blake 3:17
7th July 2013, 10:27
Strange bedfellows team up to defund Pride Toronto
BY ANDREA HOUSTON
Published Thu, Jul 4, 2013 11:24 am EDT
President of Bnai Brith Canada confirms partnership with Charles McVety's Canada Christian College
The number of people working to axe city funding for Pride Toronto is growing. Anti-gay evangelical Christians have teamed up with the pro-Israel lobby, and the group is turning its attention to WorldPride.
Frank Dimant, executive vice-president of Bnai Brith Canada and professor of Israeli studies at Charles McVetys Canada Christian College, confirms that he has been actively lobbying Toronto councillors to stop funding Pride because it allows the participation of the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA).
We are very consistent that the Pride event should not introduce hate and hate speech. Saying apartheid is anti-Semitic; its vile. It has no place in an event that is supposed to be a joyous celebration, Dimant tells Xtra.
The gay parade was initially conceived as a celebration. I dont think it should be politicized. Everyone concurs: it is a celebration.
Councillors voted last month to grant funding for Pride Toronto but deferred a vote on the citys anti-discrimination policy to July 16.
At the time, Xtra obtained an email that was sent to some councillors after the May executive committee meeting, stating that the issue is of growing concern to "fundamentalist Christians."
Dimant, who received an honorary doctorate from Canada Christian College, says fundamentalist Christians have long been allies with the pro-Israel lobby.
Fundamentalist Christians recognize that Israel is not an apartheid state, he says. They recognize that this is part of the propaganda machine against the Jewish state, and therefore they are concerned.
However, for the past two years the city manager has determined that PT does not contravene city policy and that any further complaints should be directed to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. In April, three new city staff reports determined, once again, that the use of the term "Israeli apartheid" at city-funded events is not a criminal offence and does not contravene any city policy.
Still, Dimant says, the phrase should be censored because it is offensive to some.
Okay, so its not criminal [hate speech], he admits. But its offensive and its despicable. I certainly dont want taxpayers' money to go to support any kind of endeavour that allows this travesty to continue.
Marci McDonald is a Canadian journalist and the author of The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada. She says Dimant represents the far right of the Jewish community.
He was the lynchpin in Canada uniting the Jewish community's interest in cultivating evangelical Christians as a huge weight of influence to give Jewish concerns more weight politically, she says.
In recent years, McVety has opposed every piece of human rights legislation for queer people, including the Accepting Schools Act and gay-straight alliances, sexual health education in high schools and trans human rights, at the provincial level with Tobys Law, and federally with Bill C-279.
Charles McVety makes no bones about the fact that it was same-sex marriage that propelled him to organize what became the Christian right in Canada, she says. That was the nucleus. That was the motivator.
Unlike McVety, who did not respond to Xtras request for comment, Dimant says he is not anti-gay. You really have to separate the two, Dimant stresses. For us, this is about the attempt to de-legitimize Israel. The other issues that Charles is involved in do not play into this whatsoever.
That may be true, McDonald says. For him the paramount question is not allowing anything that limits the embrace of Israel in the public mind.
Members of the Jewish lobby have always maintained they are fighting only to exclude the phrase Israeli apartheid from the Pride parade. But McVetys connection to the QuAIA debate seems to invalidate the Jewish lobbys position that censoring Israel apartheid is its only goal, McDonald says.
Frank Dimant cannot deny that he has long and deep ties to the evangelical far right, and he has in fact cultivated those ties. Its because of an interest in Israel, not any kind of intolerance to gay and lesbian people.
That being said, McDonald says, it doesnt seem to bother Dimant that McVety holds such hateful views toward gay and lesbian people.
It may well be true that he differs from Charles McVety on gay rights, but its interesting that weve never heard his voice objecting when it came to sex education in Ontario schools or GSAs, or the other positions that Charles McVety took, she says. He has never separated himself before.
Councillor Joe Mihevc says he is disturbed to learn that groups with anti-gay positions are connected to pro-Israel lobbying efforts at city hall. Thats a very disconcerting alliance that has formed, he says.
Mihevc says he supports Pride. Pride should be funded. We as a council really dont have the authority to tell Pride who should be in the parade and who shouldnt be in the parade. I think its time to put this issue to bed.
Last month, Councillor James Pasternak, who requested that the debate on the city's anti-discrimination policy be deferred to July 16, warned that if QuAIA marched, funding for WorldPride would be at risk.
We're worried that QuAIA plans to turn WorldPride into an international hate-fest by bringing anti-Israel protesters to the city to hijack the parade. That will be a major embarrassment," he said.
QuAIA once again marched peacefully this year without incident. Pasternak could not be reached for comment.
Pride Torontos executive director, Kevin Beaulieu, says its incredibly important that the city continue to support Pride.
Its certainly a concern if people carrying homophobic or transphobic messages are lobbying, he says. Thats a great concern to us. We have a message that we believe is stronger, and will prevail, and that is that we all belong in this city. We all have a place in this city. And the LGBT communities deserve the support of city council.
http://dailyxtra.com/toronto/news/strange-bedfellows-team-defund-pride-toronto?market=210
BY ANDREA HOUSTON
Published Thu, Jul 4, 2013 11:24 am EDT
President of Bnai Brith Canada confirms partnership with Charles McVety's Canada Christian College
The number of people working to axe city funding for Pride Toronto is growing. Anti-gay evangelical Christians have teamed up with the pro-Israel lobby, and the group is turning its attention to WorldPride.
Frank Dimant, executive vice-president of Bnai Brith Canada and professor of Israeli studies at Charles McVetys Canada Christian College, confirms that he has been actively lobbying Toronto councillors to stop funding Pride because it allows the participation of the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA).
We are very consistent that the Pride event should not introduce hate and hate speech. Saying apartheid is anti-Semitic; its vile. It has no place in an event that is supposed to be a joyous celebration, Dimant tells Xtra.
The gay parade was initially conceived as a celebration. I dont think it should be politicized. Everyone concurs: it is a celebration.
Councillors voted last month to grant funding for Pride Toronto but deferred a vote on the citys anti-discrimination policy to July 16.
At the time, Xtra obtained an email that was sent to some councillors after the May executive committee meeting, stating that the issue is of growing concern to "fundamentalist Christians."
Dimant, who received an honorary doctorate from Canada Christian College, says fundamentalist Christians have long been allies with the pro-Israel lobby.
Fundamentalist Christians recognize that Israel is not an apartheid state, he says. They recognize that this is part of the propaganda machine against the Jewish state, and therefore they are concerned.
However, for the past two years the city manager has determined that PT does not contravene city policy and that any further complaints should be directed to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. In April, three new city staff reports determined, once again, that the use of the term "Israeli apartheid" at city-funded events is not a criminal offence and does not contravene any city policy.
Still, Dimant says, the phrase should be censored because it is offensive to some.
Okay, so its not criminal [hate speech], he admits. But its offensive and its despicable. I certainly dont want taxpayers' money to go to support any kind of endeavour that allows this travesty to continue.
Marci McDonald is a Canadian journalist and the author of The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada. She says Dimant represents the far right of the Jewish community.
He was the lynchpin in Canada uniting the Jewish community's interest in cultivating evangelical Christians as a huge weight of influence to give Jewish concerns more weight politically, she says.
In recent years, McVety has opposed every piece of human rights legislation for queer people, including the Accepting Schools Act and gay-straight alliances, sexual health education in high schools and trans human rights, at the provincial level with Tobys Law, and federally with Bill C-279.
Charles McVety makes no bones about the fact that it was same-sex marriage that propelled him to organize what became the Christian right in Canada, she says. That was the nucleus. That was the motivator.
Unlike McVety, who did not respond to Xtras request for comment, Dimant says he is not anti-gay. You really have to separate the two, Dimant stresses. For us, this is about the attempt to de-legitimize Israel. The other issues that Charles is involved in do not play into this whatsoever.
That may be true, McDonald says. For him the paramount question is not allowing anything that limits the embrace of Israel in the public mind.
Members of the Jewish lobby have always maintained they are fighting only to exclude the phrase Israeli apartheid from the Pride parade. But McVetys connection to the QuAIA debate seems to invalidate the Jewish lobbys position that censoring Israel apartheid is its only goal, McDonald says.
Frank Dimant cannot deny that he has long and deep ties to the evangelical far right, and he has in fact cultivated those ties. Its because of an interest in Israel, not any kind of intolerance to gay and lesbian people.
That being said, McDonald says, it doesnt seem to bother Dimant that McVety holds such hateful views toward gay and lesbian people.
It may well be true that he differs from Charles McVety on gay rights, but its interesting that weve never heard his voice objecting when it came to sex education in Ontario schools or GSAs, or the other positions that Charles McVety took, she says. He has never separated himself before.
Councillor Joe Mihevc says he is disturbed to learn that groups with anti-gay positions are connected to pro-Israel lobbying efforts at city hall. Thats a very disconcerting alliance that has formed, he says.
Mihevc says he supports Pride. Pride should be funded. We as a council really dont have the authority to tell Pride who should be in the parade and who shouldnt be in the parade. I think its time to put this issue to bed.
Last month, Councillor James Pasternak, who requested that the debate on the city's anti-discrimination policy be deferred to July 16, warned that if QuAIA marched, funding for WorldPride would be at risk.
We're worried that QuAIA plans to turn WorldPride into an international hate-fest by bringing anti-Israel protesters to the city to hijack the parade. That will be a major embarrassment," he said.
QuAIA once again marched peacefully this year without incident. Pasternak could not be reached for comment.
Pride Torontos executive director, Kevin Beaulieu, says its incredibly important that the city continue to support Pride.
Its certainly a concern if people carrying homophobic or transphobic messages are lobbying, he says. Thats a great concern to us. We have a message that we believe is stronger, and will prevail, and that is that we all belong in this city. We all have a place in this city. And the LGBT communities deserve the support of city council.
http://dailyxtra.com/toronto/news/strange-bedfellows-team-defund-pride-toronto?market=210