Jewish Prayer for Peace
Come let us go up the mountain of the Lord,
That we may walk the paths of the Most High.
And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares,
And our spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation--
Neither shall they learn war any more.
And none shall be afraid,
For the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.
We're under no illusions that us providing our views on the situation in Gaza are going to change the world or even change any minds. Positions become so intractable that it seems impossible to consider the views of those deemed to be the enemy. We also know that we're bit players at best and that our articles appeal to a tiny segment of the population. That being said, we feel that we need to state our position on the current Middle East crisis so that people will understand our purpose when we discuss the Aryan Guard's apparent participation in the pro-Gaza rally in Calgary this past weekend.
We believe that ultimately the actions of the IDF in Gaza will have a long term detrimental effect on Israeli security. We understand the desire of Israelis near the border with Gaza to defend themselves against Hamas rockets and we condemn targeting Israeli civilians, however the reaction by the Israeli government and the IDF is so disproportional that rather than ensuring the safety of Israel, it will instead breed extremism and hatred. As a result of Israeli policies, the people of Gaza have been suffering tremendously. The recent violence has only exasperated the crisis further. Hamas is now using the crisis to become more entrenched and he Likud Party, which looks to form the next government of Israel, is likely to take an even more hardline position on Palestine. Caught in the middle are civilians.
In the end the only way to achieve real peace is for a comprehensive peace treaty and the establishment of two viable states. It's also going to require real and, in some cases, hard sacrifices on the parts of the Israelis and the Palestinian authority. We truly believe that, if left to their own devices, Israelis and Palestinians would seek peaceful means to address their territorial and sovereignty issues.
Muslim Prayer for Peace
In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us
And made us into tribes and nations,
That we may know each other, not that we may despise each other.
If the enemy incline towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace,
And trust God, for the Lord is the one that heareth and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God, Most Gracious are those who walk on the Earth in humility,
And when we address them, we say "PEACE."
Okay. Now to address the issue at hand.
This past Saturday a rally in support of the people of Gaza took place in Calgary. Although there were hundreds of people who participated, the media chose to focus on six mostly unwelcome participants:
This is Kyle McKee of the Aryan Guard. Also joining McKee were Aryan Guard members/associates John Marleau, Jessie Lajoie, Dustyn Johnson, Courtney B., a person we know at this point only by his first name Connor, and an unknown female wearing a mask (could be McKee's new girlfriend).
We were sent this and other images soon after the rally took place. At the time we decided that we wouldn't publish anything, hoping that the larger message would not be lost by focusing on a few boneheads who decided to take this opportunity to express their anti-Semitic views in public. We knew were being naive, but we hoped.
The story of the Aryan Guard's mostly unwelcome participation in the rally has been reported by the "Calgary Herald." To the credit of "The Herald" they did get the reaction to the Aryan Guard's participation from one of the progressive participants: [sic]
Jason Devine, spokesman for Anti-Racist Action Calgary, at-tended [sic] the protest and estimates about five or six members of the white supremacist group were present.
Devine called it "unfortunate" that the neo-Nazis did not face much opposition at the protest. "They were not supposed to be there. They were not wanted there," said Devine.
"If we don't develop a plan for dealing with this in the future, it's going to continue."
Neo-conservative blogs that have posted commentaries on the rally have omitted Mr. Devine's comments and have some have claimed that the Aryan Guard's participation is proof that the march was instead anti-Semitic in nature. To be sure the Aryan Guard, and two extremist Muslim men we're aware of who were calling for the killing of Jews, found common cause, but most of the people who attended the rally were there to support the end of the fighting and calling for a long term cease fire, the opening of borders and the distribution of humanitarian aid. Unfortunately, the Aryan Guard took advantage of the good will of, and perhaps inexperience of, the organizers. However, that is absolutely no excuse and the organizers have to know that the participation of the Aryan Guard or any other hate group, be that group Christian, Muslim, atheistic, or other, is absolutely unacceptable.
We at Anti-Racist Canada have one request of organizers of this rally should they organize others.
Please get your shit together next time.
And as for the two men who were calling for the killing of Jews, we hold you and others like you with the same contempt that we have for members of the Aryan Guard and their affiliates. Just as we call out the likes of Ezra Levant and Edward Kennedy when it comes to anti-Muslim rhetoric, we will happily call you out Muslim extremists out on their anti-Semitism. Now, with that said, if you two or any other Muslim man or woman is so naive as to believe that you and the Aryan Guard have found a common cause, here is how the Aryan Guard views your religion and culture:
UPDATE: Bill Noble (who is still not in jail for violating the terms of his release) has posted a blog article regarding the blog post by "National Post" journalist Kevin Libin:
And while Mr Libin's article is not accurate in many ways (the people who organized the rally opposing the Aryan Guard were not the ones who organized this rally, and they were not at all happy that the Aryan Guard showed up), he is correct that the Aryan Guard members hate Jews:
Kyle McKee's shin tattoos read, "Kill Jews."
Graffiti on the walls of Robert Reitmeier's residence reads "Kill all [German] Jews" and "Jew Slaughter."
Post by John Marleau on Facebook denying the Holocaust occurred while at the same time wishing that it had. Marleau is one of the Aryan Guard members/associates who participated in the march:
We can go on too.
So, Bill, don't try to sell that shit. No one is going to buy it.
Come let us go up the mountain of the Lord,
That we may walk the paths of the Most High.
And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares,
And our spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation--
Neither shall they learn war any more.
And none shall be afraid,
For the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.
We're under no illusions that us providing our views on the situation in Gaza are going to change the world or even change any minds. Positions become so intractable that it seems impossible to consider the views of those deemed to be the enemy. We also know that we're bit players at best and that our articles appeal to a tiny segment of the population. That being said, we feel that we need to state our position on the current Middle East crisis so that people will understand our purpose when we discuss the Aryan Guard's apparent participation in the pro-Gaza rally in Calgary this past weekend.
We believe that ultimately the actions of the IDF in Gaza will have a long term detrimental effect on Israeli security. We understand the desire of Israelis near the border with Gaza to defend themselves against Hamas rockets and we condemn targeting Israeli civilians, however the reaction by the Israeli government and the IDF is so disproportional that rather than ensuring the safety of Israel, it will instead breed extremism and hatred. As a result of Israeli policies, the people of Gaza have been suffering tremendously. The recent violence has only exasperated the crisis further. Hamas is now using the crisis to become more entrenched and he Likud Party, which looks to form the next government of Israel, is likely to take an even more hardline position on Palestine. Caught in the middle are civilians.
In the end the only way to achieve real peace is for a comprehensive peace treaty and the establishment of two viable states. It's also going to require real and, in some cases, hard sacrifices on the parts of the Israelis and the Palestinian authority. We truly believe that, if left to their own devices, Israelis and Palestinians would seek peaceful means to address their territorial and sovereignty issues.
Muslim Prayer for Peace
In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us
And made us into tribes and nations,
That we may know each other, not that we may despise each other.
If the enemy incline towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace,
And trust God, for the Lord is the one that heareth and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God, Most Gracious are those who walk on the Earth in humility,
And when we address them, we say "PEACE."
Okay. Now to address the issue at hand.
This past Saturday a rally in support of the people of Gaza took place in Calgary. Although there were hundreds of people who participated, the media chose to focus on six mostly unwelcome participants:
This is Kyle McKee of the Aryan Guard. Also joining McKee were Aryan Guard members/associates John Marleau, Jessie Lajoie, Dustyn Johnson, Courtney B., a person we know at this point only by his first name Connor, and an unknown female wearing a mask (could be McKee's new girlfriend).We were sent this and other images soon after the rally took place. At the time we decided that we wouldn't publish anything, hoping that the larger message would not be lost by focusing on a few boneheads who decided to take this opportunity to express their anti-Semitic views in public. We knew were being naive, but we hoped.
The story of the Aryan Guard's mostly unwelcome participation in the rally has been reported by the "Calgary Herald." To the credit of "The Herald" they did get the reaction to the Aryan Guard's participation from one of the progressive participants: [sic]
Jason Devine, spokesman for Anti-Racist Action Calgary, at-tended [sic] the protest and estimates about five or six members of the white supremacist group were present.
Devine called it "unfortunate" that the neo-Nazis did not face much opposition at the protest. "They were not supposed to be there. They were not wanted there," said Devine.
"If we don't develop a plan for dealing with this in the future, it's going to continue."
Neo-conservative blogs that have posted commentaries on the rally have omitted Mr. Devine's comments and have some have claimed that the Aryan Guard's participation is proof that the march was instead anti-Semitic in nature. To be sure the Aryan Guard, and two extremist Muslim men we're aware of who were calling for the killing of Jews, found common cause, but most of the people who attended the rally were there to support the end of the fighting and calling for a long term cease fire, the opening of borders and the distribution of humanitarian aid. Unfortunately, the Aryan Guard took advantage of the good will of, and perhaps inexperience of, the organizers. However, that is absolutely no excuse and the organizers have to know that the participation of the Aryan Guard or any other hate group, be that group Christian, Muslim, atheistic, or other, is absolutely unacceptable.
We at Anti-Racist Canada have one request of organizers of this rally should they organize others.
Please get your shit together next time.
And as for the two men who were calling for the killing of Jews, we hold you and others like you with the same contempt that we have for members of the Aryan Guard and their affiliates. Just as we call out the likes of Ezra Levant and Edward Kennedy when it comes to anti-Muslim rhetoric, we will happily call you out Muslim extremists out on their anti-Semitism. Now, with that said, if you two or any other Muslim man or woman is so naive as to believe that you and the Aryan Guard have found a common cause, here is how the Aryan Guard views your religion and culture:
UPDATE: Bill Noble (who is still not in jail for violating the terms of his release) has posted a blog article regarding the blog post by "National Post" journalist Kevin Libin:
And while Mr Libin's article is not accurate in many ways (the people who organized the rally opposing the Aryan Guard were not the ones who organized this rally, and they were not at all happy that the Aryan Guard showed up), he is correct that the Aryan Guard members hate Jews:
Kyle McKee's shin tattoos read, "Kill Jews."
Graffiti on the walls of Robert Reitmeier's residence reads "Kill all [German] Jews" and "Jew Slaughter."
Post by John Marleau on Facebook denying the Holocaust occurred while at the same time wishing that it had. Marleau is one of the Aryan Guard members/associates who participated in the march:
We can go on too.
So, Bill, don't try to sell that shit. No one is going to buy it.
5 comments:
wow . . white racists and islamic/arab racists working together, spreading hatred in the Peaceful Kingdom.
Who would thought this could happen. Keep up the vigilance and expose the hatred.
kyle- WASH YOUR DAMN PANTS!
that kill jews tattoo looks like patched pants too. i think kyle is a secret crusty punk.
(don't expect this comment to pass moderation, but what 'ell...)
As someone who has been watching the slow descent of the `multicultural left' into renewed anti-Semitism, I don't think this blog post is even nearly an adequate defence of the disgraceful presence of neo-Nazis at the `anti-Israeli' protest at Stephen Harper's office recently.
The quotes from the organizer of the protest hardly acquit the protests from the complicity of the `new left' in suborning anti-Semitism in its ranks (in the guise of `anti-Zionism').
I mean, it is more damning that he says they was not enough protest at their presence.
Fortunately, Canada has not gone down the road of Europe, not quite yet, where, for example, an Italian union leader has called for a boycott of `Jewish businesses', which is to say, businesses owned by Jews, regardless of their actual nationality.
This is just one example among hundreds of the anti-semitic racism in the ranks of the left today.
A blog called `anti-racist' should really be tackling this anti-Semitism dressed up as `anti-Zionism', not showcasing the few dunderheads and morons who genuflect to Hitler and shave their heads.
but of course, that would require real bravery.
thanks
(like I said, doubt it will be posted for anyone to read; but at least YOU'LL read it)
We're not sure why you thought your comments wouldn't pass moderation; while there are points we don't agree with, there are areas that we do. Let's focus on those points of agreement first.
Antisemitism needs to be called out no matter whom expresses it, and there are those who claim to be progressives (or leftists if you prefer) who are guilty of this pernicious and irrational hatred. I'm not sure any blog post we could write, or anyone else for that matter, could sufficiently put antisemitism to rest. We do our part, as insufficient as it might be, to expose it when we see it. And on that we know we do a lousy job.
Still, you need to be careful not to conflate legitimate criticism of Israeli policies in the West Bank and Gaza, policies that many Israelis also question, with being either anti-Israel or antisemitic.
You rightly point out that there were others besides the members of the Aryan Guard who shamefully used the protest as an opportunity to attack Jews. We would and do condemn those individuals and groups just as much as we condemn the Aryan Guard members. We also condemn groups such as the JDL who verbally attack and threaten individuals for their stance on the Gaza crisis, a stance in opposition to the Israeli incursion. It's sad that events such as this allow the extremists on both sides such a disproportional voice which tends to overwhelm moderates who we thing are in the majority.
We're not, however, going to take back our view that the Israeli response to a very legitimate concern (Hamas rockets) was disproportional and victimized innocent Palestinians. We also believe that ultimately the two groups are going to have to live side by side in two viable states.
Could we agree that the loss of any life, Israeli or Palestinian, is a tragedy that can and should be prevented? Could we agree that diplomacy is far more effective in the long run than open warfare?
The girl this day was Natalie.
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