Join the Good Guys for a day of discussion about Israel "apartheid" week

All it takes is a dictionary and half a brain to realize that "apartheid" is not a facet of Israel's political or cultural reality. Israel is a pluralistic, liberal democracy that does not deny enfranchisement to its non-Jewish citizens. It's a multi-racial country that has enacted no discriminatory laws based on race. The conflict with the Palestinians is a national conflict based on differing political, religious and territorial aspirations.

But the Marxist-Islamist alliance despises the idea of a liberal, capitalist, pro-western democracy in the middle east. Having failed to destroy Israel with terrorism, they are attempting to do it with PR through The Big Lie that Israel practices South African-style racism. University campuses are one of the main battlegrounds between the lies about Israel and the effort to portray the realities of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Israel-Palestinian conflict is part of the larger conflict between Israel and those of its neighbors who remain hostile to its existence. The Palestinian-Israeli quagmire is a complex issue, where both sides have legitimate grievance. A solution requires compromise and reason by all parties if progress is to be made. When the debate is hijacked by extremists, it makes the prospect of achieving peace even more difficult.

To learn more about this, Advocates for Civil Liberties is holding a conference called  When Middle East Politics Invade Campus in Toronto on Wednesday February 16 at the Hyatt Regency on King Street.

Speakers will include academics, feminists, analysts, and media personalities, including The National Post's Jonathan Kay. You might even find me hanging around the bar (they'd better have a bar or there's going to be one grumpy blogger at that conference!).

It's only $5 for students and you can find out more details through this link.