Far from being “a celebration of community,” the event, as its title indicates, is a march in support of Israel, a country facing charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice, and whose leaders are presently evading arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Dear Calgary Herald,
I am writing to you to express my concern with Kenn Oliver’s article “’We’re not facing it alone’ Record crowd joins Toronto Walk with Israel as antisemitism surges.” This article misrepresents the event and those who protest it, and sadly promotes antisemitism.
Far from being “a celebration of community,” the event, as its title indicates, is a march in support of Israel, a country facing charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice, and whose leaders are presently evading arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Protesters are described as “anti-Israel and anti-Jewish.” A cursory glance at the photograph you published reveals that many of those protesting are Jewish, and the protests targeted Israeli genocide in Gaza and the recent missile and bombing attacks on Iran.
Finally, the piece uncritically recounts organizers’ assertions that “the tiny few ‘Jews’ who don’t stand with Israel and are not Zionist aren’t even a ‘fringe’ minority. They are totally non-existent.” This statement conflates all Jews with the Zionist political project of ethnic nationalism, and assumes that therefore, all Jews are supporters of genocide. This is in fact a classic antisemitic argument that would make all Jews responsible for the criminal actions of the Israeli state.
Sincerely
Tim McCaskell