Pro-Abortion Totalitarians

There are many places in the West where free speech is under assault. This story from York University in Toronto combines two of those places: the academy and Canada. From a press release that appears at SoCon or Bust:

The York University Student Centre shut down an event entitled “Abortion Debate: A Woman’s Right or a Moral Wrong?” at York University only a couple of hours before it was scheduled to take place late Thursday afternoon.

Margaret Fung, President of Students for Bioethical Awareness (SBA), one of the hosting clubs, describes what happened: “I was told in a meeting by members of the York Federation of Students that debating abortion is comparable to debating whether a man should be allowed to beat his wife. They said that there is freedom of speech to a limit, and that abortion is not an issue to debate. They demanded that the event not take place and shut us down.” [Emphasis added.]

Present at this meeting in addition to Fung were Jeremy Salter, Executive Director of the York Federation of Students (YFS), Fuad Abdi, VP Operations of the YFS and also the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Student Centre, and Amir Mohareb, President of the York Debating Society.

SBA, an official York University Student Club, worked with the York Debating Society to organize the debate. The debaters were Michael Payton from Freethinkers, Skeptics and Atheists at York for the pro-choice side and Jose Ruba from the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Awareness for the pro-life side. It was to be an organized debate moderated by the York Debating Society. Both sides were ready and willing to debate, but after it was demanded the event be shut down, dozens of students planning on attending the event were turned away at the door.

Commenting on her feelings about what took place, Fung continues, “The Student Centre has made sure that anyone with different views than theirs can’t express themselves, even if both points of view are represented. They don’t seem to understand that we live in a free, democratic society. A university is supposed to be a marketplace of ideas not a propaganda machine for political extremists.”

This action at York University comes in the wake of statements by the Canadian Federation of Students (of which the YFS is a part) comparing pro-life student groups to the KKK, and announcing their intention to support student unions who ban pro-life student clubs. “Salter also compared pro-lifers to the KKK,” concludes Fung, “And such comparisons are incredibly ignorant and, quite frankly, hurtful”.

It’s a measure of how weak the pro-abortion position is that the university wouldn’t allow it to be exposed in a setting of fair debate. But it’s genuinely alarming that in a free society some academic authorities think that one of their purposes is to shut down discussion of serious moral issues, based on their own ideological preferences. That way lies the Gulag.

(Via Five Feet of Fury.)

UPDATE: Kate in the comments makes the point that these aren’t “academic authorities,” but students. Point taken. So let me ask this: where are the academic authorities when their students are acting like junior-league apparatchiks?

Kobia Condemns Israel, Someone Else (UPDATED)

Not to be outdone by the U.S. National Council of Churches (in the form of CMEP; see the previous post), Samuel Kobia of the World Council of Churches weighs in on the events in Gaza:

Since the middle of last week more than 110 Palestinians and three Israelis have been killed by attacks across the Israel-Gaza border. Most of the dead are civilians and one third of the dead are reportedly children. Our hearts go out to the parents and families of those killed, newly bereaved like so many before them. May God comfort them in their pain and sorrow, and may God move the hearts of those powers and authorities who hold the keys to peace.

Even according to the medical officials on the scene, the toll of 117 Palestinians is only “roughly half” civilians. Still way too many (if in fact it’s correct–Palestinian medical personnel have never been above lying to support the cause), but Kobia can’t resist a bit of exaggeration if it means taking a swipe at Israel.

We absolutely condemn these deadly attacks on civilians by the Israeli military on Gaza and by militants firing rockets from Gaza, reiterating the call of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches just days ago after the previous round of killings. Incessant violations of life and of human rights must stop. We call on the government of Israel, the occupying power, to fulfill its legal obligations to the people of Gaza under the Geneva Conventions. The blockade that has systematically deprived Gazans of almost all their rights must end. Food, fuel, medicine and essential services for Gaza must be guaranteed, as the WCC Central Committee noted and we repeat today.

I’m glad he “absolutely condemns” the “militants,” whose unceasing daily attacks on southern Israel (funny how the targets goes unnamed, isn’t it?) have recently escalated with rockets now being aimed at the city of Ashkelon, a much more target-rich (read: more heaviy populated) environment than Sderot, and the escalation of which has provoked Israeli action. Somehow, in the course of this condemnation he manages to leave two other things out besides the Palestinian targets: first, the perpetrators, who are simply unidentified as “militants” rather than Hamas terrorists; and second, any call for Hamas to stop the attacks on Israel. He’s got his prescription for Israeli action down pat, but apparently considers it unimportant to say that the Palestinians have to stop as well.

Indiscriminate attacks are causing deep sorrow and outrage among churches and citizens in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in Israel, and around the world. Meanwhile, the path to peace stands open but empty. It is especially incumbent on governments using or allowing the use of overwhelming military power to turn away from violence and oppression and take responsibility for negotiating a justice and lasting peace.

And again, time for Israel to lay itself open to whatever the Palestinians care to throw at them (though Kobia will dutifully “absolutely condemn” the tossing of rockets into wherever it is that they are going–somewhere in the desert, isn’t it?), while Hamas receives no instruction from the Geneva foreign ministry. By the way, do you suppose that Kobia took notice either of Mahmoud Abbas contemplating a possible return to “armed struggle” last week, or that the Palestinian Authority–which supposedly is in the midst of conflict with Hamas afer getting kicked out of Gaza last summer–has suspended the peace negotiations that Kobia is so intent on Israel “taking responsibility” for?

Nah.

UPDATE: Larry Rued sends a link to a report on “Israel’s War to Halt Palestinian Rocket Attacks” by Dore Gold in Jerusalem Issue Brief. He includes a chart that really says it all to those who think that “ending the occupation” will solve all the problems in the Holy Land: