Sunday, October 31

THE RESURECTION OF McCARTHYISM IN CANADA







A TIME TO SPEAK OUT

DAY OF ACTION TO 

DEFEND FREE SPEECH
ON NOVEMBER 8

FREE SPEECH UNDER ATTACK

The Harper government is
sponsoring a conference 
of the 
'Inter-Parliamentary Coalition 
to Combat Anti-Semitism' (ICCA)
- the CPCCA's international
counterpart - in Ottawa on
November 8 and 9.
The CPCCA and ICCA have an
agenda to attack free speech
and to silence legitimate 
criticism of Israel by falsely 
conflating this with anti-Semitism.
Independent Jewish Voices is deeply 
concerned about the threat to free
speech and civil liberties posed by
the Canadian Parliamentary 
Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism'
(CPCCA). It is legitimate and 
ethically necessary for Canadians 
of conscience to criticize Israeli 
human rights abuses and to
support non-violent remedies.
A NEW MCCARTHYISM

The Harper government has 

already slashed funding to
NGOs that dared to express 
support for Palestinian rights, 
brutally attacked and abused
G20 demonstrators, 
barred British MP George 
Galloway from entering 
Canada because of his aid 
to the people of Gaza, and
attacked CUPE, CUPW, and 
Israeli Apartheid Week 
activities. 
The list doesn't end there.
The CPCCA, with Minister of Censorship 
and Deportation Jason Kenney as one of 
its driving forces, aims to entrench these 
attacks on free speech in the federal 
parliament.
The CPCCA held hearings this past 
year to try to paint a veneer of 
credibility on its transparent 
to attack free speech in Canada. 
It ignored many critical submissions, 
including those from Independent 
Jewish Voices. Even the CPCCA
witnesses from Canadian universities
and the police confirmed that
there is no rise in anti-Semitism and 

called on the CPCCA to
respect free speech.
The ICCA conference is intended to 
distract from this embarrassing result. 
At a cost of over $451,280 in federal 
funds, the ICCA conference is closed
to the public and the media, and makes
no pretence of unbiased research.
STAND UP, FIGHT BACK

1. Raise your voices for a day of action for

free speech on Monday, November 8.
Organize locally - get in touch with the 
nearest IJV chapter, human rights groups, 
free speech advocates and Palestine 
solidarity coalitions. Local events for
the day of action could include press
conferences, protests, teach-ins, or
other creative ideas to build the 
movement to defend free speech.  
IJV will release a 10 minute video 
on Nov. 8, which will be posted on
YouTube and the IJV web site. 
Feel free to use it in your events.
Please let us know what actions you've taken:
  Contact  Independent Jewish Voices 
at ijv@magma.ca
2. Contact your MP and the federal party
leaders and demand they reject any
attempts to silence or criminalize legitimate 

criticism of Israel, and to stand
up for the principle of free speech in Canada.
www.webinfo.parl.gc.ca


3.  Contact university presidents and 
human rights offices in your city and
ask them also to issue a statement 
affirming the right of students and
faculty to free speech.

4. Sign our anti-CPCCA at 
 http://ijvcanada.org/sign-signez-petition-cpcca-hearings/ which will be released
to the press and all MPs on Nov. 8.

5. Send a photo to ijv@magma.ca of yourself
holding an anti-CPCCA sign 
(perhaps with duct tape over your mouth)
or a sign saying "I support free speech."  
We will post it on line with a title 
"The is what Democracy looks like."

6. Donate to IJV to help fund our 
campaign for free speech:
Please send donations to IJV, 
P.O. Box 23088, 
Ottawa, Ontario K2A 4E2.

For more information visit

Independent Jewish Voices 
at www.ijvcanada.org 
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