Monday, December 02, 2013

Elizabeth May Disinvited To Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) Fundraiser

This story has been churning for a week now.  The CJPME disinvite tells it succinctly enough.  For me the most important bit is:

May had accepted CJPME’s invitation to speak at its fundraiser earlier in the fall, and had not indicated any discomfort with CJPME’s policy focus on upholding international law in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Nevertheless, the Jewish Tribune article published November 19 – following an interview with May – quoted her as stating that CJPME maintained an “anti-Israel stance” that she wanted to distance herself from. CJPME immediately contacted May and asked her to correct the article if it misrepresented her stances. In response, May issued a statement on the Green Party website November 27th denying, among other things, that she had called CJPME “anti-Israel.” Nevertheless, two days later the Jewish Tribune published the full transcript and audio recording of the interview, which reveals that May’s “correction” was actually false.

The transcipt and audio in The Jewish Tribune can be found here.  My first and second impressions are that the Trib and CJPME desscribe the situation correctly.  May trashed CPJME in her original interview, then claimed she didn't.  As for CPJME's stance re Israel, or at least the ones at issue,  I have no particular problem with an individual/group boycotting a nation's products as a means of forcing them to alter their behavior, or even an individual/group's pressing their government to enact such a boycott.  And as for the CJPME's  "Disappearing Palestine" ad, well its tough talk, but the Trib is B'nai Brith's paper, and BB has in the past put out stuff that is far more inflammatory.


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