Committee’s ‘anti-Palestinian racism’ report splits Liberal caucus

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Tensions were apparent in the Liberal caucus Wednesday after a committee chaired by Liberal MP Lena Metlege Diab released a report endorsing the disputed concept of anti-Palestinian racism.

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Attorney General Arif Virani said he was “alive to concerns” about the notion of anti-Palestinian racism, but stressed the need to confront the rise in hatred since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel.

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“I think what’s really important is that Canadians understand we’re trying to address the divisions and the hatred that we’re seeing in society,” Virani told reporters on his way to the Liberals’ weekly caucus meeting. “And we’re seeing a lot that’s related to geopolitical conflicts on the other side of the world.”

“That’s why it’s critical to address antisemitism, but it’s also critical to address reprisals and backlash that we’ve seen against people that are Arab or Palestinian, including looking in more detail at the definition of anti-Palestinian racism.”

Anthony Housefather, the Liberal MP for Mount Royal, said he wasn’t convinced Palestinians need special protections.

“We’d have to understand why … you would have this nationality and not other nationalities,” said Housefather.

“If you’re going to adopt anti-Palestinian racism, are you going to have anti Israeli-racism? Are you going to have anti other country racism?”

Housefather, who is Jewish, was a vocal backer of the Trudeau government’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism in 2019.

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The committee report, titled Islamophobia on the Rise, uses the term “anti-Palestinian racism” more than a dozen times. It also recommends that the federal government, joined by the provinces, direct educational institutions to appoint “special advisors” on anti-Palestinian racism.

The report stops short of recommending that anti-Palestinian racism be added to Canada’s anti-racism strategy, as some activists have pushed for.

The report also sidesteps the question of formally defining anti-Palestinian racism, but refers to a definition put forward by the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association in 2022, which is commonly used.

In this definition, anti-Palestinian racism is “a form of anti-Arab racism that silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames, or dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives.”

Diab could not be reached for comment.

Critics have expressed concerns about the potential for pro-Israel speech to be censured under the guise of anti-Palestinian racism.

Richard Marceau, Vice President for External Affairs at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said he was disappointed by the report’s inclusion of anti-Palestinian racism.

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“While invoked by its proponents as a form of human rights protection, (anti-Palestinian racism) is a misnomer that cynically misapplies the concept of racism,” said Marceau.

“It attempts to label political positions and differences of opinion as breaches of human rights, undermining the foundation of Canadian human rights law.”

National Post
rmohamed@postmedia.com

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