Friday, October 08, 2010

BDS Conference Sponsors Turning A Blind Eye To Hate?

Staff

Why are organizational sponsors of the BDS Quebec Conference happening in Montreal this month associating themselves with Bogani Masuku, judged by the South African Human Rights Commission as guilty of anti-Semitic hate speech? Perhaps because Masuku’s hateful positions are precisely in line with what the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement are all about. Sponsors like the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and self-styled human rights organizations are advised to not just disassociate themselves from this event, but to condemn it – presumably with some flowery face-saving message about “not knowing the complete details of the event when we signed up”.

First, let’s have a quick look at who Masuku is and what precisely he said. The BDS Conference happening on October 22-24 lists Bongani Masuku, South African labor union COSATU International Affairs Secretary, as a speaker for the conference opening panel, “From Sharpeville to Gaza, 5 Years of BDS” on a promotional web page.

What precisely did Masuku say that got him into so much trouble? Here are a few examples:

“We want to convey a message to the Jews in South Africa that our 1.9-million workers who are affiliated to COSATU are fully behind the people of Palestine… Any business owned by Israel supporters will be a target of workers in South Africa” [Source: Address at COSATU-Palestinian Solidarity Committee rally in Raedene, 6 February 2009].

"COSATU is with you, we will do everything to make sure that whether it’s at Wits University, whether its at Orange Grove, anyone who does not support equality and dignity, who does not support the rights of other people must face the consequences even if it means that we will do something that may necessarily cause what is regarded as harm …[Source: Address at public meeting on Wits University Campus, 5 March 2009]

The implications of Masuku’s statements were as clear as day, at least according to the South African Human Rights Commission:

In its findings, the SAHRC found that Mr. Masuku “surely intended to incite violence and hatred that was already potentially imminent amongst these two groups.”. The Commission also noted that other comments by Mr. Masuku were “intimidating and threatening” and noted that other comments made by Mr. Masuku could only mean that “unless South Africans agree with his views they should be forced to leave South Africa.”

In sum the SAHRC stated that “the comments and statements are of an extreme nature that advocate and imply that the Jewish and Israeli community are to be despised, scorned and ridiculed and thus subjecting them to ill-treatment on the basis of their religious affiliation. A prima facie case of hate speech is clearly established.”

Again, why would representatives from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and other groups want to attend, much less sponsor, an event with ties to such a person?

Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae recently summed up the problem with the BDS campaign most eloquently. The issue came up in response to Canadian MP Libby Davies’ stated support for BDS:

"…To propose an international campaign of boycotts, divestments and sanctions against a legitimate member of the world community for over 60 years is to reveal a level of hostility and ignorance that is truly breathtaking.”

There are no BDS campaigns against serial human rights-abusing regimes in North Korea, Burma, Syria, or for that matter, the Hamas terror statelet in Gaza that is torturing and repressing ordinary Palestinians daily. We can use common sense to infer the true motives of those involved in this conference.

There is still time for these sponsoring organizations to make clear that they utterly disassociate themselves with the BDS conference and this movement. We suggest these sponsors make use of that opportunity.

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