THE convener of a conference on justice for Palestine, to be held at State Parliament tomorrow, has apologised for making anti-Jewish comments despite having earlier defended them as "private conversation".Maqsood Alshams, who formed a lobby group called the Asia Pacific Human Rights Institute, organised the conference with three universities to discuss the possibility of Israel being prosecuted by the International Court of Justice.The Bangladesh-born asylum seeker, who was once nominated for the National Human Rights Award, wrote in private emails obtained by the Herald that Israel had overshadowed the Holocaust in its treatment of Palestine and that God hated Jews.
"The simple answer is that you the Jews are real motherf----- bastards," he wrote in an email to Richard Benkin, a human rights activist based in Chicago.
"You guys are simply assholes … Stop playing the bloody victim games."
In another email, to a Sydney management consultant, Anna Berger, Mr Maqsood said Israel's actions in Gaza were more serious than the Holocaust, comparing the conflict with Hitler's treatment of Jews.
Asked about the emails, Mr Maqsood initially defended his right to a private argument. "Is it anything wrong to have a private conversation? That is not my public view … I am not an anti-Semite at all. I have many Jewish friends."
But late yesterday Mr Maqsood apologised and withdrew the remarks. "I am ashamed to say they were made at a time when I was intoxicated and angry," he said. "Of course, there is no excuse for such remarks."
The universities participating in Mr Maqsood's conference have refused to withdraw support, despite calls from the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies.
"It now seems the conference will also serve an anti-Semitic agenda," the board's chief executive, Vic Alhadeff, said yesterday. "The participating organisations - wittingly or unwittingly - have allowed themselves to be used as part of that racist agenda."
All of us, every single man, woman, and child on the face of the Earth were born with the same unalienable rights; to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And, if the governments of the world can't get that through their thick skulls, then, regime change will be necessary.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
UK: Rights activist apologises for anti-Semitic comments
In my opinion, almost every ecumencial outreach effort, or seminar on "peace and justice" ever held by a Muslim is simply Taqiyya, an attempt to paint Islam in a light which Western peoples would believe to be positive.
Over and over, we see groups like the MCB, CAIR, the ISNA, and others say one thing to the Western media, while supporting such evils as Sharia, terrorist organizations, and Jew-hatred.
Here's just the latest in a long string of examples.
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2 comments:
"I am not an anti-Semite at all. I have many Jewish friends" he says
Yeah Yeah, but they are not friends of Israel
For more on Maqsood Alshams, see:
http://margosmaid.blogspot.com/2009/01/interesting-life-and-times-of-maqsood.html
It would appear from the information in the above blog that he is not in Australia because he was persecuted in Bangladesh.
At the least he is a rank hypocrite, because the Richard Benkin he sent his anti-Semitic rant to has labored long to protect the rights of another Bangladeshi journalist who actually needs and deserves the help, Shoaib Choudhury. Choudhury has been arrested, beaten, and put on trial by the Bangladeshi authorities for advocating diplomatic relationships with Israel and trying to visit there (against the law in Bangladesh).
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