Friday, February 26, 2010

Ontario Legislature Unanimously Supports Apartheid

Apartheid is an ugly word that just shouldn’t be used, Ontario Progressive Conservative MPP Peter Shurman said Thursday.

Shurman, the member from Thornhill, moved a resolution to condemn the now annual event on Canadian campuses known as Israeli Apartheid Week,

“I want to be clear about what it is I’m trying to do,” Shurman said. “I want the name changed. It’s that simple. It’s just wrong.”

Shurman said he had no objection to people criticizing Israel, or debating the thorny issues of Palestinians and the occupied territories.

“My problem is the name,” he said. “Israeli Apartheid Week is not dialogue, it’s a monologue. The name is hateful, it is odious and that’s not how things should be in my Ontario. It’s a term that frankly I’m sick of hearing. Get rid of this word apartheid.”

The resolution passed with unanimous support from both the Liberals and the New Democratic Party.

But there were only thirty MPs present for the vote.

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