TORONTO – Thornhill MPP Peter Shurman introduced a Private Members’ resolution to the Ontario Legislature last Thursday to condemn Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW). The resolution, which read in part, “the term Israeli Apartheid Week is condemned as it serves to incite hatred against Israel,” passed unanimously.

Shurman declared, “Passage of this resolution…sends a clear message to Ontarians and the rest of the world that use of the term, ‘apartheid,’ in relation to the state of Israel borders on hate speech and that the events staged during Israeli Apartheid Week have no place in Ontario, particularly on its university campuses.”

For the past six years, York University and other campuses in Canada and around the world have hosted virulent antisemitic activity under the guise of anti-Zionism during IAW, all in the name of Palestinian ‘equality.’

However, as reported in last week’s Jewish Tribune, when Zionist student groups wished to bring in their own speakers in advance of IAW, they were denied on the grounds that guests such as Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum, Frank Dimant of B’nai Brith Canada and reformed Islamic extremist Walid Shoebat posed an “extreme security risk.” The organization My Canada, which planned the event at York, was told they would have to pay an exorbitant cost for additional campus security.

In a press conference before introducing his resolution in the legislature, Shurman denounced the extortionate demands of York University as one-sided and discriminatory. While those who promote IAW say they are seeking dialogue, “this is not a dialogue; it’s a monologue.”

After the resolution passed, Shurman said in a statement: “I am pleased that the elected members of the Ontario Legislative Assembly stood up and condemned activities in Ontario that offend the principles of a free and democratic society.”

Frank Dimant, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, had this to say: “We applaud MPP Peter Shurman for his leadership role in ensuring the Ontario Legislature’s condemnation of the fabricated apartheid label applied against Israel during annual propaganda events. We commend all MPPs who voted with one voice to condemn the false terminology of Israeli ‘apartheid.’”

This year’s IAW – which claims to “educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system” – is endorsed by the Canadian Arab Federation, a group which has recently had its public funding ended by the Canadian government.