Clueless Green Party Chief Elizabeth May Condemns Anti-Semitism--AND Israel

Ms. May, alas, didn't get the memo that the Jew-hate of our time gloms onto Israel and its manifold iniquities in much the same way that earlier forms of "the longest hatred" cast aspersions on "the Joooos." Had she the remotest glimmer of a clue re Israel-hate and how it animates so much of leftist ideology today, she could not and would not have written this (in the National Post):

Just as we condemn anti-Semitism, we also condemn those who attack the right of the State of Israel to exist. Any review of our archived press releases and my previous public comments makes this support abundantly clear. In debates in the House of Commons and in my many press conferences with former MP Irwin Cotler, a dear friend of mine, I have been steadfast in condemning any act of anti-Semitism. We have also condemned the hateful claim by a former Green party member that the Holocaust did not happen. 

But we are a party whose core values are rooted in respect for grassroots democracy. We have no heavy-handed, top-down censorship process over our convention resolutions. Our convention next weekend will be the first time in decades that any Canadian political party has permitted a discussion on Israel’s foreign policy. This is not a sign that we are anti-Israel. Rather, it is proof that we have faith in respectful democratic discourse and free speech. 

What has been sorely lacking in Canadian political discourse is an acceptance of the plight of the Palestinian people. Why is it taboo for Canadians to discuss foreign policy in the Middle East, unless they omit certain aspects of Israeli policy? We can criticize any other country’s decisions respectfully and diplomatically, why not Israel’s?

It is dangerous to conflate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism...

No it isn't. What's "dangerous" is the failure to understand the true nature of Israel-hate. What's "dangerous" is being a Useful Idiot for the jihad that aims to wipe out the Jewish state for having the temerity to exist on a tiny plot of land in Dar al Islam, the domain of the one true faith. The question to pose, therefore, is not "why can't we criticize Israel?" but "why are we singling out Israel for criticism?" There is little reason to believe, however, that that's a question that Ms. May can answer with any genuine awareness, not even if, as she insists, she's a close personal friend of Irwin Cotler, a Jew (having no awareness, obviously, of how weaselly and insincere that "some of my best friends are Jewish" line comes across).

And that malarkey about being foursquare for "free speech"? By now, we know how that operates in the nosebleed section of leftism wherein the Greenies reside: people have "free speech" up the wazoo-- provided they use it to trash Israel. If, however, you want to say something that's out of step with the strictures of political correctness, best o' luck speaking up in Green precincts, where you will be shouted down post haste.

Update: So who's behind the anti-Israel resolutions that will be considered at the Green convention? Why, lefty Jews, of course.

Here's Sue-Ann Levy on the subject (my bolds):

One has to look no further than this weekend’s annual conference in Ottawa, where two controversial anti-Israel motions — and the only foreign policy positions to be presented at all — will be debated Saturday morning (on the Jewish Sabbath.) 

Those controversial motions urge Green Party members to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement (which attempts to restrict ties and business with the Jewish state) and to approve revoking the charitable status of the Jewish National Fund of Canada (a charity that has worked to protect the natural environment of Israel for decades). 

Online voting has been so supportive that the motions have made it to the convention’s workshop sessions, where they will be debated and voted on and then sent to full membership for a vote. 

Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith, says they believe members of the Independent Jewish Voices organization are pushing these Green Party motions — a group he says has spearheaded the anti-Israel boycott movement in Canada, have sent speakers to the highly “morally reprehensible” anti-Semitic Al Quds day rallies and “pretends” to speak for the majority of Jews in Canada, when in fact they do not. 

May, of course, has figured out how to finesse the situation--i.e. like this:

Green Party spokesman Dan Palmer said May has previously indicated publicly that she opposes both motions and that she is just one vote at the convention. 

“Policy proposals come from the grassroots of the party and are not vetted before being put to members,” he said Tuesday.

Ah, yes, those omnipresent "grassroots."

Someone needs to tell Ms. May that her "grassroots" are rotten.