Resolution by United Church Angers Jewish Groups

By John Dirlik

A United Church of Canada resolution criticizing Israeli human rights abuses in the occupied territories and calling upon the United Nations to take measures to protect the Palestinian inhabitants has been described as "unfair" and "unbalanced" by Jewish groups across the country.

The strongly worded resolution was passed May 30 by more than 600 delegates gathered in Toronto for the United Church of Canada's annual meeting. The resolution asked the Canadian government to call on Israel to respect the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the resolution condemned Israel's expulsion "without trial of over 400 men in December 1992'' and "the shooting deaths of over 1,000 people, many of them children," by Israeli forces since the December 1987 start of the intifada. The resolution also called on Canada to press the United Nations to send peacekeeping troops to protect the inhabitants of Israeli-occupied territories if Israel "continues to violate the Convention."

Paul Marcus of B'nai B'rith of Canada expressed disappointment over the passing of the resolution, saying it was "most unfortunate that Israel was singled out." The national director of the Canada-Israel Committee said the Israeli military government in the occupied territories "is geared toward preventing human rights excesses" and that allegations of abuses are promptly investigated. A spokesman for the Canadian Jewish Congress called the resolution "unfair" because it ignored acts of violence committed by Palestinians against their own people.

The United Church resolution was adopted only after considerable debate. Several delegates voted against the move, arguing it may damage Christian-Jewish relations. Supporters of the resolution, however, insisted that it was a matter of moral priorities. "It's more important to speak out about the death of children than to be concerned about the comfort level of interfaith discussions in Toronto,'' said Rev. Elizabeth Marmura.

Pro-Israel Editor Criticizes Montreal Daily's Mideast Coverage

Montreal Jews have more reason to fear their daily newspaper's coverage of Israel than they do neo-Nazi skinheads who vandalized their synagogues, said the editor of a rabidly pro-Israel weekly published in the west-end of the city.

Following the uproar over a spate of synagogue desecrations in the Montreal area, an editorial in the Suburban chastised mainstream Jewish organizations for focusing their criticism on the skinheads believed responsible for the vandalism while ignoring the threat of the Montreal Gazette's "persistent anti-Israel" stance.

In the first of two successive editorials, the Suburban charged that the Gazette's alleged bias against Israel was a "direct cause" of increased anti-Semitism in the city. "When the Canadian Jewish Congress addresses the causes of anti-Semitism (such as the Gazette coverage), it will have less anti-Semitism to deal with," the Suburban editorial claimed. It called the Gazette, Montreal's only English-language daily, "a far more vicious and menacing enemy" than a "group of local imbeciles . . . spray-painting swastikas and Nazi slogans. "

In a rare public disagreement between avid supporters of Israel, the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) responded in a letter to the editor flatly rejecting any relation between the Gazette's coverage of Israel and the rise of anti-Semitic incidents in Montreal. CJC regional director Michael Crelinstein wrote that making such a link "is unjustified and inflammatory," and accused the Suburban of being in "serious and grave error.'' Describing the editorials as "demagogic," Crelinstein wrote that "whatever political problems we have with the Gazette in terms of its Israel coverage—and we have them—it is a far cry from labeling them, by extension, anti-Semitic. "

Another representative of the Canadian Jewish Congress defended the Gazene, saying that its coverage of the Middle East was fair in comparison with other newspapers. "I see five or six newspapers daily,'' said Rabbi Reuben Poupko, "and the Gazette's editorial policy has improved dramatically over the last five or six years. "

The charge by the Suburban that the Gazette favored the Arabs was dismissed as absurd by at least one representative of the city's Arab community. "There have been several representations made to the Gazette by Arab groups to complain about its anti-Arab bias,'' said Raymond Kneider, publisher of the Montreal-based Arab World Review. "To accuse that paper of being anti-Israel is incredible,'' said Kneider.

Peace Now Meeting Disrupted By Hecklers

A lecture in Toronto by the president of American Friends of Peace Now was disrupted when several members of the audience angrily denounced the policies of that organization, which favors Israeli territorial concessions in return for peace with the Arabs.

The presentation by Gail Pressberg was interrupted by one man who commandeered the microphone at the back of the room and hurled insults at Pressberg for "selling out" Israel. After being forcibly escorted out of the room, the heckler was allowed to return after the lecture was over. He then resumed his attacks, expressing outrage that an organization which opposed expelling Palestinian "terrorists" would eject a Jew from the room. "You're a whore to Yasser Arafat," he screamed.

To cheers of "Bravo! Bravo!" another angry man said the Peace Now organization should change its name to "Surrender Now.'' Yet another person asked Pressberg whether she thought that Arabs had "the democratic right to vote Israel out of existence."

After the shouting matches that erupted among the politically divided crowd finally died down, the president of the Canadian Friends of Peace Now apologized to Pressberg for the behavior of the audience. "Canadians are not always so rude," said Mel Shipman.