Speech at Hands Off Jerusalem Rally

I was asked to speak on December 5, 2017 by the organizers of an emergency rally to protest the announcement of the intention to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Here is the text of my speech as well as the video from the event.

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I am a human rights activist. I am a Jewish person. I am a global citizen. But most of all I am someone who wants to see peace for all peoples of the world. The world became a more dangerous place this past week, and we cannot sit idly by.

The decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is nothing less than an act of war, a provocative move that will further destabilize the region and result in unnecessary and inhumane suffering.

It is a decision that is being criticized by people from all three Abrahamic faiths. This is no surprise since Jerusalem is an international city that is sacred to Muslims, Jews, and Christians in Israel, Palestine, and around the world. Resolution 476 of the United Nations Security Council says that altering the character and state of Jerusalem is a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and has no legal validity.

Such a move will only deepen the oppression of the Palestinian people by giving the Israeli government a clear signal that the US will continue to support and aid the immoral and illegal occupation of Palestine. It will do nothing to achieve a just and lasting peace in Palestine and Israel. Demonstrations have already been happening in the West Bank. Festive lights are being dimmed and seasonal celebrations are being cancelled in Bethlehem, which is the occupied West Bank town where, according to the Christian faith, Jesus was born.

Today is the United Nations' Human Rights Day. How appropriate that we gather here to protest how both Palestinians and Israelis – the majority of whom want peace for themselves and their children – are being used as political pawns. In Judaism, we have a value called Tikkun Olam, which means to heal or repair the world. We cannot support that which will further tear the world apart. In the name of a just and lasting peace, we must say no to the US embassy in Jerusalem, and an end to the occupation.

Of Sanctions and Sanity

On October 6, I was privileged to take part in an anti-war rally with my colleagues of the Edmonton Coalition Against War and Racism (ECAWAR). It was the International Day of Action entitled Hands Off Iran! Similar rallies across the country called for the Canadian government to end its current sanctions against Iran and not to go to war with that country.

ECAWAR expanded that mandate to also call for an end to sanctions against Syria and for Canadians to press for a true anti-war government.

Why end the sanctions? Sanctions against a country is usually an early step in an escalation leading to full-on military intervention. ECAWAR believes in the right of self-determination for all countries, and for diplomatic rather than military solutions.

A couple of days after the rally I got an email from someone who attended, asking why we would also want to end sanctions against Syria, with its tyrannical leader who is mercilessly slaughtering people there.

Supporting the right of self-determination to the people of a country does not mean that we also support the leadership of that country or condone its actions. Sanctions tend to hurt the people of a country more than the leaders. And if there is foreign military intervention with the intention of removing that government, it will lead to the deaths of thousands of civilians (just like in Iraq and Afghanistan).

I have also been challenged a few times on the issue of Iran because, after all, they are making nukes. Really? Like those weapons of mass destruction that were never found in Iraq? Like the ones in the United States - the country with the most nuclear weapons in the world? Oh, but Iran is going to use those weapons against Israel. When it comes to the Middle East, Israel has had nuclear weapons for years - it may be a small country, but Israel can certainly take care of itself.

The truth of the matter is (and I am going to paraphrase a meme I found on Facebook the other day): if there is war in a country and a US drone kills a child, the father of that child is going to go to war against the US, regardless of his religion, affiliation, or ideology. Violence begets violence and war begets war. It's a cycle we need to break.