Israel, Palestine, and… Montreal?!

Cross-posted to Jewschool.

One of the many frustrations I have when it comes to Israel is the whole settlement situation. It is illegal to start a new settlement in Israel. Every week, new settlements are started, and the government allows the majority to remain. It’s illegal, but the government doesn’t stop it. Huh. Israeli law, international law, the Geneva Convention, and Oslo are often sited in support of stopping, and removing, the settlements. But, still, Israel does not move on it. In fact, we often hear that the Israeli government is building houses in the territories, er East Jerusalem. (Because if you call it Jerusalem, the media’s less likely to call out the illegality of it.)

But what happens when the legalities play out elsewhere? Like in the Superior Court in Montreal?

[T]he gist of the case is the assertion that Israel is violating the 4th Geneva Convention, which prohibits a state from transferring its population into territories it occupies. Canada has incorporated that provision into its domestic law and it applies to Green Park and Green Mount. … [T]he lands in question are under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Bil’in and are part of Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

And what’s the case against Green Park and Green Mount?

Green Park International and Green Mount International, acting as agents of the government of Israel, are violating a host of international laws that govern conflicts, as well as Quebec’s Charter of Rights.

Also being sued is Annette Laroche, sole director and officer of the two corporations. Two million dollars in punitive damages are sought, as well as an order to cease construction.

The court documents allege the defendants, “on their own behalf and as de facto agents of the State of Israel, are… aiding, abetting and assisting and conspiring with the State of Israel in carrying out an illegal purpose.” [Full article.]

This case will be complicated, certainly. Israel has thus far refused to try cases on the grounds of jurisdiction, but will Quebec? As Green Park and Green Mount are both Quebec-based companies, they have to abide by Quebecois, Canadian, and international law; it seems clear that they’re not.

I’d like to see this case go through the system. If the plaintiffs win, it would set precedent for other Palestinian towns to file similar legal cases. And could possibly also deter international (ie, not Israeli) companies from supporting (building or funding) the illegal settlements. I mean, could you imagine how great it would be if Palestinians actually had a legal way to sue American Jews who buy homes in the territories (er, “Jerusalem”) sight unseen (such as the new Nof Zion community)? Will Quebec be an open enough venue for a case like this, with such strong opinions on both/all sides, especially in light of the Bouchard-Taylor Commission’s findings?

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In other, only vaguely related news, a bank in Canada is being sued by Canadians who live in Israel. They claim this bank, Lebanese Canadian Bank (somehow related to Royal Bank of Canada, which isn’t being sued), knowingly dealt with Hezbollah. And Hezbollah’s to blame for the Lebanese war in 2006, during which the plaintiffs’ homes were damaged/destroyed. I’m not sure how this will play out. [Full article.]

(Is there something in the water, Montreal?)

Yes, those are muppets (Judge Gavel Doozer from “Fraggle Rock;” muggaphone player and Judge Marvin Suggs from “The Muppet Show”). Why not?)

Pickles and Poutine

Motzei Shabbos I was exhausted, and planned to trek home to sleep. Instead, I was convinced to make an appearance at a friend’s going away party. He’s a good enough friend to not mind me saying that I was won over by the promise of deep-fried pickles. Seriously. To say I was intrigued would be a gross understatement. So after we separated Shabbos from chol, welcomed the new week, we walked over to Dive Bar.

We were pleasantly surprised by the numerous vegetarian offerings to be found on the menu. Then, while debating between a veggie burger and beer chaser for the deep-fried pickles, or just a beer, my friend spotted it: poutine.

A well known Quebecois comfort food: A heap of Dive Bar Fries studded with farm fresh cheddar curd cheese that melts under hot, thick gravy! Tremendously satisfying. Goes well with a cold beer! Vegetarian gravy available.

The menu said everything it had to. We ordered a side of poutine for our pickles.

The pickles were good, but not great. I’m not a huge fan of salt (the flavour that is; I certainly am a fan of its chemical reaction in cooking and baking), but even I was giving the salt shaker a work out. They were lightly beer battered then fried. The pickles were still crunchy on the inside, while the batter was golden brown. I’d order them again, but maybe from another establishment (you know, in hopes of finding a better purveyor).

And then the poutine. Oh, the poutine. It was not poutine. It was possibly passible as disco fries. Maybe. The gravy was clearly from a vegetarian gravy mix; I could recognize and taste the dehydrated peppers, onions, and celery in the sauce. And the gravy was under the fries, not spooned over the whole dish to help in the cheese melting process. But no worries - the cheese was melted in an oven (gah!) or under the heat lamps (oy!) so it didn’t need the gravy’s assistance. And the cheese. Certainly not cheese curds. Probably not of the cheddar variety either. (We guessed it was mozzarella.) So entirely disappointing. Lacking the necessary components, it had no hope of tasting good, let alone tasting like real poutine. They should not be allowed to call it poutine on the menu. I feel quite strongly about this. I mean, what if some unsuspecting New Yorker ate this alleged poutine, not understanding the dish to be an imposter, and then never sought out the real goodness in Quebec? Tragedy. (The above picture is what poutine should look like. Saturday night’s poutine was nothing at all like this yummy concoction.)

In honour of the lack of squeaky cheese (cheese curds squeak, when you bite them, oh yes), I revive danse la poutine:

More DMCA Crap

Following up, and making sure you’ve written to your MP.

Because this isn’t over.

• Canadian Industry Minister lies about his Canadian DMCA on national radio, then hangs up: CBC Radio’s Search Engine just posted/aired its interview with Canadian Industry Minister Jim Prentice about his Canadian version of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Before hanging up on interviewer (and my cousin) Jesse Brown, Prentice “lies, dodges, weaves and ducks around plain, simple questions like, “If the guy at my corner shop unlocks my phone, is he breaking the law?” and “If my grandfather breaks the DRM on his jazz CDs to put them on his iPod, does that break the law?” and the biggie, “All the ‘freedoms’ your law guarantees us can be overriden by DRM, right?” (Prentice’s answer to this last one, “The market will take care of it,” is absolutely priceless.)” [This link includes the MP3 to Search Engine, in case you're not already listening to the podcast.]
• Canadian DMCA will criminalize emailing your kids’ class photos to their grandparents: “Did you email your grandmother a photo of your kids’ kindergarten photos? Call her up and tell her that you won’t be able to do it again with the grade one pics next year unless she calls up her MP and puts him on notice that he’d better oppose the CDMCA or lose her vote. Did your brother back up his DVDs to his laptop when he went away to university? Call him now and let him know that he’ll be a criminal next year unless he calls and writes to his MP and lets her know what he thinks of Bill C-61.”
• Canadian Parliament shoutfest over the Canadian DMCA:
  

To borrow a term/pronunciation from a friend, this is total bullshis. Stop Prentice!

Canada Needs Your Help NOW!

Meanwhile, in Canada, there’s a storm brewing, and it’s going to get ugly. I urge all Canadians who read this to contact their MPs regarding changes to the Canadian DMCA, Industry Minister Jim Prentice’s no-consultation copyright law.

• Canadian DMCA is worse than the American one: The Canadian DMCA allows every single exception to copyright to be eliminated by adding DRM: whatever the law allows you to do, a corporation can take away, just by using DRM to prevent you from doing it. Breaking DRM is illegal, unless you fit into a tiny, narrow, useless exception for security research. It used to be that Parliament got to write copyright law. Now, it’s Hollywood companies, who get to overrule Parliamentary law with whatever “business rules” they put in their DRM.
• PSA Video on Canada’s new copyright bill, C-61
• Comic book explains the fight over the Canadian DMCA: Canadian copyfightin’ law prof Michael Geist sez, “Gordon Duggan of Appropriation Art has created a remarkable comic book [PDF - 2.8 MB] chronicling the recent battle over Canadian copyright reform. The book includes over 100 links to websites, articles, and other resources as every quote or reference is hyperlinked. It concludes with references to groups actively involved in copyright issues and suggestions for how to get active. This left me absolutely speechless.”
• How Canada’s DMCA will criminalize everyday Canadians: I’ve been hearing from Boing Boing readers who’ve written to the government to protest the bill, and the government line is “We’re not taking away rights, we’re giving them to the public! We’re making it legal to rip CDs and make other personal copies!” (Indeed, Prentice sent a letter to the Toronto Star that says just this). This isn’t mere disingenuousness: it’s a flat-out lie. Yes, the bill will legalize ripping your CDs, so long as there’s no DRM on them, and so long as the EULA doesn’t forbid it. The Canadian DMCA says to rightsholders, “There are no exceptions to copyright law, except the ones you permit. If you want to prohibit a use that Parliament has protected, go right ahead! Just add some DRM or stick it in the EULA, and whatever you say will become the law of the land.”
• Talking points for Canadians speaking to their MPs about the Canadian DMCA: This bill is bad for Canadians for a number of reasons…

Please write/call/email your MP NOW! If the bill passes, our copyright laws will go from decent to worse-than-America’s, with the goal being to strip Canadians of rights will empowering Hollywood. Let’s do something about it. Now.

[Much thanks to BoingBoing, from whom I blatantly copied for this post.]

Numbers

I was recently asked why I’m here in New York. Why I wasn’t looking for Jew-y stuff in Canada. And, exaggerating to make my point, I said, “There are more Jews on the Upper West Side than in all of Canada!”

I thought I should actually do the math, see how greatly I exaggerated. According to the 2001 Census, there are 329,995 Jews in Canada. Based on the 2000 US Census, there are 318,640 Jews in Manhattan alone. My exaggeration wasn’t as hyperbolic as I’d hoped it was.

Other tidbits to file away… There are 1.6million Jews in NY, total of 5.28million in the US; 5.3million in Israel. The Jewish population of both the US and Israel is roughly the same at 40.3% and 40.6%, respectively, as a share of the world’s total Jewish population. (The Jewish population in the world is approximately 12-13million.)

Vancouver Pics

The Vancouver photos!

Canada and Israel, x2

The government of Israel is partnering with Jewish community organizations in Toronto to improve Israel’s image and to get Canadians thinking of the country outside “the narrow prism of the Arab-Israeli conflict.”

Ido Aharoni, founder of the ministry’s Brand Israel concept said the ministry has conducted market research over the past few years that showed “Israel is viewed solely through the narrow prism of the Arab-Israeli conflict… Israel’s personality is 90 per cent dominated by conflict-related images and some religious connotations,” he said. “Those of us who know the brand intimately are disturbed by the divergence of brand and the perception.”

Federation spokesperson Howard English said his organization and other federated communities across the country are committed to supporting the branding initiative and mobilizing the Jewish community behind the effort. [source]

From my temporary station in the US, I heard the same spin coming from an AIPAC sponsored-speaker this weekend. Yes, there’s war, the speaker acknowledged, but why aren’t we praising Israel’s contribution to technology, alternative power sources, and films? (”Such a small fraction of a percentage of the world speaks our language, but yet our films win awards at all of the film festivals! Everyone should be seeing our films!”) Why is this the wrong approach? Why does this idea of rebranding, marketing Israel as “more than violence!” irk me? Because Israel’s military policies and human rights abuses should not be ignored just because some Israelis are also really good at developing computer chips. If anything, as the Jewish nation, Israel should be held to higher standards than secular nations, or nations of other religions.

And what about the other issue: not all Jews share the same views (ideologically, politically, religiously) of Israel. And yet Federations are supposed to (at least in theory), represent and support all Jews. If Canada’s Federations follow suit, as English suggests, won’t we just continue to further alienate those among us who already feel out of place in our communities? Any time a national organisation, or network of organisations, makes a statement saying “All of Us will do X, Y, and Z,” it makes me nervous - and makes me realise just how far removed those organisations are from the communities and people they’re supposed to be serving.

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First Canada signs with the US, now with Israel? What the heck is going on, Harper?! And what could these “common threats” be?

In a statement released by Canada’s Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Day said the declaration would help both countries address “common threats” to national security.

“Today’s declaration demonstrates the longstanding co-operation between Canada and Israel on public safety issues, and we welcome this increased co-operation in order to improve our countries’ capacity to protect our citizens,” Day said.

Among the items listed in the declaration, the two governments stated their intent to co-operate in the areas of border management and security; correctional services and prisons; illegal immigration; money laundering; organized crime; terrorist financing and trafficking in persons.

The document also outlines both countries’ desire to set up “clear lines of communication and points of contact” between them; to “identify and share public safety concerns on the basis of threats, risk assessments, priorities, vulnerabilities, and consequences” and to “facilitate technical exchange co-operation, including education, training, and exercises,” among other objectives. [source]

Oh, I get it now… Canada and Israel have a common border and need to be worried about illegal immigrants crossing it. No, wait, that can’t be it… Day, under Harper, is upping his Evangelical rhetoric and wants to ensure that the Jews who run the banks don’t take over the Canadian Mint? Hrm, probably not… I know, Day’s afraid (again) that UNICEF money will go to impoverished Palestinian children again, making Canadian trick-or-treaters “terrorist funders”? No? Well, I’m outta ideas then.

Tune in next week, when Canada signs a “you scratch our backs, we’ll scratch yours” with China.

Québec, encore.

English translation will follow shortly (in the comments). I felt it important to write in French after being back in Quebec for a week… (With thanks to .)

[Cross-posted from Jewschool.]

Et les Montréalais ne vois rien de mal à leur perspective «orthodoxe est le seul judaïsme nous [ne] pratiquons [pas]»? Ceux qui me connaissent ont déjà entendu mon discours contre la communauté juive de Montréal. Les options sont orthodoxes, orthodoxes, ou conservadoxes. Oui, il y a une synagogue réforme classique à Westmount. Et, oui, il y a une synagogue reconstructioniste à Côte-St-Luc. Mais pour un homme shomer Shabbos vivant sur le côté est, ces deux options ne sont pas viables. Selon les statistiques, je les appris par coeur dans un cours universitaire, Montréal est la seule ville en Amérique du Nord ayant plus orthodoxe que conservateurs et réformateurs juifs (c’est-à-dire, il y a très peu de Juifs qui s’identifient réformateurs ou conservateurs, même ceux qui mangent leurs hamburgers avec fromage). Il s’agit d’une ville où le discours d’ouverture sur les premières pages de l’annuaire des entreprises juives a commencé par une blague contre les réformateurs - et personne n’a jugé inapproprié.

Donc, il je ne suis pas étonné quand je vois que les effets de la fermeture et l’insularité de la communauté orthodoxe ont fait des ravages sur la société québécoise.

Un sondage national mené à la suite de la commission sur les «accommodements raisonnables» révèle une disparité frappante entre les attitudes Québécois à l’égard des Juifs et celles des autres Canadiens. Le sondage commandé par l’Association d’études canadiennes (AEC) et effectué par Léger Marketing entre le 31 Janvier et 4 février a demandé à 1500 Canadiens s’ils étaient en accord avec, en désaccord avec, ou ne savaient pas/n’ont pas d’opinion sur une série de déclarations concernant les juifs et l’antisémitisme. Selon les résultats du sondage, 41% des Québécois étaient en accord, tandis qu’un autre 41% étaient en désaccord avec l’idée que «les Juifs veulent imposer leurs coutumes et leurs traditions aux autres». Par contre, face à cette même idée, le reste du Canada étaient en accord à 11%, et en désaccord à 74%. La moyenne nationale était de 19% d’accord et 64% en désaccord.

Quant à une autre déclaration - «les Juifs veulent participer pleinement à la société» – 41% des Québécois étaient en désaccord, et 31% étaient en accord, à comparer au reste du Canada qui a répondu en désaccord à 8% et en accord à 72%. La moyenne nationale était de 16% en désaccord et 63% en accord.

À l’idée «les juifs ont apporté une importante contribution à la société», 35% des Québécois étaient en désaccord et 41% étaient en accord, tandis qu’au reste du Canada 10% étaient en désaccord et 74% étaient en accord. La moyenne canadienne était de 16% en désaccord et 65% en accord. [citation.]

Ne vous méprenez pas: je suis attristé que, en l’an 2008, à la société civilisée du monde occidental, les gens peuvent toujours penser si à l’envers. Dans le cas du Québec, je pense que la responsabilité est double et de grands changements sont nécessaires.

Je pense que ces problèmes sont le résultat d’une province traditionnellement catholique, avec l’Église au centre - les écoles publiques étaient (et sont encore, sans doute) gérés par les conseils scolaires français catholiques. Mes parents, qui ont grandi tous les deux au Québec, ont de nombreuses histoires à raconter sur ce sujet. Soit de se faire battre le dimanche après-midi par les ados catholiques qui viennent aux quartiers juifs (histoire de s’amuser après la messe), soit de se faire taquiner et se faire demander de «montrer leurs cornes», où bien d’être obligés de rester dans les couloirs pendant les prières se faisaient à l’école. Même à mon quartier de l’est, moi aussi, j’était affronté à antisémitisme qui m’a stupéfié – je me suis fait aussi demander de «montrer mes cornes» et me fait appeler les noms racistes. Le résultat de cette histoire de tourments et d’ignorance continuelle, c’est que la population juive vit dans les communautés insulaires exclusives dans les quartiers spécifiques. Je suis sûr que cela crée, d’un certain degré, la protection contre la haine, mais elle crée aussi des problèmes. Les Québécois n’ont donc pas l’occasion de fréquenter les Juifs, d’apprendre à connaître les Juifs comme leurs voisins, et de témoigner qu’il n’y a rien de bizarre ou de sinistre en cours. (Cette situation est à comparer avec celle au reste du Canada où les Juifs vivent en quartiers plus mitigés et intégrés. Ces quartiers juifs au reste du Canada n’arrivent même pas d’atteindre le même taux de densité juive comme, par exemple, à Côte-St-Luc et à Hampstead (les arrondissements de Montréal), qui ont tous les deux un taux de densité de plus de 70% juive.)

Comment pouvons-nous s’avancer? La province devrait réexaminer le système scolaire qui ne semble pas parvenir à créer un environnement ouvert, divers, et qui comprend toute la société. Les hommes politiques doivent se résister au Parti Québécois et demander que ces idées xénophobes et racistes soient rejetées (le province de Québec est, et doit être, pour biens d’autres que les «québécois»; dont les anglophones Québécois, les immigrants et d’autres Canadiens, qui viennent y habiter. Tous ces groupes devraient être traités de façon égale). De cette façon, la notion d’«accommodements raisonnables» et ses débats seront une chose du passé, et le Québec cessera de tacher une nation autrement avant-gardiste.

Mais je pense également que la responsabilité revient à la communauté juive de tendre la main et de contribuer à l’instruction. La première fois que j’ai rencontré antisémitisme à Montréal je marchais vers le côté ouest, vers le shul le jour du Yom Kippour, il y a quelques années. Par coïncidence, un membre du Congrès juif canadien a donné une conférence sur l’antisémitisme entre les services du matin et l’après-midi. Il a remarqué comment les Juifs de Montréal sont mis à part. «Vous rappelez-vous la dernière fois que vous êtes allé jusqu’à la rue St-Laurent?» At-il demandé, «Ou bien la rue St-Denis!?» Son point de vue était que la communauté juive avait besoin d’assumer des responsabilités à «construire des ponts». Comme les Juifs ne se mélangent pas avec les Québécois, beaucoup de Québécois propagent l’antisémitisme purement parce qu’ils n’ont jamais rencontré un Juif. J’ai cité mes expériences avec l’antisémitisme au cours de la période de questions. Quand j’ai dit que j’habite à l’est de la rue St-Denis (le côté français de la ville), je me suis fait dire que devais déménager et que je n’aurais pas à faire face à la haine dans les quartiers juifs. Les ghettos juifs ne sont pas la solution, ils n’ont pas fonctionné jusqu’ici, comme vous pouvez voir, grâce aux débats sur l’accommodement raisonnable et les statistiques ci-dessus. Les juifs devraient reconnaître qu’il y a un côté est de la ville de Montréal et qu’il existe toute une province au delà de l’île de Montréal, où les gens peuvent, et doivent, passer toute leur vie sans rencontrer un Juif. Prendre des excursions avec votre famille et vos enfants vers les petites villes. Apprendre le français. Connaître mieux vos collègues de travail québécois.

Je suis fermement convaincu que les mauvaises attitudes du Québec peuvent se transformer. Néanmoins, il va falloir travailler, pardonner, et surtout éduquer chez les deux côtés afin d’améliorer les conditions de vie dans la belle Province.

Amazingness of the last few days

Amazingness of the last few days

Friends. I’m blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. And, though I’m glad I talked them out of it, it’s sweet that they volleyed around the idea of caging me in order to keep me near them.

Mile High Club. (Not that Mile High Club.) As the sun rose, I was somewhere over eastern Europe, or the Mediterranean. I noticed several black hatters standing in the aisle, reaching for their tefillin. I joined them. I got quite a few looks, but I think it was worth it. (It was suggested to me, before I left Israel, that davening on the plane/in the airport was important, so that folks could see alternatives to the black hatters’ orthodoxy.) It was also a nice bookend to the davening and shofar blowing in the airport on my way to Israel in the summer.

ICBC. Actually did something right! And easily! And quickly! They’re mailing me an extension on my driver’s license, so that it will remain valid until I get back to BC.

Swiss Air. Though they probably lost money on my flight from Zurich to Montreal, I’m thankful they didn’t cancel it. The plane was less than a quarter full - we each had a row to ourselves. Enough room to spread out, sprawl out for naps, and not care if the seats were fully reclined. I had a lovely conversation in Spanish, which pleased me as I really thought I’d forgotten that language. And then a French with a smattering of German conversation, comparing and contrasting women’s clothing/modesty in Judaism and Islam with a Catholic woman from Munich.

A fantastic welcome home from my parents and the friends I’m staying with.

SNOW! Landing in the snow was great. As we approached YUL, we were flying through the white clouds for twenty minutes. Once we descended from the clouds, the ground was white as far as I could see, which gave the illusion of still being in the clouds. It made for a trippy, but smooth, landing. Also, wearing crocs was great on the plane (comfy, easy to take off), but not such a great idea walking through the snow with my luggage from the car to the house. Wet crocs and toes! There are snow piles on every front lawn on this street - easily 3-3.5 metres tall. I’m in heaven.

Cuddles with the dog. Good talks. Many hugs. Good food. I’m happy to be back on this side of the pond.

And now, to sleep. Laila tov, bon soir, good night…

Our greatest ally?

Another incredibly stupid policy coming out of the US. It seems that Canadian luggage is screened twice:

The policy, developed after 9/11 and in place since 2003, requires all bags from flights coming from Canada to be screened at U.S. airports by the federally regulated Transportation Security Administration before they can be loaded onto connecting planes. This, despite having already been screened and precleared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stationed at Canada’s eight major airports. The airport in Shannon, Ireland, is the only other in the world with preclearance to the United States.”In essence, that bag that’s already been deemed safe … gets to the United States, is taken off the airplane, goes back inside the air terminal building, gets rescreened and resecured, and is then sent back out to the second airplane and loaded,” said Jim Facette, president and CEO of the Canadian Airports Council, which represents airports across the country.

“So two things are happening: The passenger is waiting a longer period of time than they need to because screening can take between 75 and 90 minutes, and the TSA is incurring a whole lot of costs. It’s unnecessary.”

Unnecessary, airports and airlines in both Canada and the United States maintain, because the screening technology and security procedures in place in both countries are virtually identical, and precleared passengers can’t access their checked bags between flights. [Source.]

There’s a waste of money happening, as increase in missed connections and lost luggage, and the US hasn’t been able to show any evidence that this practice is making any difference! Ridiculous.