JDL recruiting at York University?

 But I doubt it's because of pressure from a fringe group like the JDL as opposed to Kenney's personal right wing views on the Mid-East.

Star Spangled Canadian wrote:

Has every Muslim, Arab, pro-Palestinian, etc. group publicly disavowed the nuttier members of their cause?

The CJC and B'nai Brith regularly make demands that Muslim groups denounce extremists in their midsts even if the group has no involvement with them whatsoever yet not only does the CJC and BBC fail to practice what they preach with the JDL, they actually coddle the group, promote them in their media (in the case of both the Bnai Brith's Jewish Tribune and Canadian Jewish News which is loosely connected with CJC) and allow them to participate in their events.

I work in the same building that house CJC and UJA. I have asked CJC about this allegation. I am told that CJC has not made such a demand. If they are wrong I would like to show them. Please post some examples. Since you claim CJC "regularly" make these demands I'm sure you have them handy.

I work in the same building that house CJC and UJA.

Now, show us all the proof  AkaMycroft how JDL, which I totally reject, is a hate group.

He carried the title of a man of God. But Rabbi Meir Kahane spent most of his life wallowing in the profane rather than promoting the sacred. He could claim credit, if that is the word, for the formation of the violent Jewish Defense League and for a campaign of hate-mongering against Arabs that repelled even hard-line Zionists in Israel

[...]

He routinely referred to Arabs as "dogs" and demanded that they be expelled from Israel and the occupied territories. "We must throw the Arabs out," he once told PEOPLE. "It was written in the Talmud: 'If one comes to slay you, slay him first.' " He denounced any Jews who had sexual relations with an Arab. As a representative of the extremist Kach Party, Kahane won one term in the Israeli Knesset. From the start, though, his presence there was deeply embarrassing to mainstream politicians, and in 1988 Israel's highest court banned his party from running for the Knesset on the grounds that it advocated "racist" and "undemocratic" policies.

Students Against Israeli Apartheid @ York University (SAIA) condemns the racist and hateful intimidation of its activists by pro-Israeli groups. SAIA also condemns York’s administration failure to keep the York Campus a safe place free from the presence of well-known hate groups that condone the killing of Palestinians. On Wednesday February 3rd, 2010 SAIA held a tabling session at York University. During that session, two pro-Israeli apartheid advocates approached the table and proceeded to provoke arguments with the members at the table, accusing all non-Palestinian members of SAIA of being anti-Semitic and making many racist comments. They especially singled out women who are visibly Muslim or Arab during their sexist and racial intimidation. Despite SAIA’s calls to York security, security was not quick to intervene. Later on, a number of individuals were noticed wearing sweatshirts with the logo of the well known hate group “The Jewish Defense League” (JDL). After walking by the table a few times, an additional ten to fifteen Israeli Apartheid supporters congregated around SAIA’s table. The previous agitators also returned to the table, and continued to provoke SAIA members and general student population who support the Palestinian struggle. Among that group, there were identifiably four to five JDL members who are not students or related to York University. They were also sitting across from the SAIA table in a very intimidating and threatening fashion. They had no intent to even hide their identities, wearing JDL t-shirts and approaching the table to let their picture be taken. It is important to note that the intimidation was so intense that York Security had to call the Toronto Police. In addition to their intimidating presence on York campus, members of the JDL were conducting what could only be described as policing activities on campus. They were roaming the campus and interrogating students about an alleged accident that happened earlier in the week. The JDL’s assumption of this policing role with no intervention or objection on the behalf of the University is extremely alarming. It is important to note that in the past year, York University has issued a trespass notice to the JDL and banned its members from campus [for more details about the JDL, see below]. The provocations and intimidating presence of the JDL is no coincidence. These provocations, trespassing of the JDL and students affiliating themselves with this hate group increase as the approach Israeli Apartheid Week draws nearer (March 1-7th, 2010). Last year at York, Palestinian solidarity activists and Palestinian students/activists had to face the same forms of intimidation. These provocations are intended to create the false impression that York campus is not safe for Jewish students because of Israeli Apartheid Week. As an anti-racist human rights group, SAIA upholds the right of all students to their physical safety, and calls on the University to ban the hate group, Jewish Defense League, from its campus, and monitor the provocations of the pro-Israel groups which are the source of the perceived tension. TO VIEW A PHOTO AND VIDEO OF THE JDL ON YORK CAMPUS: Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWQ6FWgTw14 Photo: http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/9384/img1794q.jpg *The Jewish Defense League* The Jewish Defense League (JDL) is a well-known hate group. They were founded by Meir Kahane, an extremist who advocated violence against, and even the mass-murder of Palestinians and Arabs. In Toronto each year, the JDL holds a memorial for Meir Kahane – organizers proclaim “Kahane was Right!” and celebrate the legacy of a man who called for the death of Palestinians and Arab people(i). The racist, violent ideology advocated by Kahane and embraced by the JDL has motivated hate crimes against Palestinians and other Arab people. The most notable incident took place in 1994 when Baruch Goldstein, a follower of Kahane, and a member of the Jewish Defense League in the United States, walked into the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron and killed 29 Palestinians while they were praying. Kach and Kahane Chai (ii)– two groups associated with the Kahanist movement – were banned in Israel for their extremism. According to a 2007 report, the JDL in the US continues to raise funds for the outlawed Kahane Chai . The JDL have been profiled by the FBI because of their violent extremism. An FBI report identifies the JDL as "a right-wing terrorist group" and "a violent extremist Jewish organization." They are included in the report because on December 11, 2001: Irving David Rubin and Earl Leslie Krugel were arrested by the Los Angeles Joint Terrorism Task Force for conspiring to build and place improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, California, and the local office of Congressman Darrell Issa...Statements by Rubin and Krugel indicated that they had planned the attack against the mosque to demonstrate the militancy of the JDL. Krugel further indicated that the attack was planned to provide a “wake up call” to the Muslim community. It was determined that Rubin and Krugel had already acquired the necessary components to build an IED, including pipes, fuses, and smokeless powder.(iii) In Canada, the JDL is led by Meir Weinstein – a longtime follower of Kahane, who was once a spokesperson for the Kahanist movement and, in 1994, refused to condemn the massacre at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.(iv) Last year, Weinstein joined a Facebook group called ‘Death to the Arabs’. When questioned about it by the CBC, he claimed he received it in Hebrew and did not understand what it meant – a ridiculous claim given that Weinstein speaks and understands Hebrew, having lived in Israel for 10 years and served in the Israeli military. For more detailed information about Weinstein’s violent, racist views, there is a comprehensive interview with Front Page Magazine in 2008, where he says: We don’t believe there’s a peace plan out there that’s viable. We don’t believe that any of these plans have provided peace. They provided bloodshed. The best you can do is have a security plan. We also back the right of Arabs to leave Israel and to go to other countries. The government should make incentives. This is so that Israel doesn’t find itself in a demographic nightmare. It’s so that a Palestinian country will not be a threat to Israel and a war ground from which to target Israel. It was the case with Gaza, and Lebanon… Israel needs to flex its security muscle. The land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people, not the Arabs.(v) By expanding the definition of anti-Semitism to include any and all criticism of Israel, the JDL labels anyone advocating for justice for Palestinians as their enemy. The JDL publicly advocates for violence against its perceived enemies. Their Facebook page clearly outlines their philosophy and is explicit about the use of violence: “JDL upholds the principle of Barzel – iron – the need to both move to help Jews everywhere and to change the Jewish image through sacrifice and all necessary means – even strength, force and violence.”(vi) The JDL frequently organizes martial arts classes for their members, which makes them even more dangerous. It is no surprise that at last year’s Israeli Apartheid Week, there were several incidents of harassment and physical violence against event organizers and attendees. During a pro-Palestine event at Ryerson University in September 2009, several members of the JDL attempted to storm the event, but were denied entry because the room was at capacity. Ryerson security had to be called to remove them from the premises. In June 2009, after nearly a year of JDL protests at York University, the administration, on advice from the Toronto Police, issued a trespass notice against the JDL. TO VIEW A PHOTO OF RACIST GRAFFITI BY THE JDL IN HEBRON (PALESTINE): http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/7343/800pxgasthearabspainted.jpg ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [i]http://www.jdlcanada.ca/reference/events/notice-110308.html [ii]http://www.washington-report.org/archives/November_2007/0711030.html [iii]http://www.fbi.gov/publications/terror/terror2000_2001.htm [iv]http://www.rabble.ca/news/whos-terrorist-jdl-and-galloway-ban [v]http://www.frontpagemag.com/articles/Read.aspx?GUID=20CAC62D-65C2-4DEC-94BF-BC66D2994E8D [vi]http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2225364895

The video was taken using the closed circuit cameras which are installed on campus, and although there is no audio as the camera is placed in a high traffic area, it clearly shows the events which took place between 4pm and 5pm on Monday, February 1, the day in question.  The table which was set up by the Hasbara group at York is visible, and no more than about 15 to 30 people are seen around the table at any given time. At one point, it can be seen that an argument may have taken place; however, at no point during the video is there any evidence of a brawl, nor can a shouting match be evident from the students’ body language. At several points cameras are being used by the students, and at one point a female student who obviously does not take well to being on camera tries to reach for the camera, but the male student holding it lifts it up so it is out of her reach. No evidence of students being physically assaulted can be found during the video. York’s security officers are seen towards the end of the video taking statements from students who were on scene.

Despite my very distasteful feelings about the rightwing JDL, unless and until it is found to act in a criminal manner, these students are more than free to associate with it.