The JDL will expose those that support Hamas, Hizbullah and the Muslim Brotherhood
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Posted by Meir Weinstein on 22:30:32 2008/03/25
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Racism does not belong in Canada posted by Canadian Arab Federation
Anti-war groups align with Hamas, Hezbollah
Written by The Archiver
Tuesday, 08 May 2007
Don Butler
CanWest News Service
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
OTTAWA -- Canadian activists who attended a controversial conference in Cairo are calling on anti-war campaigners to show increased solidarity with Middle Eastern resistance movements, including Hezbollah and Hamas.
According to an audio recording obtained Tuesday by the Ottawa Citizen, the activists issued the call at a public meeting April 27 in Toronto at which Canadian delegates discussed their experiences at the Cairo Conference, held a month earlier.
The focus of the conference was to encourage an international alliance against "imperialism and Zionism." Twenty Canadians attended, mostly from Canadian anti-war groups.
The participants included representatives -- some quite senior -- of four Islamist groups listed as terrorist organizations by the Canadian government, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
In an interview, David Harris, a terrorism expert and former chief of strategic planning for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), said it was "absolutely extraordinary" that anti-war groups would align themselves with radical Islamic groups.
"At the very least, people associated with the organizations connected with this should feel mortified and horrified," he said.
The 90-minute Toronto meeting was chaired by James Clark of the Toronto Coalition to Stop the War, who was one of the delegates at the Cairo gathering. Seven other delegates also presented reports.
According to the audio recording, several talked about how "resistance movements" in the Middle East are keen to improve relations with anti-war and leftist groups in the West.
"What we saw in Cairo were the first signs that a world movement is beginning to come together," Suzanne Rice, one of the Canadian delegates, told participants.
A number of speakers urged audience members to sign up for next year's Cairo Conference so an even larger Canadian delegation can attend.
"We have to forge a more solid and more united anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist movement here to be able to have something to show our brothers and sisters when we get back," said one speaker.
Ali Mallah, who represented the Canadian Arab Federation, the Canadian Union of Public Employees and two anti-war groups, said Canadian delegates "made a very important contribution" in Egypt.
"We didn't agree with everything and we didn't disagree with many things," he said.
There were debates about resistance at the conference, Mallah said. "When we hear about Islamist resistance, let's try to put ourselves where they are and try to see if from their point of view."
He said the question of Israel was "very difficult," because Middle Eastern groups reject its right to exist. "But there is no rejection of Judaism or Christianity, which we don't hear much about here."
Mallah said officials from Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood told delegates they do not view religion, nationality or ideology as a barrier to co-operation with other activist groups "as long as they agree on opposing the war, striving for peace and most importantly, standing up against imperialism and occupation."
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