Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pictured, r.) and his Immigration Minister Jason Kenney (pictured, l.) have criticized students involved in the 7th edition of the 'Israel Apartheid Week' campaign, which is currently taking place on campuses across Canada and around the world. The events, which seek to promote Palestinian rights and allege that Israel is an apartheid state, were frequently "accompanied by anti-Semitic harassment, intimidation and bullying," Kenney pointed out. He added that "these activities can cultivate an atmosphere exactly the opposite of one that is open to the free exchange of ideas and the development of the mind with the aid of facts and logic."
Repeatedly singling out and condemning Israel year after year created a "hateful environment" that "offends not only our sense of fairness, but also our core Canadian values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Such scapegoating becomes yet another symptom of a worrying new acceptance of the vilification of Israel and of Jews around the world," the immigration minister declared.
At a different event, Harper said the organized Israeli Apartheid Weeks had become increasingly sophisticated and "intellectually acceptable."
'Israel Apartheid Week' is currently taking place in over 90 cities around the world.
Meanwhile, University of Winnipeg President Lloyd Axworthy, a former Canadian foreign minister, has taken an activist approach in dealing with Israel Apartheid Week for the first time on his campus this year, by having the university put on a series of programs that counter the delegitimization of Israel. “It is the responsibility of a university to ensure that an issue [the Israeli-Palestinian conflict] that’s as important as this be given a full and fair hearing as opposed to a one-sided hearing,” Axworthy told the 'Jerusalem Post'.
He added: "We felt the most effective way to respond to Israel Apartheid Week was to organize a series of opportunities in March for Arab-Jewish dialogue” that is “respectful, more open and fair” and promotes a greater understanding of the issues involved." The university administration sponsored a panel discussion last Tuesday by two Jewish members and two Arab members of a local Arab-Jewish Dialogue group.
