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Prime Minister Stephen Harper addresses an event of the Canadian Jewish Politcal Affairs Committee in Toronto, March 10, 2011

There is a growing Canadian backlash against Israeli Apartheid Week, the on-campus campaign to delegitimize Israel.

Immigration
Minister Jason Kenney issued a strongly worded statement Friday, asking
students to think twice before joining activities tied to the week,
taking place across Canada and internationally this month.

The
events, which seek to promote Palestinian human rights, are frequently
“accompanied by anti-Semitic harassment, intimidation and bullying,” Mr.
Kenney said, and are at times planned and promoted with disregard for
the safety of Jewish students, professors and others on campus.

“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,” he said. Repeatedly singling out and
condemning Israel year after year creates 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.”

At a
Canadian Jewish Poli... >>>