Letters, Feb. 6

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This article was published 06/02/2024 (647 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bring home hostages

Feb. 7 will mark four months since Hamas dragged more than 200 people, mostly civilians, including children, into Gaza as hostages. Regardless of what side people take in this conflict, it seems to me that all people of good conscience should be calling for the release of all hostages.

Even the International Court of Justice, which could not order a non-government to take action, clearly stated in their ruling that the hostages be released immediately and unconditionally.

Please do not forget that more over 130 people, including a one-year-old baby and their four-year-old brother, are still being held hostage in Gaza. Bring them home now.

Avrom Charach

Winnipeg

Netanyahu bears blame

Benjamin Netanyahu was posturing as a strongman who would keep Israel safe. We now know there were two years of warnings, and months of reports of large actions along the border with Gaza, that were ignored.

Now embarrassed, he will extend this brutal offensive as long as he can to stay in power, despite how many lives are blown to pieces so long as it is not his.

Doug Coburn

Winnipeg

Tolerance, yes; silence, no

Re: Manitoba not a home for hate (Think Tank, Feb. 3); ‘Censorship needs to stop’: suspension lifted for nursing student accused of antisemitic posts (Jan. 29)

Gustavo Zentner writes that Manitoba is a province of inclusivity but that the Jewish community has suffered the brunt of some undefined surge in antisemitism. He points to the supposed surge on the university campuses here in Winnipeg.

It is, however, those who dare to speak out about the violence in Gaza and the ongoing apartheid regime in Palestine that bear the brunt of sanctions and abuse. A senior nursing student was suspended from the university and threatened with five years of sanctions for a social media post that was critical of Israel. The backlash on university campus has been fierce against Israel critics. She was defended in her case by Jewish academics and many others who called her post reasonable political dialogue that should be protected under the principal of academic freedom.

Her suspension was eventually lifted but she suffered a humiliating attack from the administration before the ruling was overturned. Academics have lost positions in Canada due to their defence of Palestinian human rights.

While there is indeed antisemitism in Manitoba, Zentner offers little evidence of that happening in his opinion piece. The occurrence of antisemitism has been highlighted by some shocking incidents in Toronto and Montreal but I’ve heard little about specific incidents here. Innuendo is no substitute for actual facts.

Yes, we need to support tolerance and co-operation between communities, but not at the cost of staying silent about the human rights atrocities perpetrated by the Israeli regime.

David Weller

Winnipeg

Gustavo Zentner’s comment piece gives readers the misleading impression that rallies in Winnipeg in solidarity with Palestinians and in opposition to Israeli state violence are hatefests: “Protests and chants calling for violence against a specific community, as witnessed on the streets of Winnipeg, have far-reaching consequences.”

I have attended most of these weekly rallies since October, and not once have I heard a chant calling for violence against Jews.

The protests are directed against the actions of the Israeli state and the complicity of the Canadian, U.S. and other governments with its onslaught against Gaza. The rallies are animated by a spirit of opposition to settler colonialism and racism, including antisemitism, everywhere. Participants, some of whom are Jewish, would challenge anyone who tried to push antisemitism at one of these events.

Smearing anti-colonial criticism of Israel as antisemitic does a disservice to the fight against antisemitism, which in Canada has increased mainly because of the rise of far-right politics.

David Camfield

Winnipeg

Broaden scope of concern

Re: “Be unequivocal in condemnation” (Letters, Feb. 2); The battlefield between feminism and rapes of war (Jan. 26)

The sharp criticism of Jen Zoratti’s piece tells me what we already know, one cannot offer any perspective on Gaza or Israel without offending.

Zoratti’s putting the rape of Jewish women into historical context does not diminish or deny the trauma and hurt suffered by the Israeli rape victims, their families and community, and those across the world who are paying careful attention to events in Israel and Gaza. There has been enough coverage in the media for everyone to understand the horror of Oct. 7 — the rapes, the death, the hostage-taking and the destruction.

I was incredibly touched by a documentary on the horror of Oct. 7 including the death of young Israeli female soldiers and of residents of kibbutzim. I am equally touched by the horror of the conflict in Gaza: the many thousands killed and injured, the hundreds of thousands displaced, and the brutal conditions of life endured by all.

Broadening the scope of our concern to Palestinian women, and children, who have suffered massive casualties, injury and destruction of their communities, is not picking sides, or elevating the suffering of some over others.

It comes out of our common humanity and our wish for an end to all suffering.

Peter Kirby

Kenora

The reason to feed kids

Re: Food for thought — and education (Editorial, Feb. 3)

Whenever the topic of food programs for schools come up, I am reminded of a comment from the late educational philosopher, Dr. Nel Noddings.

When asked at an education conference in Winnipeg for her thoughts on school food programs, she said that in a caring society you didn’t feed children to improve their test scores; you fed them because they were hungry.

Truly food for thought.

Brent Corrigan

Winnipeg

Province should run silica mine

Re: Shifting sands, mounting concerns (Feb. 2)

Well here’s a crazy thought. Instead of selling this extremely valuable resource to a privately traded company who will squeeze every penny they can out of Manitoba and then leave the taxpayer to cover the cost of the fallout and damage to the aquifers they leave behind… why doesn’t Manitoba just develop the silica project itself?

The solar plant is going to be in Manitoba (no doubt receiving tax incentives to locate here) and the province could sell directly to them. Ottawa is pouring billions into electric vehicle battery plants in Ontario and Quebec and will possibly need a source of silica for it. And the province can set up a reparations fund where a portion of profits get set aside to cover the cost of any damage done during and after the project.

This whole deal is shady at best and now we find out there is a Filmon involved. Don’t forget, Gary took MTS private and ended up on their board of directors. And I didn’t know anyone who got in on the ground floor to get shares when they went up for grabs.

It felt like an inside deal rigged to benefit friends of friends on the inside. This silica mine feels like it’s the same rigged game that has already decided who the winners will be when the ground gets broken. But like with any game there can’t be winners without a losers.

Any guesses who they have set up to be the losers in this deal… Here’s a hint. It rhymes with moo and yee.

Brian Spencler

Winnipeg