Letter To The Calgary Herald

 

Calgary Herald (Leah Hennel)
Calgary Herald (Leah Hennel)

Dear Calgary Herald,

I was uncertain if your first article regarding the attack on the Pro-Israel supporters at the pro palestinian rally was an anomaly born out of ignorance or suggestive of actual bias. I was incredibly disturbed at the language you used in your first article, especially the rhetoric about “both sides,” while at the same time suggesting that a group consisting of 10 people would pick a fight with 600 and somehow were equally culpable for the attack.

You see,  I do not entirely blame the police – even though they didn’t effectively do their job which is keeping the peace – because they rightfully assumed that in Canada, people respect each others rights. I think that they dropped the ball but the final culpability in the end, goes directly on the people who committed the violence, not those who didn’t believe people would act like that in Canada.

Your initial report was absolutely ridiculous, you confer blame on the victims, suggesting that they were responsible for the actions of the people who attacked them. However you ignored key facts which showed your entire “report” to have been rather pathetic.

  1. The Pro Israel group was accosted almost immediately by the “peaceful” pro palestinan crowd who screamed at them and assaulted them (yes ripping someones possessions out of their hands is assault by the way IN CANADA). They didn’t even have time to incite anyone.
  2. The Pro Israel group has every right to walk unmolested on the streets in Canada wearing whatever they like. If you don’t believe me, Google ‘Charter of rights and freedoms.’ You are a Canadian, you should know better than to help erode those freedoms that were fought for and earned so dearly.
  3. Regarding 2 weeks ago, it was not a fight. It was an attack, conducted by a large group against a small group of people. The language you used not only marginalized what happened but was incredibly misleading. To suggest that there was in any way a moral equivalence is disgusting. A group of people viciously attacked a group of people, and instead of condemning it, you basically condoned it. We are extremely lucky that nobody was killed. You quoted Saina Jamal as saying that ” it was just 5 minutes of a 3 hour protest” and you gave her a platform to give her crocodile tears apology, yet you neglected to mention this gem of a quote from Saina, which was easily found a few hours after the attack: “bahahah they won’t be coming to any of our protests again any time soon.” Which sounds less remorseful than the quotes you chose to use. We refuse her apology, unless it includes the names of those who conducted the attack, which is something that we know they know. We saw several of the attackers last night.
  4. If you had bothered to do any real research, you would have known that the week before, I was there by myself, wearing an IDF T-shirt, a blue and white keffiyeh and carrying an Israeli flag. For most of the protest, I spoke quietly to some Muslim girls about indigenous rights and the conflict and history of the region, but near the end, several groups of younger men and some older ones came and started harassing me. At one point, one group swarmed me and tried to take my flag. I was not “inciting” anyone. I was there showing my support for the world’s first modern indigenous state, something that as an indigenous person, I find to be imperative. So no, there was no “history of incitement. If you had bothered to actually come over to our side last night and speak to me, you would have also found that Ala Hamdan, who you quoted, neglected to tell you that the “event” that we “disrupted” was a debate at which a pro palestinian approached me and said ” I am sorry the Nazis missed some of your family.” Because he mistakenly thought I was a Jew. By “disrupted” she meant that I laughed out loud and told them that when you have people like Jordan Duke supporting you, you know your cause is immoral. They “apologized” to me, saying “Sorry, he didn’t know you weren’t Jewish.” Thinking perhaps that it would be OK to say something like to a Jew, but not to an Indian? That’s the mindset we are dealing with here.

Your coverage of last night’s protest was, however, the icing on the cake. Not only did you exclusively quote one side while ignoring the other, your obvious bias is now confirmed. There will be charges laid and no police spokesperson I have spoken to has said that the pro Israelis did anything they could be charged with. That assertion in your “story” was profoundly idiotic and extremely misleading.

I didn’t see either of you take the short walk across the street to speak to any of us. Had you done so, you would not have seen any hate filled signs being shown, like were being shown by the “pro palestinians”-  such as ” Don’t do to us what Hitler did to you” and my personal favorite “Zionism is Naziism.” Frankly, your coverage of this story has led me to decide not to read your paper anymore.

Canadians are not stupid people. The facts here speak louder than your biased interpretation of them, and I believe that the truth always comes out in the end.

Absolutely no regards,
Ryan Bellerose

5 thoughts on “Letter To The Calgary Herald”

    1. I followed the link; which moved me to write this email reply to Mr.Carlton.

      I copied it to the Australian Press Council and every Australian newspaper I could find an email address for, and to the Australian Jewish News on their Facebook page. I will be reaching out to three bloggers at The Age if they have Facebook pages that will allow allow me to post. Like everything else I write it is twelve times too long. No matter where I go; there I am.

      J’Accuse

      Dear Mr. Carlton,

      My attention was drawn to your July 16th 2014 editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald by a comment on a blog post; and I thought it worth my time to examine it to see if you were articulating a well reasoned analysis, supported by evidence, meant to inform; or a propagandist screed meant to incite.

      Herewith my take on your editorial:

      The headline is an ad hominem attack using “pejorative labeling” (rank and rotten fascism.) Who, besides you, is making this accusation? Omitting the the Who (from the fundamental tenets of journalism is simply poor tradecraft.

      The first paragraph (lede) is a classic “bloody shirt” narrative which relies on “glittering generalities.” After all, who (but Hamas; who engineered these images as a weapon in the information war) could be in favor of such very real suffering.

      The second paragraph contains the following “cherry picked” (aka “hasty generalization” logical fallacy) factoid: “It has attacked schools, mosques and hospitals.” I offer for your consideration these links

      http://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/press-releases/unrwa-strongly-condemns-placement-rockets-school
      http://www.timesofisrael.com/for-second-time-rockets-found-at-un-school-in-gaza/
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8OBJWcGh8cc (2009)
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4GpIeTmhuk&feature=youtu.be (2014)
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM1F9oP80kc (Wafa Hospital)

      You write: “There are desperate shortages of food and water, of medical and surgical supplies.” Why then, are precious rescources, such as ambulances, used to transport un-injured combatants?

      Gaza terrorists in ambulance getaway
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4ZLe8YceHo

      Why is it that Abbas refused blood from Israeli donors?
      http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/07/15/palestinians-reject-blood-donations-from-israel/

      The next paragraph relies on a “testimonial” from a rather dubious source. “Dr Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian surgeon”. He was one of the principle actors in a staged atrocity video. Invoking the halo effect of his title is a nice touch.
      http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2162940/posts

      You write: “The onslaught is indiscriminate and unrelenting, with but one possible conclusion: Israel is not fighting the terrorists of Hamas. In defiance of the laws of war and the norms of civilised behaviour, it is waging its own war of terror on the entire Gaza population of about 1.7 million people. Call it genocide, call it ethnic cleansing: the aim is to kill Arabs.”

      You provide no evidence for “indiscriminate”. Please review this video.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE7ykidY7FA

      The next paragraph uses another “testimonial”; this time from Malcolm Fraser “If any other country went to war killing as many civilians, women and children, it would be named a war crime.”

      Would you care to contextualize this comment in light of the below?
      http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/courses/ww2/projects/firebombing/websitedresden1.htm
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Hamburg_in_World_War_II
      http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/courses/ww2/projects/firebombing/websitetokyo1.htm
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_raids_on_Japan#Firebombing_attacks
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Menu

      The opening sentence of the next paragraph concedes he undeniable fact that Hamas is engaged in “grave war crimes. Presumably tomorrow, the sun will also rise in the East and set in the West. It then proceeds to the “non sequitur” that Israel’s successful defense of its population from these “grave war crimes” bears any relationship whatsoever; to Hamas’ use of its civilian hostages as human shields.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTArVIHDelg

      This immediately descends into Holocaust inversion; universally recognized as an antisemitic slur.
      http://jcpa.org/article/holocaust-inversion-the-portraying-of-israel-and-jews-as-nazis/
      Not to worry; some of my best friends are antisemites. The rest of the paragraph is a hodge podge of “ad hominem” attacks on the Israeli Prime Minister created entirely out of “pejorative labels” culminating with the “‘fascism'” label with which you began. I am hardly surprised that you do not name the “one observer” for the “testimonial” in this paragraph.

      For the extra effect of repetition (“big lie technique”) you repeat this as the lead-off to the next paragraph (bonus points for the capital ‘F’)

      The next “testimonial” is from Bob Carr. His antisemitic proclivities are well known.

      http://cifwatch.com/2014/04/09/does-the-guardian-object-to-bob-carrs-antisemitic-insinuation/

      His assertions about the pernicious effects of “Jewish Money”on Australian politics is a commonplace among commentators claiming a progressive orientation.
      http://www.european-forum-on-antisemitism.org/working-definition-of-antisemitism/english/ (a sub set of bullet point 2)

      The next “testimonial” is from Ha’aretz correspondent Gideon Levy. I see that you take great pains to establish his “Jewish, Child of Holocaust Survivor” credentials to burnish his puissance. Because Ha’artetz is the mostly widely quoted Israeli newspaper (outside of Israel) it may surprise you to learn that it is a marginal publication whose circulation is dwarfed by several individual dailies in a newspaper environment which includes 15 dailies, four weeklies and numerous on-line publications.

      Gideon Levy, himself, is quite a piece of work. Review an of the items which mention him by name in the sub-links below
      http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=6&x_journo=379

      The next paragraph “Israeli propaganda is subtle and skillfully put. “If Israel were to lay down its arms tomorrow, she would be destroyed; but if Hamas were to lay down their arms, there would be peace,” goes the line, parroted endlessly.” is cherce. It begins with your antisemitic trope of the demonically subtle and skillful propagandist Jew; and then quotes the truism about the contrasts between Israel and Hamas; in an attempt to rebut it, This is another “ad hominem” created from “pejorative labels.” Such a deceit is only plausible to someone who has never read the Hamas Covenant.
      http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp

      “But in all these long and agonizing decades, Israel has never offered the Palestinians a just and equitable peace.”
      Except for paragraph 17 of the Declaration of the Jewish State
      http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/israel.asp

      the Oslo Accords
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oslo_Accords
      And the fact that Israel completely with drew from Gaza in 2005. It is a historical inversion to assert that the various restrictions placed on Gaza occurred before Hamas’s terror attacks on Israel rather than as a consequence of them.

      The second or “al-Aksa” Intifada was planned, in advance, by Yassir Arafat when he realized that actually making peace with Israel l would leave him exposed to accusation that he had “betrayed the Palestinian Cause”. His widow Suha explained it all in a 2012 Interview on Dubai-TV
      http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Suha-Arafat-admits-husband-premeditated-Intifada

      And what is that noble cause? it is laid out in detail in the a Palestinian National Charter
      http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/plocov.asp

      Article 8:
      The phase in their history, through which the Palestinian people are now living, is that of national (watani) struggle for the liberation of Palestine. Thus the conflicts among the Palestinian national forces are secondary, and should be ended for the sake of the basic conflict that exists between the forces of Zionism and of imperialism on the one hand, and the Palestinian Arab people on the other. On this basis the Palestinian masses, regardless of whether they are residing in the national homeland or in diaspora (mahajir) constitute – both their organizations and the individuals – one national front working for the retrieval of Palestine and its liberation through armed struggle.

      In brief, the extirpation of the Jewish state through armed struggle.

      The penultimate paragraph returns to the use of a “testimonial”; this time from PLO spokesperson Hanan Ashrawi. A renowned propagandist who makes an emotional case in a rapid-fire, filibuster style of expression that flouts historical fact and present reality.
      http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_article=191&x_context=8

      This, at long last, brings us to the tag line of your piece.”That is why the killing and the dying goes on. Ad nauseam, ad infinitum. And the rest of the world, not caring, looks away.”

      No, Mr. Carlton what the rest of the world cares not a fig about and looks away from are these examples of brutality, oppression and persecution.

      The 150,000 – 170,000 dead in Syria
      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/19/syria-war-death-toll_n_5353021.html

      The reduction by starvation of the Palestinian ghetto in Yarmouk Syria by Assad, abetted by Hezbollah
      http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/01/starving-death-syria-yarmouk-camp-201412974852695717.html

      The 193,000 dead in Iraq
      https://www.iraqbodycount.org/

      The snuff film selfies of ISIS
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaVqrN5jcTU
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q6ye_YBxKE

      The violent ethnic cleansing of 40,000 Palestinians by the Kuwaitis
      http://tinyurl.com/Kuwait-Ethnic-Cleansing

      The apartheid restriction on Palestinians in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinians_in_Lebanon
      http://www.minorityrights.org/4945/jordan/palestinians.html#sthash.EOhySgzo.dpuf
      http://rsq.oxfordjournals.org/content/28/2-3/531.short

      The genocide in Darfur
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Darfur

      The military occupations of Cyprus, Kashmir and Tibet
      http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3866/occupied-territories-cyprus-kashmir-tibet

      The depredations of Boko Haram (whose name literally means the study of anything besides the Qur’an is forbidden)
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Boko_Haram_attacks_in_Nigeria

      Mr. Carlton, Australia is renowned as the home of the largest number and kind of poisonous animals. You, sir, exceed them all

      E benAbuya

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