¢ on the other hand ¢ IS THE North Shore News anti-Semitic? Is your humble servant, Dr. Doug Collins, anti-Semitic? Is Ottawa anti- Semitic? These questions were raised by a local parson in a letter to the editor of the News. Yes, the Rev. Ed Hird of St. Simon's Angtican Church feared the worst. Then he was interviewed by the Canadian Jewish News, where he played the same fiddle. If | bothered to reply to every critic | would not have time to go to Spud Island. But national ex- posure calls for a small response. And now it’s my turn to ask some questions: Are FACTS anti-Semitic? If they are, don’t blame me. Is it anti-Semitic, therefore, to point out that the former prime minister of Israel, Menachem Begin, was a terrorist who orga- nized the massacre of 254 Arab men, women and children at Deir Yassin; who blew up the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, killing G osh, if I set the tone around here, I should ask for more money. But the sad truth is that no one ever asks my advice about what they write and no one ever tells me what to write.’’ The preacher’s main points were as follows: It was anti-Semitic for this newspaper to run a cartoon show- ing ‘a vulture-like bird’? about to devour a dove, seeing that the vulture was Israel's governing Likud Party. As for me, I ‘‘set what seems to be the anti-Semitic tone of the paper.” Gosh, if I set the tone around here, I should ask for more money. But the sad truth is that no one ever asks my advice about wha. they should write and no one ever tells me what to write. (A strange state of affairs, admitted- ly.) I also ‘‘delight in taking cheap shots at Israel,’’ says Hird. In the 18 months previous to the publication of his letter (I got tired of looking further) I made only two incidental references to Israel, one of them a one-liner. So let him not peddle any more half-baked views than necessary. If he goes on like this, Pt be mistaking him for Rafe Mair. Suite bonds axed A PERFORMANCE bond will no longer be required for West Van- couver residents wishing to install in-law suites in their homes. West Vancouver District Coun- cil decided Monday to cease the practice of asking for a perfor- mance bond on the recommenda- tion of its Planning, Land Use and Development Committee. The point of the bond has been to encourage removal of suites after they are no longer used by family members. But a number of residents have complained that the bond required was a financial burden to them, and that it was an unfair restric- tion because it affects only those who are trying to apply under municipal bylaws and secure a permit for their in-law suites. The Planning, Land Use and Development Committee deter- mined that in-law suites serve a desirable social function and should not be discouraged. There is a recognized shortage of affordable housing, in par- ticular for seniors, in West Van- couver. The municipality will continue to require annual registration and reconfirmation of the status of in-law suites. The annual registration fee for such a suite is $25. oe To pee . Lo . ws 95 British and Arabs; who later, as prime minister, unleashed murder and mayhem in southern Lebanon? Is it anti-Semitic to recall that when two innocent British sergeants were hanged by Begin's people, merry old Ben Hecht said: “Every time you let go with your guns at the British ... the Jews of America make a little holiday in their hearts.”’? Is it anti-Semitic to mention that Yitzhak Shamir, the present prime minister of Israel, was in the notorious Stern gang, and that he was busy killing Brits while Brits (including me) were busy fighting Hitler? Or that the Stern Gang murdered Lord Moyne, Bri- tain’s minister-resident in the Middle East, plus Count Ber- nadotte, the U.N. mediator in Palestine? Is it anti-Semitic to mention that under this same nice guy, Shamir, there has been a policy of killing Arab kids — 6090 at last count — and breaking their bones in retaliation for their demonstrating and throwing stones? And that Arabs suspected of resisting Jewish rule face tor- ture and death in Israeli prisons? Is it anti-Semitic to suggest that although the Israelis and their allies in Canada and the U.S. are always yelling about racism, Israel is itself a racist state? Don't its **basic laws’’ relegate Arabs to second-class citizenship and define people as being either of Jewish or Arab nationality? And don’t the basic laws regulate who can live in Isracl? Is it anti-Semitic (o say that Israel has got away with murder because of the enormous power of the Jewish lobby in the U.S. gov- ernment and in the U.S. media? Or to suggest that, 50 vears after the event, the never-ceasing avalanche of films and TV pro- grams on the Holocaust is design- ed to make all gentiles feel guilty, thus benefiting Jewish lobbies and Iscael? Is it anti-Semitic io say — con- trary to Hird’s claim that Cana- dians don’t spend enough time praying for Isracl — that accord- ing to a poll of former External Aff-irs officers, Jews have the most powerful lobby in Ottawa? (Always excepting Quebec, of course.) I can agree with the dear inno- cent reverend that fault is not all on one side. The Arabs are no saints. But the record shows that the Palestinian Arabs have been more sinned against than sinning. Was it not his buddies, after all, who dispossessed them? He insists, by the way, that the Jews are ‘‘God’s Chosen Peopie.”’ If they are, I must take God before the Human Rights Council on charges of racial discrimination and spreading false news. In the meantime, though, | invite him not to be so daft and to try to do better research. P.S. About that cartoon. Would he like to count the number of times cartoonists have depicted the Arabs as the villains, complete with grotesquely bulbous noses? Just askin’. Eliminate the middleman! WHY BUY RETAIL WHEN QUALITY AT OLESALE WHO RICES YOU CAN BUY DIRECTLY FROM THE MANUFACTURER! Verticals — Over 300 Colours Horizontals — Over 100 Colours Nobody can beat our low prices!! save-on-blinds 7 &r draperies INC. Shop at home service only. a Open 7 days a weak : for your convaniance ; From Sam to Spm. oo Call for a FREE ESTIMATE today | 929-5477 Bt same Vancouver Tei City area CANADIAN CLOSET SHOPS —— 986-4263 Free home estimates wAANULSe a) \\ ge DESIGN. & PRINTING FROM CONCEPT TO FINISHED PRODUCT Recycied puper available 2344 Marine Drive, West Vancouver 922-0247 Pomen 947-9745 CAPILANO rylandl and Florist uo. 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