For Immediate Release
March 14, 2002 — B’nai Brith Canada vigorously denounced the misinformed and completely inappropriate comments of Mr. Marc Laviolette, head of the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CNTU), with regards to Israel and its democratically elected Prime Minister, Mr. Ariel Sharon. “Referring to Israel as a ‘terrorist state’ is wrong, provocative, and the extreme ultimate of ironies, said Allan Adel, Chairman of the League for Human Rights in Quebec, given the fact that Israel and its citizens have been the victims of numerous terrorist and suicide-homicide bombings incidents during the last 18 months of Palestinian initiated violence. Israel has the right and obligation to defend its citizens and sovereignty.”
“Mr. Laviolette’s attempt to justify Palestinian terrorism in his description of suicide bombers as people ‘attach(ing) their belt to a hand grenade that will explode in the midst of a group of enemies’, surely cannot have a slice of moral justification” said Steven Slimovitch, B’nai Brith National Legal Counsel. “When the sole goal of Palestinians is to inflict as many casualties and injuries on civilians, including women and children, with bombs and explosives packed with nails, the intention is quite clear.” Steven Slimovitch added with a rhetorical question: “Who is the enemy here? Is it every Israeli Jew, even babies in strollers? Is it 13 year old boys walking in the desert and then being butchered to death by a Palestinian mob?”
B’nai Brith Canada urges Mr. Laviolette to exercise extreme caution in his one-sided and grossly biased comments about the Middle East situation and invites him to a dialogue to understand what the Israeli society is being confronted with on a daily basis.
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For further information and comment please contact:
Mr. Allan Adel, Chairman league for Human Rights, Quebec Region 514-845-4151
Mr. Steven Slimovitch, National Legal Counsel, B’nai Brith Canada 514-871-8971
Saulie Zajdel, Director, Quebec Region 514-733-5377
B’nai Brith has been active in Canada since 1875 as the community’s foremost advocacy and volunteer organization.
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