Is free speech at London Free Press now subject to Muslim approval? The ‘Leila Paul’ emails

The ‘Leila Paul’ emails:

UPDATE: Masters of Deceit (Leila Paul), July 07/11: True Patriot Love – Standing Up To London’s Mosque

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On Day 13 of the Blue Beret vigil to protest the London (Ontario) Muslim Mosque’s support for the Canadian Boat to Gaza, I released a statement announcing that the London Free Press had informed me that, despite two interviews (one by phone, one on site), and despite their publishing of several stories about the anti-Israel side of the London connections to the Tahrir, they were not going to report my vigil, or the evidence that led me to begin it:

VoiceofCanada, June 22/11: MEDIA RELEASE: Former Blue Beret to protest London (Ontario) Muslim Mosque support for Canadian Boat to Hamas
VoiceofCanada feature: UPDATES: ‘Blue Beret’ vigil

On Day 14, I published my email exchange with the editor of the London Free Press, Joe Ruscitti:

Mark Vandermaas – London Free Press emails: [PDF].

A former journalist named Leila Paul contacted me through a mutual friend and gave me explicit instructions to publish her email interaction with Editor Ruscitti in which he states – among other things – that he will not publish her opinion piece about the alleged terrorist connections to the funding of an Islamic Chair at Huron College at the University of Western Ontario until after he has had a chance to meet with the Muslim community to try to persuade them to also write a piece.
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Ms. Paul’s piece was never published by the London Free Press, but you can read it here in her original email to Editor Ruscitti along with his explanation of why he won’t run it:

Leila Paul – London Free Press emails [PDF]

About Leila Paul

Leila Paul was born in Bethlehem in 1945 and baptized in the Church of the Nativity. She grew up believing she was a Palestinian Arab, yet became increasingly uncomfortable, feeling somehow that she did not belong.

It was this long ago feeling that would eventually bring her to the decision to speak out about her experience with the London Free Press after seeing the the paper’s decision to cover the anti-Israel London connection to the Canadian Boat to Gaza, yet not report the evidence and facts behind my Blue Beret vigil

I asked Ms. Paul if she would tell readers why she decided to speak out now.

In her own words…

THE LEILA PAUL STORY

For years I tried to remain aloof from the issue after I started having doubts about the real, long term motives of Islamists. It’s only when I acknowledged the truth after Rory Leishman’s column [London Free Press, ‘Media Ignores Islamist Extremism, Sept 30/11 – also spiked by Editor Joe Ruscitti, leading to Leishman’s resignation] that I finally admitted I’d been wrong. Once the wall had collapsed, everything cascaded through. I did a second ancestry test and began to study the anthropology and archeological evidence to discover my instincts were right. My belief is that there is no Palestinian ethnicity but they’ve been indoctrinated by years of Arab Islamic domination. In fact, I’d long suspected that some of my ancestors were Jews and later converted to Christianity.

A number of people from the DNA ancestry registry contacted me to compare our genomes. I have a higher percentage of similarity with Jews than I do with those who identify as Palestinians. This led me to recognize that the Palestinian ethnicity is contrived for we are really descendants of the many tribes who lived in the area and adopted monotheism. But there never was a Palestine as a country or nation. It’s an ancient name for a vague region or territory but never a country. That means the pursuit of a Palestinian state and the ‘Palestinian cause’ are part of an entirely contrived scenario to serve the goals of terrorists.

My fear is if the U.N. recognizes and creates a Palestine as a state then it will be the staging ground of a horrendous assault on many nations, not only Israel. But how can people know if the news media will not discuss the potential threat? We as Canadians have a duty to defend our western values and our democratic traditions, the foundation of which I believe cannot survive if we relinquish our freedom of speech and the integrity of our news media.

I think we’ve got to make this a public issue in order to protect our only daily newspaper. The London Free Press is all we’ve got. It’s dedicated to our community and is our primary source of information.

I dislike when Ruscitti characterizes our objections as hysteria because the defence of free speech and information must have adamant and even ferocious advocates. We must never yield and that should not be characterized as hysteria. Efforts to prevent information from being discussed by the public and resorting to hysteria is a Muslim tactic with which I am very familiar.

I’ve known for too long and remained silent for too long. I’d prefer to live a quiet life, retired from all that’s out there in the real world. But unfortunately, the reality keeps knocking on the defenses of my mind. Whatever happens, it must not be because I failed to tell what little I know. I’m hoping others will come forward from within the Islamic communities.

Thank you for helping me do my long overdue duty. If I’d spoken out before with the right perspective, as a loyal Canadian rather than a misguided “Palestinian”, things might not have gotten so far out of control, for these radical Islamists have been emboldened by a near complete capitulation by those obligated to defend our country and its values.

Leila Paul

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VoC Comment

1. In contrast to the London Free Press reluctance to cover the issues in their home town, the Blue Beret vigil and the key reason for it – the mosque’s support for the Canadian Boat to Gaza – two Toronto media outlets have covered it thus far:

Jewish Tribune, June 28/11: Former UN peacekeeper staging daily protests against London mosque
Toronto Sun, July 06/11: Flotilla should stay docked [PDF] (this article was never available online)

2. After receiving Leila’s instructions to publish, I replied:

I appreciate your courage so much.

When I started my VoiceofCanada blog I did it under my pre-adoptive name ‘Mark Allan Whitbread’ because Gary McHale had received death threats and I was afraid. Then, on Oct 15/06, I was at his 1st rally in Caledonia where we marched peacefully with 2,000 people to oppose racial policing. There were 2 women who spoke of the terror they had experienced, one from Caledonia, the other from Ipperwash (of course, the media refused to tell the story), and I was ashamed of myself.

I realized you cannot fight from the anonymous shadows, you must step into the light of day and say, HERE I AM! I’ve never looked back, and it was two brave women who showed me the ‘strength of a woman.’

Now, I am inspired by another one. Thank you.

Mark

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