In Contempt: Zionism and McCarthyism in Canada
Naomi Binder Wall
It is common practice in solidarity work to draw comparisons linking different historical periods
of political and social transformation. As an example, the anti-Apartheid movement as it applies
to the Israeli state is focused on boycott, divestment and sanctions and has as its reference point
South Africa‟s anti-Apartheid BDS campaign.
Comparisons have also been drawn between Zionism and McCarthyism. There is no doubt that
the current brand of Zionist demagoguery must send a chill up the spine of any one who
remembers or has learned about the anti-Communist threats of the 1950s, when countless
thousands of American lives were devastated in a riot of anti-Communist fervor. The most
prominent anti-Communist of that time was Senator Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin, whose
investigation hearings conducted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities worked in
tandem with the FBI‟s anti-Communist campaign to construct an extreme climate of fear across
the United States. Canada played its part and in both countries numbers of progressive Jewish
voices were silenced, by threats, loss of income, prison, and ubiquitous harassment and
intimidation. Today, Zionist Jews front the attacks against Israel‟s critics, using tactics that eerily
echo McCarthyism.
At the same time, while we can point to McCarthyism and identify similarities to Zionist attacks
against critics of Israel, any comparison must be framed within and informed by the on-theground reality of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the brutal infrastructure that buttresses
unchecked violations of international humanitarian law. This includes ethnic cleansing and
forced removal, construction of illegal settlements on stolen Palestinian land, control of exports,
imports, electricity, water, and telephone lines, house demolitions, revocation of residency rights,
administrative detention without charge or trial, torture, and the use of white phosphorous
bombs. It is not the content, but the tactics and strategies of repression that link Zionist attacks
against critics of Israel and McCarthyism.
McCarthyism embodied a virulent anti-Communism that functioned to demonize progressive
social and political movements, organizations and individuals on behalf of colonialism and
capitalism. In much the same way, Zionist ideology and practice demonize the Free Palestine
movement.
Backgrounding McCarthyism
Prior to 1942, the U.S Department of Justice started keeping a list of domestic organizations that
it deemed subversive. Anti-Communist committees and “loyalty review boards” in federal, state,
and local governments and in private agencies carried out investigations for companies
concerned about possible Communist employees. Agencies kept cross-referenced lists of
organizations, publications, rallies, and charities, as well as lists of individuals who were
suspected Communists. Most victims of loyalty-security reviews were not allowed to crossexamine or know the identities of those who accused them and in many cases they were not told
what they were accused of. Thousands of working people lost their jobs.
Joseph McCarthy delivered his first anti-Communist speech on February 9, 1950, to the
Republican Women‟s Club of Wheeling, West Virginia, where he claimed that known
Communists were working for the U.S. State Department. Just three weeks earlier, amid
international protests, the Israeli Parliament declared Jerusalem the state‟s capital city. Prime
Minister Ben Gurion announced: “Jerusalem is not only the capital city of Israel and of world
Jewry, it should also become, according to the word of the prophets, the spiritual capital of the
entire world.” Israel was effusive in its support of the American government‟s hunt for
Communists and progressives- a campaign that targeted many hundreds of American Jews while offering itself as a haven for Jews worldwide, citing the words of the prophets as
affirmation of its inherent right to the “spiritual capital of the entire world” on behalf of Jews
everywhere.
Repressive Measures
“I don’t want to dwell on the past but for a few moments to speak of the future.
I feel that unless you remember this sinister epoch and understand it, you may be doomed to
replay it. Not with the same cast of characters or of the same issues but I see a day perhaps
coming in your lifetime…when a new crisis of conscience will grip this republic.” Michael
Wilson, screenwriter targeted by HUAC in 1947
Here in Canada we are in the midst of a Zionist propaganda campaign that vilifies solidarity
work carried out against Israeli Apartheid and the total abrogation of Palestinian rights. We are
seeing increasingly slanderous attacks against organizations and people advocating for Israel‟s
compliance with International Law, a basic enough demand but apparently a grave threat to
Zionist ideologues. In the face of an international shift in support of boycott, divestment and
sanctions (BDS), and significantly increasing numbers of institutions, organizations and
individuals around the globe demanding an end to Israeli impunity, Zionist zealots have come
unhinged.
Over the past two years, Canadian-based pro-Israel lobbyists have escalated their attacks against
groups, organizations, and individuals engaged in Palestinian solidarity work. An abbreviated list
of examples includes:

demanding that the LGBTQ community not allow “anti-Israel agitators” to march at
Pride Toronto;

condemning and demanding the removal of this year‟s Pride Toronto parade grand
marshal for speaking at a public event organized by Queers Against Israeli Apartheid;

demanding the banning of the term “Israeli Apartheid” at McMaster University,
Hamilton, Ontario;

removing Israeli Apartheid Week posters at several universities;

threatening several Canadian-based university faculty with review and dismissal;

censoring and blocking of community videos by Shaw TV because the words “ethnic
cleansing”, “massacre” and “genocide” were used in presentations;

sponsoring of a motion filed in the Ontario legislature condemning the use of the term
“Israeli Apartheid Week”;

demanding that the federal government refuse to allow British MP and outspoken
advocate of Palestinian human rights George Galloway to enter the country;

demanding the unilateral stripping of federal funding from the Canadian Arab
Federation.
In the spring of 2009, Gary Goodyear, the Minister of State for Science and Technology,
personally called the president of the main funding body for academic research in Canada and
demanded they reconsider their funding of the peer-reviewed conference at York University,
"Israel/Palestine: Mapping models of statehood and paths to peace.” There was an uproar of
protest and the conference proceeded as planned. But interference of this kind from members of
the federal parliament is not unusual, and in fact infrastructures have been created to facilitate
these interventions, through lobby groups, Israel‟s representatives in Canada, and “interparliamentary committees.”
Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism, CPCCA
“We have come to a point in the 21st century where at least in the halls of government and I think
very much in the mainstream of Canadian life, we are viewed as part and parcel of Canadian
polity.” Bernie Farber CEO, Canadian Jewish Congress, Toronto Star
Around the same time that Farber acknowledged that Jews “are viewed as part and parcel of
Canadian polity”, in August 2009 the Toronto Star reported that, under a federal program
providing security for groups at risk of being attacked in hate crimes, 46 of the 85 projects
funded by Ottawa since February 2008 belonged to Jewish community groups. Over the same
period, five Muslim organizations received funding, one Sikh group, a Portuguese organization,
an Aboriginal organization and a Hindu organization.
Interparliamentary Conference on Combating anti-Semitism (ICCA) Founding Convention
In February, 2009, over 125 international delegates gathered in London for two days of
presentations and discussions on the “increasing problem of anti-Semitism globally” and called
on all governments “to face the problem of anti-Semitism, especially its manifestations in the
media and academia.” Under the leadership of Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason
Kenney and Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, a delegation of 11 Canadian Members of Parliament
attended the conference. They returned “with the desire to form a Canadian coalition to fight
anti-Semitism here.”
In June, 2009, the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA)
launched its nation-wide inquiry into anti-Semitism by inviting written submissions on the
subject. The plan was to review the submissions and begin hearing witnesses in the fall.
Testimony was scheduled from November 2, 2009 through February 8, 2010. The list of
witnesses reveals a transparently biased selection and excludes submissions from people
intending to substantively challenge the notion of a “new anti-Semitism.” [1]
Following the inquiry, the CPCCA plans to submit a report on anti-Semitism to the Government
of Canada, in anticipation of the next Interparliamentary Conference on Combating AntiSemitism, to be held in Ottawa in October 2010.
The “New Anti-Semitism”
In 2005, the European Union‟s Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) offered
a “standardized” definition of anti-Semitism for data collection. The EUMC definition was an
important resource at the ICCA London conference. It states:
“Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.
Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-
Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious
facilities. In addition, such manifestations could also target the state of Israel, conceived as a
Jewish collectivity.” As Irwin Cotler, the chair of the CPCCA/ICCA declared in his key note
address at the London Conference, “Compared to most previous anti-Jewish outbreaks this new
anti-Semitism is often less directed against individual Jews. It attacks primarily the collective
Jews, the State of Israel.”
Examples of the ways in which anti-Semitism manifests itself with regard to the state of Israel
include (1) denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the
existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor; (2) applying double standards by requiring of it
a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation; (3) holding Jews
collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.
On the one hand, it is anti-Semitic to hold Jews “collectively responsible for the actions of the
state of Israel.” On the other hand, the working definition, as shown above, states that
manifestations of anti-Semitism could “also target the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish
collectivity.” It is impossible to tell from a reading of the definition what is and what is not antiSemitism. Not that it matters. Its primary function is to pave the way for the criminalization of
criticism of Israel.
In August, 2009, Seriously Free Speech, a Vancouver-based organization concerned with the
protection of free speech in Canada, forwarded a submission to the CPCCA in which they
sounded the alarm regarding the Coalition‟s apparent intention to make criticism of Israel a hate
crime:
“…the hearings of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat anti-Semitism
(CPCCA/ICCA) are directed not towards combating racism and anti-Semitism
but rather towards incorporating a much broader definition of anti-Semitism in the
Canadian criminal code. This new definition…is an expansive, subjective and politicized
definition which merges the interests of individual Jews with the state of
Israel and its Zionist ideology. By conflating the Jewish people as a whole with the government
of Israel, it seeks to delegitimize and even criminalize criticism of Israel
and its policies.”
Faculty for Palestine (F4P), a pan-Canadian network of university and college teachers,
submitted a deposition to the CPCCA as well. They pointed out that both of the CPCCA‟s main
committees are under the direction of Members of Parliament who have been at the forefront in
advocating an application of the “new” anti-Semitism definition against Palestinian advocacy.
F4P warns:
“This is a self-constituted body and not a representative one. Its mandate was given to itself, not
generated out of public debate nor approved through any parliamentary channels. This aspect of
the CPCCA permits it to be shielded from public accountability.”
Who Is Irwin Cotler?
Liberal Member of Parliament Irwin Cotler is a key player in the push to apply the “new antiSemitism” against Palestinian advocacy. He is the co-founder of the Inter-parliamentary
Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism and the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat
Anti-Semitism. A former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, he is a board
member of UN Watch, an Israeli advocacy group focusing on the United Nations, and an
associate of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, an Israeli right-wing think tank. He gained
notoriety for his verbal attack of Louise Arbour, the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights for her condemnation of Israel‟s bombing of Lebanon in 2006.
In his keynote speech in London, Cotler stated: “Anti-Semitism is the canary in the mineshaft of
evil, and it threatens us all.” In an outburst of Zionist zeal, he declared:
“What we are witnessing today- and which has been developing incrementally, sometimes
imperceptibly, and even indulgently, for some thirty-five years now
is a new sophisticated, globalizing, virulent and even lethal anti-Semitism, reminiscent
of the atmospherics of the 30s and without parallel or precedent since the end of the Second
World War.”
Cotler also raised the spectre of genocide in his keynote address, encouraging delegates to
consider “if anti-Semitism is the most enduring of hatreds and genocide is the most horrific of
crimes, then the convergence of this genocidal intent embedded in anti-Semitic ideology is the
most toxic of combinations.” Referencing the Holocaust, he went on to say, “Today, the most
dangerous anti-Semites might be those who want to make the world Judenstaatrein, „free of a
Jewish state.‟” In a chilling call, the so-called London Declaration warns signatories to the
Genocide Convention [2] that “where there is incitement to genocide, signatories to the Genocide
Convention automatically have an obligation to act…this promise must now be acted upon.”
The Canadian Government
“Canada holds the distinction of being one of four nations in the world that has refused to sign
the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” Ashifa Kassam, rabble.ca
The Canadian government under Stephen Harper was the first to impose the siege on Gaza after
the election of Hamas, the first to provide unquestioning support for the war against Lebanon in
2006, and the first to announce a boycott of Durban II..
Canadian Citizenship vs. Canadian Foreign Policy
In a September 2009 Rabble.ca article, Ashifa Kassam cautioned that the Harper government has
launched “a full-out war against those they believe are not worthy of Canadian citizenship,
whether it be children born abroad to parents that are Canadian but not born in Canada, or the
visa regulations slapped on the citizens of Mexico and the Czech Republic [3] to control „bogus‟
refugee claims. The move exposes the increasingly overt racist immigration and refugee policies
and practices of the federal government. The current rate of rejection of refugee claims in
Canada is 62%.
In an August, 2009 article in the Globe and Mail, Paul Koring reported that, while the Canadian
government is aware of a new Israeli practice of stamping the passports of Palestinian Canadians
with a “Palestinian Authority only” stamp - thereby curtailing freedom of movement for
Canadian citizens - the Harper government has made no protest. In response to the government‟s
silence on the situation, the president of the Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians said,
“The Harper government wants to disown us even though we are citizens.” He cited the growing
list of cases where non-white and Muslim Canadians facing difficulties overseas were refused
help by Canadian diplomats.
Canada’s Security Certificates
There are compelling similarities between the oppression of Communists during the McCarthy
era, and present-day targeting and persecution of “suspected terrorists,” who are predominantly
Arabs and Muslims. In Canada, the issuance of security certificates is central to the hounding of
people under the country‟s homeland security legislation, as was the McCarran-Walter Act,
enacted by the U.S. government in 1952. It allowed the government to deport immigrants or
naturalized citizens suspected of “subversive activities” and to bar “suspected subversives” from
entering the country.
Security certificates, issued under the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Act, apply to noncitizens, visitors, refugees or permanent residents. The certificate may extend for many months,
or even several years. Foreign nationals are automatically incarcerated when a certificate is
issued, and permanent residents may be detained if deemed a danger, or considered likely to fail
to attend court proceedings. Much of the evidence in security certificate cases is heard in
camera, with only the Federal Court judge and government lawyers and witnesses present. The
precise allegations, and the source of the allegations, remain unknown. Evidence may be
presented in court in the absence of both the detainee and their lawyer, making the crossexamination of key witnesses impossible.
Canadian Foreign Policy: Shifts in Language and Terminology
According to Michelle Collins, writing in Embassy Magazine (Ottawa) in July, 2009,
staff at the Department of Foreign affairs were expressing their concerns about changes being
made to commonly used terms in the lexicon of Canadian foreign policy language.
Embassy sources had learned that “tweaks” to the language “fraught with policy implications”
had been in the works since the Harper government took power in early 2006. The word
“humanitarian” had been excised from all references to “international humanitarian law.” In
addition, the term “gender equality” had been replaced with “equality of men and women.”
References to gender-based violence had been removed, marking a serious step backward in
Canadian foreign policy language. The new terminology denies that it is women who
disproportionately experience distinct and often deadly forms of gender-based violence and it
sets the stage for disallowing gender-based violence as a legitimate claim for refugee status.
Errol Mendes, a professor of International Law at the University of Ottawa, told Embassy that
removing the word “humanitarian” from the language could be the Harper government‟s strategy
for diluting Canada‟s obligations to the International Criminal Court. According to Embassy, a
source close to Foreign Affairs said that the Prime Minister‟s office “had once tried to change
Canada‟s official position on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to essentially state that
Canada does not support the ICC, it tolerates it.” It appears that the Canadian government shares
the Israeli state‟s contempt for the principles of international humanitarian law.
The Canadian Arab Federation and Kairos
In his opening address to the February, 2009 founding convention of the so-called Canadian
Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism, Jason Kenney, federal Minister of
Citizenship and Immigration stated: “Organizations like the Canadian Arab Federation and
Canadian Islamic Congress should not expect to receive government funding, because of their
hateful sentiments toward Israel and Jews…I would encourage all other governments to take a
similar approach to organizations that either excuse violence against Jews or express essentially
anti-Semitic sentiments.” The Canadian Arab Federation was in fact stripped of its funding, most
of which would have been earmarked for language classes and essential settlement services.
More recently, Kairos, an internationally renowned Canadian faith-based human rights
organization, representing seven of Canada‟s largest church denominations, was informed by the
Canadian government that its funding would be axed. Kairos‟ human rights work includes
projects in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. Addressing the Global
Forum to Counter Anti-Semitism in Jerusalem, Minister Kenney described his government‟s
fights against anti-Semitism, citing the defunding of Kairos as an example. After 35 years of
Canadian governmental support, the organization has been labeled “anti-Semitic” by the
country‟s Minister of Immigration and Citizenship and stripped of its ability to fund its
international commitments.
Canada’s “Full Understanding” of the Israeli State
“It’s hard to find a country friendlier to Israel than Canada these days. Members (of parliament)
are loyal friends to us, both with regard to their worldview and their estimation of the situation
in everything related to the Middle East, North Korea, Iran, Sudan and Somalia. No other
country in the world has demonstrated such full understanding of us.” Israeli Foreign Minister
Avigdor Lieberman, after meeting with Canada‟s Minister of Foreign Affairs and the leader of
the Liberal opposition, July, 2009.
The pivotal geo-political, economic, military, and ideological role played by the Israeli state
positions it as the war on terror‟s designated bully on the block, acting with impunity and in
possession of the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East. Canada stands as the state‟s most
steadfast champion, its loyalty lauded by people like Lieberman, who has repeatedly called for
the expulsion of Palestinians from Israel.
In addition to public displays of devotion, Canada‟s complicity in Israel‟s war crimes includes a
number of important infrastructural initiatives. These include the implementation of the CanadaIsrael Free Trade Act; substantial technical and structural support to the Israeli military [4]; and
the Canada-Israel “Public Security” Agreement. The agreement is a “Declaration of Intent” by
the two governments, and “is an opportunity for Canada and Israel to strengthen their
commitment to safeguarding their citizens and respective national interests from common
threats,” according to Avi Dicter, the Israeli Minister of Public Security. This talk of “common
threats” echoes the racist rhetoric of Islamaphobia and is part of the construction of the political
climate needed to legitimate the criminalization of criticism of Israel.
Conditions for Genocide
“The blockade (of Gaza) has created conditions for genocide through contamination of water
supplies due to white phosphorous, raw sewage pouring into the sea, and the prevention of food,
medical, and other humanitarian supplies from entering Gaza. The Palestinians living in Gaza
are already feeling the terrible effects including a huge increase in birth defects and in cancers
especially in children.” From International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), on the 2009
anniversary of the siege on Gaza.
In September, 2009, the UN Environment Programme sent out a report with a warning that “the
aquifer that 1.5 million Gazans drink from, and grow crops with, is failing. Overuse is making
the water supply saltier…pollution from sewage and fertilizers is high enough to put young
children in jeopardy of nitrate poisoning…repairing the water system will require US$1.5 billion
over two decades.” [5] Just two months later, in November, 2009, Canada‟s Minister of Industry,
Tony Clement, met with Israeli industry and government officials to discuss Canadian
developments in the field of water technologies. “I am hoping that our visit may lead to even
closer cooperation and serve to demonstrate to companies here that Canada is a good place to do
business,” Mr. Clement said. [6]
In the glaring light of the devastation of Gaza, where water pollution from sewage and fertilizers
puts young children in jeopardy of nitrate poisoning and the prospect of access to clean water
may be as much as two decades away, Canada‟s pursuit of business with Israel in the field of
water technologies is yet another indication of its complicity with war crimes.
In the Climate of the “War on Terror”
No doubt there are similarities between Zionism and McCarthyism. At the same time, this
similarity does not occur in a vacuum. The Israeli state plays a pivotal role in the so-called war
on terror and speaks the Islamophobic rhetoric of “homeland security” with impunity. Escalating
support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions is seriously threatening to upset Israel‟s plans for
Palestine, plans in lock-step with U.S. and Canadian interests in the Middle East. As support for
Palestinian self-determination grows and strengthens, Zionist reaction will escalate. Here in
Canada we can expect more McCarthy-like scare tactics against Palestinian advocacy. The
primary targets will be Palestinian, Arab and Muslim organizations and individuals, and other
Communities of Colour. Jews and others in solidarity may well be targeted for their work in
support of Palestinian self-determination, but are not besieged by the apparatuses of the so-called
war on terror and the racist rhetoric that fuels it.
Footnotes
[1] See www.cpcca.ca/inquiry.htm
[2] Adopted by Resolution 260 (III) A of the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December
1948.
[3] Mostly Roma
[4] See Making a Killing: The Canada-Israel Military-Industrial Partnership, A Coalition Against
Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) Pamphlet; www.caiaweb.org
[5] See www.marketwire.com/press-release/Industry-Canada-1076235.html
[6] The Canada/Israel Public Security Agreement, Michel Chossudovsky, April, 2008.
References
Michel Chossudovsky, The Canada-Israel “Public Security” Agreement: Ottawa and Tel Aviv
Collaborate in Counter-terrorism & Homeland Security, April 2, 2008.
Michelle Collins, Canadian Foreign Policy, International Legal Obligations Being Subverted by
PMO1[1]-Driven Shift in Policy Language and Terminology, Embassy Magazine (Ottawa) July
29, 2009.
Yves Engler, Is Canada More Pro-Israel than the US?, The Electronic Intifada, October 12,
2009.
Ashifa Kassam, Canadian Foreign Policy Fails Its Citizens, rabble.ca, September 7, 2009.
Paul Koring, Israel Targets Palestinian Canadians, The Globe and Mail, August 21, 2009.
“Enemies from Within”: Senator Joseph R. McCarthy’s Accusations of Disloyalty”,
HistoryMatters.com
Biography
Naomi Binder Wall is a long-time political and social activist and writer. She is a member of the
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN).