SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper stands "in lockstep" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo: Stephen Harper/cc/flickr)
The Canadian government is threatening to charge those participating in boycotts of Israel with a hate crime, CBC revealed on Monday.
The information came following an attempt by the news agency to obtain clarification on statements made by federal ministers about a "zero tolerance" approach to supporters of the international Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) movement protesting Israeli apartheid and occupation of Palestinian land.
In response to the query, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, who is in charge of federal law enforcement, sent reporters "a detailed list of Canada's updated hate laws, noting that Canada has one of the most comprehensive sets of such laws 'anywhere in the world.'"
"Such a move could target a range of civil society organizations, from the United Church of Canada and the Canadian Quakers to campus protest groups and labour unions," CBC reports. "If carried out, it would be a remarkably aggressive tactic, and another measure of the Conservative government's lockstep support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."
The government under Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged "steadfast" support for Israel and last year amended the Criminal Code definition for hate speech to include "national origin" as well as race and religion. This, according to Micheal Vonn, an attorney with the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, allows the government to use hate crime laws as "a tool to go after critics of Israel."
And Tyler Levitan, a spokesman for the group Independent Jewish Voices, which supports BDS in Canada, agreed, telling CBC that the hate speech policy change is an attempt by the Harper government to silence dissent: "This is about trying to scare people."
As journalist Glenn Greenwald noted in a blog post on Monday, the Canadian government's suppression of anti-Israeli sentiment directly contradicts Harper's alleged support for free speech following the January 2015 terrorist attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
"When the views being suppressed are ones amenable to those in power (e.g., cartoons mocking Islam), free speech is venerated," Greenwald writes. "But when ideas are advocated that upset those in power (e.g. speech by Muslims critical of western nations and their allies), the very same people acquiesce to, or expressly endorse, full-scale suppression."
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The Canadian government is threatening to charge those participating in boycotts of Israel with a hate crime, CBC revealed on Monday.
The information came following an attempt by the news agency to obtain clarification on statements made by federal ministers about a "zero tolerance" approach to supporters of the international Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) movement protesting Israeli apartheid and occupation of Palestinian land.
In response to the query, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, who is in charge of federal law enforcement, sent reporters "a detailed list of Canada's updated hate laws, noting that Canada has one of the most comprehensive sets of such laws 'anywhere in the world.'"
"Such a move could target a range of civil society organizations, from the United Church of Canada and the Canadian Quakers to campus protest groups and labour unions," CBC reports. "If carried out, it would be a remarkably aggressive tactic, and another measure of the Conservative government's lockstep support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."
The government under Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged "steadfast" support for Israel and last year amended the Criminal Code definition for hate speech to include "national origin" as well as race and religion. This, according to Micheal Vonn, an attorney with the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, allows the government to use hate crime laws as "a tool to go after critics of Israel."
And Tyler Levitan, a spokesman for the group Independent Jewish Voices, which supports BDS in Canada, agreed, telling CBC that the hate speech policy change is an attempt by the Harper government to silence dissent: "This is about trying to scare people."
As journalist Glenn Greenwald noted in a blog post on Monday, the Canadian government's suppression of anti-Israeli sentiment directly contradicts Harper's alleged support for free speech following the January 2015 terrorist attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
"When the views being suppressed are ones amenable to those in power (e.g., cartoons mocking Islam), free speech is venerated," Greenwald writes. "But when ideas are advocated that upset those in power (e.g. speech by Muslims critical of western nations and their allies), the very same people acquiesce to, or expressly endorse, full-scale suppression."
The Canadian government is threatening to charge those participating in boycotts of Israel with a hate crime, CBC revealed on Monday.
The information came following an attempt by the news agency to obtain clarification on statements made by federal ministers about a "zero tolerance" approach to supporters of the international Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) movement protesting Israeli apartheid and occupation of Palestinian land.
In response to the query, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, who is in charge of federal law enforcement, sent reporters "a detailed list of Canada's updated hate laws, noting that Canada has one of the most comprehensive sets of such laws 'anywhere in the world.'"
"Such a move could target a range of civil society organizations, from the United Church of Canada and the Canadian Quakers to campus protest groups and labour unions," CBC reports. "If carried out, it would be a remarkably aggressive tactic, and another measure of the Conservative government's lockstep support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."
The government under Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged "steadfast" support for Israel and last year amended the Criminal Code definition for hate speech to include "national origin" as well as race and religion. This, according to Micheal Vonn, an attorney with the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, allows the government to use hate crime laws as "a tool to go after critics of Israel."
And Tyler Levitan, a spokesman for the group Independent Jewish Voices, which supports BDS in Canada, agreed, telling CBC that the hate speech policy change is an attempt by the Harper government to silence dissent: "This is about trying to scare people."
As journalist Glenn Greenwald noted in a blog post on Monday, the Canadian government's suppression of anti-Israeli sentiment directly contradicts Harper's alleged support for free speech following the January 2015 terrorist attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
"When the views being suppressed are ones amenable to those in power (e.g., cartoons mocking Islam), free speech is venerated," Greenwald writes. "But when ideas are advocated that upset those in power (e.g. speech by Muslims critical of western nations and their allies), the very same people acquiesce to, or expressly endorse, full-scale suppression."