Letter to the Editor
Toronto Star
March 30, 2012
Israel rolls the drums of war. Additional orchestration is dutifully provided by the frighteningly powerful USA-Israeli lobby group AIPAC, described by Newt Gingrich (he of “the Palestinians are an invented people” fame) as the “most effective lobby group on the planet”. Leading USA politicians fall over each other to ingratiate themselves with AIPAC. Even Obama (he of “change comes to Washington” fame) continues to toe the usual USA pro-Israeli party line. “Prevention of a second Holocaust” proclaims Netanyahu, cheapening that unique tragedy where completely unprotected Jews were slaughtered by comparison with the current situation whereby Iran must be fully aware of potential nuclear obliteration if it attacks the most powerful nation in the Middle East.
Canada is more than a carbon copy of USA with regard to pro-Israeli policy. By general consensus, we are the most pro-Israeli Western country. We were the only country to vote against condemning the military offensive in Gaza. We are unique among nations to have a “Parliamentary Coalition” declare that criticism of Israel is anti-Semitism. At the risk, therefore, of being accused of racism, we the undersigned strongly condemn military action against Iran. Furthermore, we view that the current obsession with Iran has (intentionally?) airbrushed the major issue off the Middle East agenda, namely resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian problem. Although each and every American President in the past 20 years has declared that the continuing expansion of the settlement population is the single greatest impediment to peace, the entire issue seems to have disappeared from the vernacular of Middle East diplomacy and been replaced by the full-time fixation on Iran. We protest this charade and urge our leaders to push for a meaningful Israeli-Palestinian peace accord.
Dr Adrian Fine MD
Dr E. Daniel PhD
V. Daniel
Dr. T. Margolin
For Independent Jewish Voices
Victoria, BC
Canada
