Ah, the infamous Bernie Farber and his Brown Shirts at the Canadian Jewish
Congress are in the news again. As he usually does Bernie Farber is trying to
trample any exposure of the Israel-lobby in Canada by silencing those
independent enough to document the Israeli lobby's activities. At a York
University event Professor David Noble distributed a list of names of directors
of the York University Foundation and their links to pro-Israel organizations.
Is this an unreasonable act in a publicly funded academic institution mandated
to serve the needs of all its students and the academic community without
conflict of interest? Bernie Farber has characterized this as an act of
anti-Semitism. Of course many of us know people of conscience in Canada whose
reputations and careers have been ruined by the false accusation of
anti-Semitism. It is a powerful strategy and it has worked to silence many.
Professor David Noble however is fighting back. He has launched the libel suit
below.
Congratulations David.
Rather than hiding behind the misleading name Canadian Jewish Congress it is
time Farber and the CJC re-named their organization to honestly reflect their
political agenda - Canadian Zionist Congress. Farber and the CJC have learned
well from their own historical oppressors - Farber and the CJC's strategies of
censoring brave individuals such as Prof. Noble and of appearing at educational
forums to shut down the sharing of facts about Israeli oppresion is reminiscent
of the Nazi era. Farber and the CJC do not deserve the cloak of respectability
or credibily they attempt to wear.
Susan Howard-Azzeh
Khaled Mouammar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2008 00:17:19 -0500 (EST)
From: Khaled Mouammar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Libel suit against Bernie Farber and the Canadian Jewish Congress
To: Khaled Loutfi Mouammar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
IN THE MATTER OF A DEFAMATORY PUBLICATION CONTRARY TO SECTION 5 OF THE LIBEL
AND SLANDER ACT:
BETWEEN:
DAVID NOBLE
; ;
Plaintiff
- and -
BERNIE FARBER and CANADIAN JEWISH CONGRESS
Defendants
NOTICE OF LIBEL
Pursuant to section 5 of the Libel and Slander Act, RSO 1990, the Plaintiff,
David Noble, hereby complains of the defamatory content of an article published
by the Toronto Star, entitled, Memo Stirs Controversy at York U attached
hereto as Appendix A, which continues to be published on-line as an archived
document linked to the Toronto Star website, at the following internet address
or URL:
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/740632811.html?dids=740632811:740632811&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+21%2C+2004&author=Prithi+Yelaja&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Memo+stirs+controversy+at+York+U.&pf=1
The article was originally published in print form on November 21, 2004 in
the Toronto Star, thereafter it has been available and has continued to be
published on-line each day until the date of this notice, i.e. January 29,
2008. The instant notice relates to each internet publication and
republication of the attached article in the last six weeks.
The attached article is written by Prithi Yelaja and published by the Toronto
Star, which maintains an active archived link to the article from the Toronto
Star web site. The article can be accessed on-line for $3.95 Canadian plus
applicable taxes. The article refers to the Plaintiff Nobles request for an
apology pursuant to what he refers to as
scurrilous attacks [on his
character and attempts to squelch his freedom of speech]. The article
describes Nobles demand as being in response to the Defendant Canadian Jewish
Congress (CJC) statement that Noble was spreading anti-Semitic material on
the York University campus. In the face of Nobles request for an apology,
however, the CJC and the Defendant Farber have to date failed to retract or
apologize for their condemnation of Noble.
In particular, the Defendant Farber reiterates in the ongoing publication
that Nobles message is anti-Semitic. Farbers message through its explicit
content and context identifies Noble as being anti-Semitic on the basis of
Nobles having distributed a flyer that lists names of directors of the York
University Foundation and their links to pro-Israel organizations. The
Plaintiff complains of and identifies the most concerning statements within the
article as follow in respect of the Defendant Farber in his capacity as
Executive Director of the CJC:
The material, which appears to suggest that a small cabal of Jews runs the
foundation, is reminiscent of classic Jewish conspiracy theories, Bernie
Farber, executive director of the congress, said yesterday.
The article also attributes the following statement specifically to the
Defendant Farber:
Not only is this absurd, it reeks of anti-Semitism
Its bizarre, and if this
wasnt coming from an academic, one would laugh it off. The fact that its
coming from an academic should scare people.
The statements attributed to the Defendants Canadian Jewish Congress and
Farber are harmful to the Plaintiffs reputation in the nature of his trade and
calling. The Defendants comments falsely describe the flyer distributed by
the Plaintiff in November 2004 as anti-Semitic, conspiratorial, harmful,
threatening and targeted against Jews on the basis of their religion or
ethnicity. Moreover, in their context, the comments of the Defendants suggest
several false conclusions and reasonable inferences may be drawn therefrom,
which are defamatory and harmful to the Plaintiffs reputation including the
following:
1) That the Plaintiff intentionally seeks to harm or wishes harm to come
to Jews;
2) That the Plaintiff shares commonalities with other groups or persons
who have historically persecuted Jewish people;
3) That the Plaintiff is not a serious academic;
4) That the Plaintiff is a person who lacks integrity and decency;
5) That the Plaintiff is an irrational person whose ideas should be
rejected;
6) That the Plaintiff as an academic should be feared because he is
intent on attacking Jews and that he may continue to do so through his academic
discipline;
7) That the Plaintiff indoctrinates or passes on harmful, prejudicial and
stereotypic ideas regarding Jews to the students he teaches or within the
academe more broadly;
8) That the Plaintiffs views should not be tolerated by the general
public;
9) That the Plaintiff because he is publicly condemned by the Canadian
Jewish Congress is not welcome in social and cultural milieus of Canadian Jews.
Contrary to the assertions of the Defendants and the inferences that may be
drawn from their public statements contained in the article attached hereto,
the Plaintiff has stated since November 2004 and it is a fact that the material
complained of, i.e. his flyer, does not single out any person on the basis of
ethnicity or religion.
The Plaintiff requests the Defendants named in the heading of this notice to
immediately apologize, correct and request the Toronto Star to cease the
continued on-line publication of the attached article.
The named Defendants in the heading of this notice are advised that the
Plaintiff may initiate a legal action against them in conformity with section 6
of the Libel and Slander Act for the publication of defamatory comments
identified herein and as contained in the article attached hereto.
Dated: January 29, 2008
HAMEED FARROKHZAD & ST-PIERRE Lawyers
43 Florence Street
Ottawa, ON
K2P 0W6
Per: Yavar Hameed Tel. (613) 232-2688 ext. 228 Fax. (613) 232-2680
Solicitors for the Plaintiff,
David Noble
===============================================
Memo stirs controversy at York U. [ONT Edition]
Toronto Star - Toronto, Ont. Author: Prithi Yelaja Date: Nov 21, 2004
Start Page: A.04 Section: News Text Word Count: 429
Document Text
A history professor is demanding an apology from a leading Jewish rights
group and York University for what he calls "scurrilous attacks" on his
character and attempts to squelch his freedom of speech.
If no apology is forthcoming, David Noble said he'd consider legal action
against the Canadian Jewish Congress and York.
The congress has denounced Noble for spreading "anti-Semitic" material on
campus.
Noble handed out a memo last week listing the names of the directors of the
York University Foundation, the school's fundraising arm, and their links to
pro-Israel organizations.
The material, which appears to suggest that a small cabal of Jews runs the
foundation, is reminiscent of classic Jewish-conspiracy theories, Bernie
Farber, executive director of the congress, said yesterday.
"Not only is this absurd, it reeks of anti-Semitism.... It's bizarre, and if
this wasn't coming from an academic, one would laugh it off. The fact that it's
coming from an academic should scare people."
Noble, who has taught at York for 15 years and is Jewish, said those comments
are worrisome and "deeply offensive to me because my own family has suffered
from anti-Semitism."
"When you get these kinds of scurrilous attacks it trivializes anti-Semitism.
I guess they didn't do their homework and find out I was Jewish."
There will be no apology, Farber said, arguing Noble can't use that as "a
cloak" for his actions.
Noble spontaneously distributed copies of a memo he wrote called "The Tail
that Wags the Dog (Suggestions for Further Research)" after a Thursday film
screening by the student group Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights.
It claims the foundation "is biased by the presence and influence of staunch
pro-Israel lobbyists, activists and fundraising agencies." Noble asserted
yesterday that the foundation is "de facto running York. They clamp down on any
criticism of Israel."
Pro-Arab and pro-Israel students separately agreed to denounce Noble's
actions.
Rabia Siddiqui of the Solidarity group said it was inappropriate "for anyone
to single anyone out because of their race, in any circumstances."
"It is unacceptable for any student to be exposed to this type of bigotry,"
Dori Borshiov, president of the Jewish group Hillel at York, added in a
statement.
A statement by university president Lorna Marsden said "York strongly
condemns this highly offensive material," which singles out people "on the
basis of their ethnicity and alleged political views."
Credit: Toronto Star
Khaled Mouammar
National President
Canadian Arab Federation
Cell: 416-879-6766
the time is always ripe to do right. Nelson Mandela
==========================================================================================
Ralph Nader's dad to Ralph when he was 10 years old: "So what did you learn
in school today? To believe or to think?"
---------------------------------
All new Yahoo! Mail -
---------------------------------
Get a sneak peak at messages with a handy reading pane.
