November 27, 2010
To the editor of the Winnipeg Jewish Review:
I wish to comment on Dr. Catherine Chatterley’s recent response to Dr. Michael Keefer, which is laden with distortions of fact, innuendos and gross errors of omission, as well as being full of side issues not relevant to Dr. Keefer’s criticisms of her original piece. I am most disappointed that the Winnipeg Jewish Review saw fit to publish it.
I wish to focus on only one of the many inaccurate statements made in this piece by Dr. Chatterley. Without providing a shred of evidence she writes, "The most obvious example [of the global resurgence of anti-Semitism] is the leader of Iran, who routinely threatens the nuclear destruction of the Jewish State, which constitutes incitement to genocide and is a clear violation of international law." Routinely? I would appreciate knowing her sources, as I have never heard of such a threat.
On the other hand, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently stated (Jerusalem Post, Nov 8, 2010): "The only way to ensure that Iran is not armed with nuclear weapons is to create a credible threat of military action against it, unless it stops its race to obtain nuclear weapons." U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (CBC news online, Nov 8, 2010) has stated, "[s]o my view of military force would be not to just neutralize [Iran’s] nuclear program "but to sink their navy, destroy their air force and deliver a decisive blow to the Revolutionary Guard." And this from Dennis Ross, in charge of Iran policy at the White House (Asia Times online, Nov 19, 2010): "But should Iran continue its defiance, despite its growing isolation and the damage to its economy, its leaders should listen carefully to President Obama who has said many times: ‘We are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons’." These quotes tell us two things – first, both the Israelis and Americans know full well that Iran does not yet have nuclear weaponry, and, second, it is Israel and the U.S. that are routinely threatening Iran militarily, not the reverse.
Let me be clear, I am no fan of the Ahamenijad regime in Iran, and am well aware of its current hostility towards the State of Israel. But I am even less of a fan of nuclear war. While neither the US nor Israel has publicly stated that they would use nuclear weaponry in a war with Iran, we do know that both these countries possess such technology. The sabre-rattling of the U.S. and Israel at this moment is both troubling and dangerous, not only for people in the Middle East region – including Israelis – but also for the rest of us.
The issue of anti-Semitism is certainly one that merits attention from academics and the general public. However, the shoddy response offered by Dr. Chatterley does nothing to further the debate. It is a weak piece of propaganda masquerading as academic analysis. Dr. Keefer "a committed, caring, and well-respected Canadian academic who has many important things to say about anti-Semitism" deserved better than this.
Joanne Naiman
Professor Emerita, Sociology
Ryerson University, Toronto
Former Board Member, Science for Peace