Category Archives: CPCCA

Macleans: Follow the money

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on Macleans: Follow the money

An MP inquiry into anti-Semitism vowed to be open and independent. Its shadowy funding says otherwise.

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Georgia Straight: Labeling criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic is the new McCarthyism

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on Georgia Straight: Labeling criticism of Israel as anti-Semitic is the new McCarthyism

Jack Chivo constructs a sham argument in defence of Israel that relies on a false – and dangerous — definition of antisemitism.  To give it credibility, he calls it the European Union’s definition.  Not so.  It’s connection, at best, is quite tangential.  What it is is a “working definition” adopted by a monitoring committee established by the EU, but it was never adopted by the EU.  The EU’s monitoring committee (EUMC) doesn’t even exist anymore.  It’s successor, the Agency for Fundamental Rights, has no plans for using the “working definition.”  It has no future use except as it can be used for propaganda.

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National Post: Report on anti-Semitism seeks only to protect Israel

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on National Post: Report on anti-Semitism seeks only to protect Israel

This month, a serious attack was made against free speech in Canada. A pseudo-parliamentary committee calling itself the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA) issued a report calling on the federal government to adopt a definition of anti-Semitism that would criminalize criticism of the state of Israel. The report claims to support free speech and open debate around the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but its recommendations aim to silence pro-Palestinian voices, especially on campuses. The CPCCA’s biased processes and dubious conclusions contradict its own argument for balanced debate, and make a mockery of the notion of disinterested parliamentary inquiry. Continue reading →

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SFSC: CPCCA report threatens Canadian’s democratic rights, free speech

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC: CPCCA report threatens Canadian’s democratic rights, free speech

The report issued last week by an unofficial coalition of parliamentarians is a threat to the  democratic rights of Canadians as the group makes recommendations to protect Israel from international criticism.

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Embassy Mag: Liberal’s refusal to sign off on final report highlights continuing controversy over anti-Semitism group

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on Embassy Mag: Liberal’s refusal to sign off on final report highlights continuing controversy over anti-Semitism group

A group of Canadian parliamentarians studying anti-Semitism in Canada released a report last week concluding that anti-Semitism is a growing threat in Canada. It recommended, among other things, the establishment a national definition of what constitutes an anti-Semitic crime and standards for data reporting.
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Globe & Mail: Coalition warns of rising anti-Semitism, but critics say group shows Israeli bias

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on Globe & Mail: Coalition warns of rising anti-Semitism, but critics say group shows Israeli bias

A multi-party coalition of current and former parliamentarians has concluded that anti-Semitic incidents are on the increase across Canada and have been fostered by a climate that is receptive to attacks on Israel, particularly on university campuses. But critics say the work of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA) was nothing more than a poorly disguised attempt to suppress legitimate criticism of the Jewish state.

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SFSC: CPCCA Report is a “McCarthyist diatribe”

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC: CPCCA Report is a “McCarthyist diatribe”

I published the book Antisemitism Real and Imagined last year in response to the already clear evidence of bias, bad faith, and fakery in the work of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism. Now, more than a year behind schedule, the CPCCA has published its own Report. I hope Canadian journalists will be forthright enough to represent it to the public for what it is: a McCarthyist diatribe that exaggerates the actuality of antisemitism in this country, misrepresents the evidence of the Coalition’s own inquiry, makes scurrilous insinuations about human rights activists and NGOs, and draws inflammatory conclusions from discredited ‘experts’.

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Jewish group gives Pseudo Parliamentary report failing grade

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on Jewish group gives Pseudo Parliamentary report failing grade

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).

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SFSC: CPCCA Releases Report more than one year late

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC: CPCCA Releases Report more than one year late

The Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA) released its final report yesterday, more than a year after it was first promised to appear. For the last two years, the Seriously Free Speech Committee has been involved in national campaign to expose the CPCCA and its agenda to demonise and silence critics of the state of Israel. Continue reading →

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SFSC: Letter to Mahmoud Abbas re PA support for ICCA

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Seriously Free Speech Committee| Comments Off on SFSC: Letter to Mahmoud Abbas re PA support for ICCA

March 25, 2011

To President Mahmoud Abbas
Palestinian National Authority

Dear Mr. President:

RE: THE PALESTINIAN NATIONAL AUTHORITY AND THE INTER–PARLIAMENTARY COALITION FOR COMBATING ANTISEMITISM (ICCA)

I am writing on behalf of the Seriously Free Speech Committee, a committee based in Vancouver, Canada that is mandated to defend free and open debate on the question of Israel/Palestine at a time when there is a considerable effort by pro-Israeli forces, both in Canada and internationally, to suppress this discussion. Our committee also defends those who have been harassed or threatened by supporters of Israel.

The Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA) is of particular concern to our committee. This international group of pro-Israeli Parliamentarians (lobbyists) is attempting to broaden the traditional definition of anti-semitism to include criticism of Israel, and thereby create a political environment that suppresses the full story of events on the ground. At a recent conference in Ottawa, in November 2010, the ICCA passed the “Ottawa Protocol” which includes this broad new definition, and invites international agencies, parliaments, educational institutions and other organizations to adopt it as well.

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