Mar 12 2022
Dear Ms DiManno,
Your recent article in The Toronto Star, focusing on the academic inanity of antisemitism, was excellent and very much appreciated. We need to see more journalism confronting the Jew hatred that ranges freely across North American university campuses and contributes immensely to rising antisemitism, thus endangering Jews and non-Jews, and potentially threatening our democracy.
I would be remiss however, if I didn’t draw attention to one statement you make which is both unwarranted, untrue and equally “suggestive” of a double standard that doesn’t exist. In your article, you state the following and I italicize the questionable phrase:
“While anybody can climb up on a soapbox and lambaste Israel — Lord knows there are legitimate reasons for criticizing its policies, particularly in the treatment of Palestinians— Israel-bashers would deny the same intellectual liberty to others.”
Ms DiManno, what are you exactly referring to with this phrase that Israel is guilty of mistreating Palestinians? The civil rights of all citizens is well protected in Israel, including its 21% Arab population. Arabs serve in the Knesset, in the courts, in all aspect of life even heading a major bank, a major hospital, major tech company, and in Israel Arab women are more likely to be highly educated than in most Arab countries where they are often viewed as second class citizens. If you are referring to the treatment of those Arabs who live under the terrorist regimes of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, where to criticize their government can land one in jail, or be murdered, then please point out this is not under Israeli government or Israeli policy.
The Arabs suffer greatly under the cruel, undemocratic, tyrannical, terror-supporting regimes that reward Arabs for murdering Jews, ban Jews from living in their territories, teach children in schools to kill Jews, and send kids to summer camps where as early as age 6, they are taught to hate Jews, deny Israel’s existence and devote their life to murdering Jews so they can eradicate the only Jewish country in the world. Death be damned, for if they are murdered, their families will be rewarded with honours, and schools and streets will be named after the so-called ‘martyrs.’ This is total child abuse!
Please consider the fact that your wonderful article, loses something when you toss in an indiscriminate, undocumented phrase that feeds the antisemitic frenzy.
With much respect,
Andria Spindel,
Executive Director
Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation
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