The Heroism of Palestinian Martyrs

"...An evening of spoken word, music and food to celebrate the artistic and cultural contributions of Palestinians in the diaspora and showcase the winners of the Ghassan Kanafani Resistance Arts Scholarship in this years [sic] anthology, entitled We feel a country in our bones."
"[The event and scholarship is meant] to provide a space for Palestinians in the diaspora to reflect on their Palestinian identities, positionality and relationships to Palestine. In honour of the works and vision of the heroic novelist, Ghassan Kanafani, the scholarship aims to focus on Palestinian history, our past, present and future struggles, and our multi-faceted identities."
"We reiterate a truth that Ghassan Kanafani held in his life’s work and legacy: art and culture are critical vehicles for resistance."
"[The PYM is] a transnational, independent, grassroots movement of young Palestinians in Palestine and exiled worldwide as a result of the ongoing Zionist colonization and occupation of our homeland."
Palestinian Youth Movement, Toronto chapter 

The logo of the Palestinian Youth Movement

For Palestinians, "resistance" is codeword for violence. The target is Israel and Jewish Israelis. They are viewed by Palestinians -- by the Palestinian Authority which has assiduously groomed the Palestinian population to regard Israel as an 'occupying power' -- as Occupiers of Palestinian land. Originally the nomenclature of 'Palestinian' reflected the Jewish population that lived within their heritage geography of "Palestine". 

The Arabs that gradually migrated, mostly from Jordan and Egypt, into Palestine co-opted the signature designation of a people whom conquest had divested of their heritage, for themselves, denying that Palestine was ever Jewish, that Judaic religious, social and cultural historical heritage ever existed. The fantasy that Arab Palestinians were the rightful residents and owners of the land of Palestine (ancient Judea) and Jews were interlopers whose purpose was to defraud and to deprive Arab Palestinians of their heritage reflects a deliberate fallacy presented as truth.

Palestinian Arabs adamantly refused to accept a divided geography offered them in 1947 as it was to the Jewish population, by the United Nations' Partition Plan. Jews exuberantly celebrated and accepted, Palestinian Arabs mourned the loss of 'their' land and refused to accept the portion allotted them. The surrounding Arab countries, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq launched a joint offensive against Israel's fledgling military and history was again made in their defeat.

There would be no military 'occupation' of the West Bank and Gaza were it not for the ongoing deadly confrontations between Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews and the Israeli military. The bloody carnage that resulted from constant deadly attacks launched by Palestinian 'martyrs' who became 'heroes' of the 'resistance', lionized for their exploits which generations of PA propaganda devices had produced, was only reduced when Israel build a separating wall to protect Israelis from the Palestinian Arab menace.

Ghassan Kanafani (left) with a member of the Japanese Red Army, who carried out the 1972 Lod Airport Massacre

The Palestinian Youth Movement had arranged a rental hall in Toronto for July 13, to launch a 'spoken word, music and food party "to celebrate the artistic and cultural contributions of Palestinians in the diaspora", according to promotional material. Winners of an annual scholarship contest were to be showcased at the event. An online anthology entitled We Feel a Country in Our Bones had been published from the scholarship contest. And the winner of the Ghassan Kanafani Resistance Arts Scholarship was to be feted.

All this to take place at Trinity-St.Paul's United Church in Toronto. Toronto's B'nai Brith appealed to the board of directors of the church to cancel the event's taking place in their auspices, condemning it as "the open glorification of terrorists and murderers". The simple fact being that the memorialized Ghassan Kanafani aside from being a Palestinian writer of note, was also a founding member of the PLFP [Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine], acted as their propagandist and was involved in a terrorist attack in Israel.

"We will not tolerate the open glorification of terrorists and murderers, particularly in a place of worship. Churches should be places of peace, not places where violence and/or terror are glorified", B'nai Brith Canada wrote in a letter to the Church. Moreover, the PLFP has been designated a terrorist group by Public Safety Canada. Ghassan Kanafani was involved in the Lod airport massacre in Israel in 1972, where 26 civilians were killed, a Canadian among them, with 80 other people injured.

B'nai Brith set about contacting its followers as a Jewish advocacy group, through a public petition online inviting Canadians to sign a letter condemning the event -- celebrating the conclusion of the writing contest, open to Palestinians in Canada and the United States -- succeeding in assembling a representative number of signatures supporting the drive to have the event cancelled on the church premises. Which resulted in the PYM's booking of the facilities at the church being cancelled.

"Hundreds of groups rent rooms at [the church] for one-time events over the course of a year. This request was handled as per our processes for such bookings."
"I'm not sure why the Palestinian Youth Movement contacted us The event was initially determined to be in line with the congregation's foci of the arts and peacemaking in the Middle East."
"However, Trinity-St.Paul's and the United Church of Canada condemn violence. The board cancelled the booking when it was clear that hosting it would be inconsistent with church policy."
Colin Phillips, vice-chairman, Board of Directors, Trinity-St.Paul's United Church

We can take an educated guess without cerebral strain, why the PYM contacted the church and contracted with it to host that special event honouring a Palestinian hero of the resistance. The United Church, after all, is fully supportive of the BDS movement and would be very well aware of the role of Palestinian groups like the PYM in persuading Canadian churches, academics and others to view Israel as an occupying power intent on terrorizing Palestinians, penalizing them for challenging Israel's right to exist.

The United Church of Canada would be appalled if any entity, individual or group, challenged its right to divine worship in its churches. Canada, after all, is a free country, one whose Charter of Rights enshrines the concept of full equality of all and the freedom to worship as one wishes. Unlike Israel where a sovereign nation whose most sacred historical site of ancient Judaism is off limits to Jews wishing to worship there, because the Muslim Waqf administered by Jordan will not permit Jews to desecrate a site that Islam conquered, with Jewish prayer.

"We are relieved that the church eventually came to the correct decision, to help prevent the shameful glorification of a terrorist."
"That being said, this story is not over. We will continue to investigate how a  youth scholarship named after a notorious terrorist is permitted to function in Canada and the United States, and take all possible steps to thwart it."
Michael Mostyn, chief executive officer, B'nai Brith Canada

Trinity-St. Paul's United Church in downtown Toronto.   Google Street View