Since Israel’s January 18th ceasefire, there have been numerous Hamas attacks on Israelis, with multiple rockets fired into Israel. Israel has been tolerant so far but it is coming to the point that they must once again take action against Hamas to protect Israeli citizens. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, “The cabinet’s position from the outset was that if there is rocket fire at southerners, there will be a response that will essentially be disproportionate.”
Disproportionate was a word that was used to describe Israel’s recent offensive in headlines across the world. It has been my position that Israel’s recent offensive has been very peaceful compared to most offensives in world history. In such a densely populated area, I was actually impressed by the low casualty toll. But many people would disagree with me… I can not even begin to fathom the response of these people when Israel takes disproportionate action.
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There is a conflict in Sri Lanka? You didn’t know? Well, you aren’t alone. The conflict is between the Sri Lankan government and the rebel group officially known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Haven’t heard of them? They also like to be called the Tamil Tigers, and they happen to be considered a terrorist organization by many countries included Canada and the US. The 25 year long civil war is in its last stages as the Tigers have been cornered by government forces in a 300 square kilometer patch of land in the north of the country. There are hundreds of thousands of civilians located in this war zone, unable to escape the conflict.
This all sounds pretty familiar doesn’t it? Terrorist organization attacking a country, civilians are held hostage in the middle, with proposed ceasefires and civilian casualties occurring every day. Claims of both sides using civilians as human shields have been thrown back and forth along with accusations of both parties directly attacking civilians. This war sounds nearly the same as the Israel and Palestinian conflict, right down to the massive protest rallies held in downtown Toronto.
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At 7 p.m. eastern time today, a unilateral ceasefire will begin in the Middle East. Israeli troops will suspend their offensive against Hamas. For the full story, click here.

Will this ceasefire help bring peace to the Middle East? Only time will tell.

CUPE National President Paul Moist denounces Sid Ryan's proposed resolution.

CUPE National president, Paul Moist, released a statement on January 13th calling Sid Ryan’s proposal wrong and discriminatory.

“As the national president of Canada’s largest union, with over 580,000 members, I can say that none of CUPE’s over 2,000 chartered bodies – including CUPE Ontario – have adopted such a resolution. I believe such a resolution is wrong and would violate the anti-discrimination standards set out in the CUPE Constitution. I will be using my influence in any debates on such a resolution to oppose its adoption.”
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Sid Ryan Makes an Empty Apology

No, he did not apologize for his plan to ban Israeli professors from Ontario’s campuses. No, he did not apologize for his double standard against Israel; since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, thousands of Hamas rockets have been fired into Israel and have hit several Israeli schools.

What he apologized for is the part where he compared Israel’s actions to those of the Nazis during World War II. The Nazis who demolished learning institutions and burnt all religious books, compared to the Israel Defense Force who targeted a building allegedly housing terrorists. Canadians were outraged at such a racist comment and Ryan had no choice but to take his comment back.

While apologizing for this ghastly remark is a step in the right direction, Sid Ryan has not swayed his position at all. This empty apology leads me and all of my fellow Canadians to ask, “Now what?”
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As the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip lingers on, Canada remains committed to its view on the Middle East conflict. New comments from Peter Kent, Junior Foreign Minister and designated spokesman on the conflict clarify and strengthen Canada’s position on the hotly debated issue.

“Again, Hamas bears the burden of responsibility. This history of Hamas is to use civilian infrastructure and civilian populations as shields for their terrorist activities,” said Kent, rejecting any suggestion that Israel’s response to Hamas rocket attacks has been disproportionate.

Kent presents a valid point that’s often “forgotten” in the negative blitz of media attacks on Israel’s operation in the Gaza Strip. Hamas purposely operates in densely populated areas within the strip as a means of deterring Israeli retaliatory strikes. Just days ago, eyewitnesses in Gaza told the Associated Press Hamas militants were using the UN school hit by Israeli forces to fire mortars at Israeli soldiers. Video from late 2007 also confirms Hamas’ use of schools as an area from which to fire rockets at Israel. That video can be seen here. And to strengthen his case even more, a recently released video shows Hamas using UN sponsored ambulances to hide from Israeli forces operating in the strip.
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As the crisis between Hamas and Israel continues to escalate, another crisis unfolds. At least 39 Canadians remain stranded in Gaza desperate to leave. To make matters worse, Canada could have prevented the situation from occurring in the first place.

Last week, several governments appealed to Israel to help their citizens leave Gaza before a highly anticipated ground assault was set to take place. This prompted the Israeli government to allow and facilitate the transfer of approximately 300 nationals, including Americans, Russians, Ukrainians and Moldovans through the Erez Crossing into Israel.

Canadians should have been included in this group.
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CUPE is the Canadian Union of Public Employees that represents over 500 000 public employees across Canada. They have made headlines recently when the CUPE sector (CUPE 3903) representing the Teaching Assistants and many professors went on strike and displaced 50 000 students at Toronto’s York University.

If the outrage against CUPE, from this ongoing strike, is not enough, Sid Ryan, President of CUPE in Ontario, certainly decided to make matters worse. Tarnishing his own reputation and what was left of CUPE’s, Ryan released a press statement calling for a ban of any Israeli academics from speaking, teaching, or doing research work at Ontario universities. The only way Israelis can gain or retain employment is if they condemn the recent Israeli attack on the Islamic University in Gaza. On December 29th, Israel conducted an air strike on this university as part of their campaign to destroy the Hamas terrorist organization. Ryan then said that Israel is acting in the same manner as the Nazis by attacking an institution of learning. This ban on Israelis from campuses across the province will have a preliminary vote in February and if a majority is received, a final vote will be held in May.

HAS HE LOST HIS MIND?
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Canada, along with the most powerful nations in the world, recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization. Throughout most of the history of the Gaza Strip, these terrorists have not recognized Israel’s right to exist. As a result, they suicide bomb, fire rockets, and do everything they can to maim Israel. In return, Israel responds by taking out as many of the terrorists as possible. The difference between the two sides is that one attacks innocent civilians and one attacks recognized terrorists. These are the facts. People may argue that there are innocent civilian casualties killed by the Israelis, but isn’t that a part of war? No military in the world would be capable of completely avoiding civilians in such a densely populated area such as Gaza.
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