E-mail Exchange

E-mail Reply to Myron Love Regarding his Canadian Jewish News Article (by P. Burrows)

Hi Myron,

Thanks for forwarding your draft article.

You may wish to correct a couple minor factual errors: the title of the festival is "Canada Palestine Film Festival: Images of Occupation & Resistance in Israel-Palestine" -- not "images and resistance...."

Also, I did not say "our board" because we do not have a "board".   We are a community, volunteer-based group, without such positions or sub-councils.   It's a non-hierarchical group.

As for the notion that Winnipeg is being "targeted" (as suggested by Cline), and that members of our organization "have come to this backwater (Winnipeg) to try to fool the locals" (Matas) -- all I can say is that I was born and raised here.   Like most members of our group, I am a "local" -- contrary to the false (not to mention 100% irrelevant) insinuation by Matas.   It is interesting to note, however, that Jonny Cline, who accuses us of “targeting” Winnipeg, is described in your own article as a “newly arrived” Shaliach (or “emissary”), a representative that many North American cities have whose very purpose is to lobby on behalf of a foreign government (namely Israel).   Who is the real outsider targeting Winnipeg, one wonders?

I do share my critics' hope that Winnipeg remains a "peaceful community".   The suggestion that "violence" surrounds this festival is unfounded and inflammatory.

Obviously, you are entitled to frame your article in any way you wish.   Personally, I believe it would be a stronger piece if you used some of the statements I made on the phone today to offset some of the assertions of Matas and Cline -- rather than give the majority of column inches to their wild speculation as to our motivations, as well as the content of films they have never seen.

You also let Matas suggest that we are doing nothing about the Yom Kippur oversight.   But as I pointed out to you on the phone quite clearly, we have organized a separate screening of two of the same films on another night (Tuesday at 7pm at Mondragon Bookstore & Coffee House), followed by a moderated discussion entitled "Difficult Dialogues: Seeing & Speaking About Occupation & Resistance."

Finally, "resistance" is not a code word justifying "terror" as Matas suggests.   It is true that "resistance" CAN be both violent and non-violent.   But even "armed struggle" against a foreign occupation is a right guaranteed under international law -- so long as it does not violate the Geneva Conventions itself.   Targeting civilians is a violation of the Geneva Conventions, not to mention immoral and generally counter-productive.   Our organization opposes ALL forms of terrorism, whether they are committed by non-state actors like Palestinian suicide bombers, or by the military of a country like Israel.   David Matas clearly only opposes terrorism that is directed at Israeli civilians.   Our organization is categorically opposed to terrorism regardless of the perpetrator or the victim.   It seems to me quite clear that it is Matas himself who "perpetrates a fraud," representing a human rights group that is only concerned about certain kinds of victims, and unwilling to consider the possibility that Israel can do wrong.   Whether Israel engages in massive human rights violations or war crimes is an empirical question -- not a matter of faith or definition.   Matas should know better, as he has done good work related to human rights and immigration in other areas.

More to the point about the Canada Palestine Film Festival, however, is that the films themselves do not even promote armed resistance to Israel of any kind, discriminating or non-discriminating.   Most of the films, in fact, show example after example of non-violent resistance: simply going outside to buy groceries during curfew, trying to cross checkpoints to get to school, or violating foreign military decrees prohibiting the building of homes, or the harvesting of crops, on land that has been owned by one's family for generations, even centuries.   These are all examples of what we mean by "resistance."   Matas would know this if he actually bothered to watch the films before condemning them.

If you wish to honestly and accurately portray our political perspective, and the intention and function of our film festival, then by all means include some of the above responses to some of the claims made by Matas and Cline in your article.    If you wish to give their uninformed fears and speculation most of the space, then that is of course your prerogative as well.

Either way, if you decide to revise your article, please let me know of any changes.

Respectfully,

Paul Burrows

Canada Palestine Film Festival

(204) 942-1588

Note: Myron Love sent this final reply to my e-mail on Sunday:

Dear Paul:

     I would gladly include much of this in the story if I could, but the deadline was Friday. In fact, I was only able to add a couple of paragraphs of your response to the edited article. I had only a couple of days to write this and I wasn't able to reach Victor - who directed me to you - until just before I called you. I agree that the comments are out of proportion to the films but at the time   that was all I had to work with.   Maybe next time.

Myron