MEDIA RELEASE: Former Blue Beret to protest London (Ontario) Muslim Mosque support for Canadian Boat to Hamas

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In response to the latest campaign to delegitimize the state of Israel by Canadian anti-Israel activists — the attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade of weapons to the Hamas terrorist organization now underway via the ‘Canadian Boat to Gaza’ — former UN peacekeeper and VoiceofCanada editor Mark Vandermaas will be conducting a series of public protests at the London (Ontario) Muslim Mosque to draw attention to the little-known facts that the state of Israel was created by a 1947 vote of the United Nations General Assembly, and that the UN Committee for Human Rights has condemned the Hamas Charter for its genocidal objectives towards Jews and the state of Israel.

The London Muslim Mosque has provided support for the ‘Canadian Boat to Gaza’ (the Tahrir). According to the Canadian Boat to Gaza website, the mosque has held a fundraising dinner for the Tahrir, and its Operations Manager will be sailing on board.

“As a former peacekeeper I feel compelled to defend Israel’s right to exist in peace,” says Mr. Vandermaas. “The people of London should be concerned that a religious institution in their community such as the London Muslim Mosque is playing a key role in supporting an effort that, if successful, will make it possible for the Hamas terrorist organization to import even more arms for the purpose of carrying out its stated objective of killing Jews and seeing Israel “obliterated.”” 

Contrary to the assertions of Tahrir supporters, Israel does not prevent humanitarian aid from reaching the Gaza people, and even the Red Cross in Gaza has stated, in April 2011, there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

All those who wish to support this campaign are invited to join Mr. Vandermaas at the London Muslim Mosque and to bring Israeli, Canadian or United Nations flags. 

(see ‘Background & References’ below)

Times & Location

London Muslim Mosque
151 Oxford Street West
London, Ontario N6H 1S1

The first protest will take place on Thursday, June 23/11 at 10:00 AM for one hour, and daily thereafter until the Canadian passengers of the Tahrir return. 

Timing is subject to change, so please CHECK HERE the night before to confirm.

Message from Mark: “If you decide to join me…”

Please…no signs about Sharia or Islamization. No racial slurs, or derogatory comments about Muslims, Islam, or Mohammed. This protest is only about the mosque’s support for the ‘Boat to Hamas’ (as I am calling it). If it was a Christian church in London that had raised money for the Hamas boat and sent a ‘delegate’ on-board, the protest would be held there instead. My preference would be that instead of bringing signs, that you instead bring the flag of Canada, Israel or the United Nations.

Of course, as a former UN peacekeeper my other main goal is to call attention to the little-known facts that the Hamas Charter has been condemned by the United Nations for its call to “obliterate” Israel, and that the state of Israel was created by a vote in the General Assembly of the United Nations. This makes her truly the most ‘legitimate’ country in the world and, as such, has a right to finally exist in peace free from the threat of annihilation. 

We must always do our best to act with dignity in the best traditions of civil rights protesters of the past no matter how we may be provoked, so I am asking those who come out to help make our point by assembling quietly on the side of the road opposite the mosque, and not to provide the media, police or mosque attendees any justification for finding fault with us. Thanks. 

Contact:

Mark Vandermaas
519.457.0709
info@voiceofcanada.ca

About Mark Vandermaas

Mark Vandermaas served on a 1978 UN peacekeeping mission in the Middle East, and his parents lived in Nazi-occupied Holland. For the past four-plus years he has worked as a full-time, volunteer, ‘rule-of-law activist’ opposing racial policing and native extremism in Caledonia, Ontario.

Mark is the founder of the Caledonia Victims Project, editor of VoiceofCanada.ca, and was an original co-founder of Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality (CANACE) along with Gary McHale. Their work was featured in Christie Blatchford’s 2010 book, Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear And Anarchy, And How The Law Failed All of Us.

Mark has lived in London, Ontario for the past eight years.

• Caledonia Victims Project: About – Mark Vandermaas

– BACKGROUND & REFERENCES –

London Muslim Mosque

1. On Feb 05/11 the London (Ontario) Muslim Mosque hosted a fundraising dinner for the ‘Canadian Boat to Gaza.’  [LINK, PDF]

2. The Operations Manager of the London Muslim Mosque, Muhammed Hamou, will be sailing on board the Tahrir. [LINK, PDF] (Note: since blogger Blazing Cat Fur revealed this fact, the LMM has removed Mr. Hamou’s name & position from its site. See this PDF from June 17/11 showing his name listed as Operations Manager for the mosque.)

3. On May 17/10 Conservative MP Ed Holder (London West) visited the London Muslim Mosque to announce that the federal government was providing $39,000 in funding from the Communities at Risk: Security Infrastructure Pilot (SIP) Program. [LINK, PDF]

Israel created by 1947 vote of UN General Assembly

Israel, it could be argued, is the most legitimate country in the world having come into existence by a Nov 29/47 vote of the UN General Assembly that was intended to create a Jewish state and Arab state side-by-side, what today would be called the ‘Two State Solution.’ 

• Jewish Virtual Library – Myths & Facts: Partition
• Jewish Virtual Library: The Mandatory Period (British Mandate period)
• Wikipedia.org: United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine
• Wikipedia.org: Israel

Unfortunately, the Arabs chose war instead of peace with their Jewish neighbours. The day after Israel declared its independence on May 14/48 she was attacked by Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, and again in 1967 and 1973. In between these major aggressions Israel has been forced to cope with thousands of terror attacks on its civilians by Hamas and Hezbollah.

• ‘The Truth Behind the “Freedom Flotilla” [VIDEO, 2:50] (short, film that accurately explains the situation in Gaza w/animation and PIP footage of Hamas atrocities against Jews & Palestinians)
• VoiceofCanada feature: Israel’s fight for survival: a short history

Today the existential threat exists from Palestinians who reject peaceful solutions, who glorify the killing of Jews, teach hate to their children, and continue to attack Israeli civilians. 

2006 UN condemnation of Hamas Charter

• United Nations Human Rights Council, July 06/06, A/HRC/S-1/NGO/4: Joint Statement on Hamas Charter [UN download PDF;  VoC download PDF] (condemnation of Hamas Charter for calling for jihad against Jews and rejection of peaceful solutions)
  .
  From Article 7: “The Day of Judgment will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews and kill them; until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: Oh Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.”
  .
  From Article 13: “There is no solution to the Palestinian question except by Jihad. All initiatives, proposals, and International Conferences are a waste of time and vain endeavours.”
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  From Article 28 (quoting Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna): “Israel will exist and continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”

Hamas targeting of Israeli civilians

• Washington Post, Richard Goldstone, April 01/11: Reconsidering the Goldstone Report on Israel and War Crimes 
• VoiceofCanada, May 18/11: VIDEO – Hamas MP: Jews brought to Palestine for the “great massacre” in preparation for United States of Islam caliphate
• VoiceofCanada, April 20/11: SPECIAL REPORT: Dramatic increase in Palestinian targeting of Israeli civilians prelude to unified Arab attack?
• Palestinian Media Watch: Palwatch.org (extensive resources on incitement of hate against Jews & Israel via official Palestinian media, leaders and educational material)

Israel blocking weapons to Hamas – NOT humanitarian aid to Gazans

The Israeli government blockade that the Tahrir wishes to break exists only to deny weapons to Hamas – a terrorist organization sworn to destroy Israel and exterminate her Jews. Contrary to the propaganda spread by anti-Israel groups, Israel is not ‘starving’ the Palestinians or denying them humanitarian aid.

• “At the Security Cabinet meeting on 17 June 2010, the Government outlined its new policy towards the Gaza Strip. […]According to the new policy, whatever is NOT on the restricted list will be allowed into the Gaza Strip. The only goods that are currently restricted are arms, weapons and various war materiel, and certain items that have military as well as civilian applications. Because of the problematic nature of these dual-use materials, construction materials are currently allowed in only for PA-approved projects that are under the supervision of international bodies.”
  .
  Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 04/11: New Government policy  brings more goods to Gaza ( In June 2010 the Israeli gov’t had approved even more shipments to Gaza)

From the Red Cross: ‘No humanitarian crisis’

•  “There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. If you go to the supermarket there are products. There are restaurants and a nice beach. The problem is mainly in maintenance and in access to goods, concrete for example.” 
  .
  Mathilde Redmatn, Deputy Head, Red Cross in Gaza, April 2011 [Jerusalem Post, April 21/11, LINK]

From Hamas: ‘No starvation in Gaza’

• “There is no starvation in Gaza. No one has died of hunger.”
  .
   Khalil Hamada, Senior Hamas official, Gaza’s Ministry of Justice, June 2010 [The Telegraph (UK), June 05/10, LINK]

Gazans among most obese in world

According to a 2007 UNRWA study, 34.1% of Gaza males are obese, 41.6% of Females.

By comparison, 19.8% of Israeli males are obese, 25.4 % of women:

• World Health Organization, Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, Volume 16, No. 6, June 2010: Hyperglycaemia, hypertension and their risk factors among Palestine refugees served by UNRWA [PDF, 6p], [PDF – VoC download] (see Table 5: ‘Prevalence of Obesity,’ Gaza Strip and West Bank, Gaza: Palestine refugees)

According to the 2007 edition of The Economist’s ‘Pocket World in Figures’ for ‘Highest obesity’ (based on WHO statistics) men living in the West Bank and Gaza are the 8th-most obese in the world, and women are the 3rd-most obese. (Note that the WHO/UNWRA statistics cited above are for Gaza only while The Economist figures include both Gaza and the West Bank.) 

• The Economist, Pocket World in Figures,’ 2007 edition: Highest Obesity [PDF]

From flotilla participant David Heap: ‘Less about aid than politics’

•  “David Heap, a University of Western Ontario liguistics professor and participant said…the mission is actually less about aid and more about politics.” 
  .
  Edmonton Journal, May 30/11, Gaza-bound aid boat vows to press on despite Tory call to stand down

From ‘Canadian Boat to Gaza’: NO to having aid delivered by land to Gaza

• Q: Would you accept to be directed to Ashdod or Arish if promised that your cargo will be taken by land to Gaza?  
  .
  A. No. […]
  .
  Canadian Boat to Gaza, Frequently Asked Questions, LINK]

From Brian Lilley, SUN TV ‘the real goal is…to enable war’

• “The stated goal is to take aid to the people of Gaza…The real goal is bust open a blockade to Hamas controlled Gaza, an act that would open the floodgates to weapons shipments. More weapons for Hamas means more attacks on Israel which will lead to more retaliation from Israel. These activists aboard the Tahirir, as the boat is called are not peace activists, they are seeking to enable war by allowing Hamas, a banned terrorist group in Canada, to rearm.” 
  .
  Brian Lilley, SUN TV, June 20/11: The entitlement culture and Canada’s boat to Gaza

Hamas steals humanitarian supplies

• “The UN aid agency in Gaza says it has suspended all aid shipments, accusing the Hamas government of seizing hundreds of tonnes of food supplies. […] It was the second incident in three days. On Tuesday, 3,500 blankets and more than 400 food parcels were seized at gunpoint from a distribution centre in Gaza, the UN said. […] The perception of many in the territory is that the group is only helping its own supporters, he adds.” 
  .
  BBC News, Feb 06/09: UN halts Gaza aid over ‘thefts’

From Mike Fegelman, Honest Reporting Canada: ‘root of all enmity is Hamas’ insistence on perpetrating genocide on…Israel and Jews’

• “[…] The media would do well to remind us that since 2007, Gaza has been ruled by Hamas which is a designated terror group under Canadian law. Since Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, in what was supposed to be a Land for Peace exchange, Israeli citizens have suffered from unrelenting rocket and terror attacks. Prior to the withdrawal, those protesting against Israel’s “occupation” of Gaza insisted that the “occupation” was at the root of all terrorism. This was proven false and yet this type of thinking still informs much of the logic of the Flotilla-ists who now believe the blockade is the root of all enmity. Not so. The root of all enmity is Hamas’ insistence on perpetrating genocide on the people of Israel and Jews “wherever we find them” (see Hamas’ own covenant which doesn’t mince words about their intentions).
  .
  Mike Fegelman, Honest Reporting Canada, June 20/11: Why the “Canadian Boat to Gaza” has nothing to do with humanitarian aid

‘To a Gaza Flotilla Participant’

• […] “You proclaim your commitment to nonviolence. How do you square that with Hamas’s record of violence, including its bloody seizure of power from the Palestinian Authority four years ago?
  .
  Have you taken a public position on the firing of literally thousands of missiles and mortars by Hamas at Israeli towns and villages, with the aim of murder and mayhem? Did I miss your condolences when an Israeli school bus was recently hit by Hamas fire and a 16-year-old boy was killed?
  .
  And I couldn’t find a word from you about the plight of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas and held incommunicado for the past nearly five years. Did I somehow overlook it?
  .
  By the way, have you read the Hamas Charter? […] doesn’t it speak volumes if the only flotilla you deem worth joining is headed for Gaza, where the publicly declared goal of the regime in power is “to fight the Jews and kill them” and “obliterate” Israel?
  .
  David Harris (Executive Director, American Jewish Committee), Huffington Post, May 17/11: To a Gaza Flotilla Participant.

‘If Hamas laid down its weapons there would be peace’

• “Israel has only one concern, which is to ensure that Hamas, a declared enemy of Israel, does not get additional means to threaten its neighbour. That’s it, pure and simple. If Hamas laid down its weapons, there would be peace. If Israel laid down its weapons, there would be no Israel.”
  .
   David Harris, (Executive Director, American Jewish Committee), Jerusalem Post, June 21/11: The Hamas – Oops, Gaza – Flotilla

Additional Resources

• Canada-Israel Committe mini-reference site: Canadian Boat to Gaza: A Dangerous Political Stunt
• Ruth Lapidoth (Professor Emeritus of International Law, Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, July 18/10: The Legal Basis of Israel’s Naval Blockade of Gaza
• VoiceofCanada reference feature: Israel & Anti-Semitism