Ottawa, Ontario July 7, 2011. Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) today gave the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA) an overall failing grade on its long-overdue report. IJV distributed the report card to MPs, urging them to reject any attempts to silence or criminalize legitimate criticism of Israel, and to defend free speech in Canada. The IJV report card gave the CPCCA failing grades for lack of ethics, biased methodology, and self-serving inaccurate reporting. But it gave the CPCCA a B for its sham coat of arms meant to portray itself as an official Parliamentary committee (which it is not).
Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) Report Card on Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA)
|
Criterion |
Grade |
Comments |
|
Researcher Legitimacy |
F |
Self-selected MPs portray themselves as an official parliamentary committee |
|
Passed ethical review |
F |
Goal to justify muzzling criticism of Israel; not an ethical research method |
|
Is hypothesis testable |
F |
Conflates hostility to Jews with criticism of Israeli policies |
|
Was method unbiased |
F |
Selected mostly pro-Israel lobby groups, rejected groups critical of Israeli policies |
|
Were the results accurately reported |
F |
Conclusions contradicted even the biased evidence in the report |
|
Counterfeiting style |
B |
Attempt to cobble together a coat of arms to make report look official is somewhat clumsy |
“It’s both pro-Israel propaganda and a shoddy piece of research whose conclusions are not supported even by the biased data it gathered,” said Professor Larry Haiven, a spokesperson for IJV.
Professor Michael Keefer, author of Antisemitism: Real and Imagined commented: “Despite receiving testimony by Canadian university administrators that antisemitism is not a significant problem on Canadian campuses, the report devotes pages to anecdotal claims by pro-Israel advocacy groups whose clear aim is to stifle campus discussion of Israeli human rights abuses by labeling it ‘antisemitic.’”
Diana Ralph, of IJV added: “The report calls anti-Semitic many examples of legitimate protest against discriminatory and violent Israeli policies. It calls on universities, legislators, and immigration agencies to implement dangerous restrictions on critics of Israel. As Jews, we know that the real threat is from this new McCarthyism, and NOT from so-called ‘new Anti-Semitism.’ It is legitimate for Canadians to criticize Israeli human rights abuses and to support non-violent citizen remedies.”
Haiven noted, “The CPCCA hearings were highly biased. They refused to hear witnesses (including IJV) who don’t agree with their pre-conceived conclusions; 45% of the witnesses represented pro-Israel lobby groups. Most of the other Canadian witnesses did not support the CPCCA’s allegations that anti-Semitism is rising or that Canada needs to criminalize dissent. But these views are not included in the report.”
Terry Greenberg, retired Canadian diplomat, commented: “If the CPCCA were re-named the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Protect Israel, it would be honest and credible. But contrary to its name, it has virtually nothing to do with real anti-Semitism. The CPCCA is suggesting REAL changes in the REAL world based on fantasies and its upside-down definition. It not only has no credibility, it must be repudiated.”
Independent Jewish Voices Canada, P.O. Box 23088 Ottawa, ON K2A 4E2:
For more critical reaction, please go to IJV’s video “Defend Free Speech: The CPCCA and the New McCarthyism” at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX0boA4CHk
Independent Jewish Voices – Canada is a national organization that promotes a just resolution to the conflict in Israel and Palestine through the application of international law and respect for the human rights of all parties. IJV has chapters in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Victoria.