycott-Israel groups may well be put on trial in Canada for anti-Semitism.
All this will be accomplished by a proposed small amendment
to the existing law on hate-crimes by re-defining hate speech to include statements
made against “national origin.” Thus statements or speeches critical of Israel may
now be classed as statements against Jews.
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