Major Jewish organizations in Canada have expressed shock at what they deem the Canadian government’s inadequate response to the terrorist killing of Canadian Marnie Kimmelman in Israel on Saturday.
Leaders of Jewish groups were particularly irked at what they consider an ambivalent response by External Affairs Minister Joe Clark.
Clark issued a statement following the attack, saying, “Canada is shocked and angered at this vicious act of terrorism perpetrated on innocent victims.”
However, Clark added, “This incident perpetuates the distressing cycle of violence which characterizes the long-standing Arab-Israeli dispute.”
B’nai Brith Canada held a news conference here Wednesday morning to announce it had collected over 1,200 names on petitions to the Canadian Government, criticizing Clark and the government’s position of negotiating with the Palestine Liberation Organization.
“B’nai Brith condemns this cowardly act aimed at innocent civilian targets and is outraged by the Canadian government’s unsatisfactory response to this incident,” said Marilyn Wainberg, national president of BBC, one day after Kimmelman’s funeral at a synagogue in the Toronto suburb of North York.
Wainberg said Clark’s condemnations, though “appreciated, are simply inadequate.”
The Canadian Zionist Federation sent Clark a letter urging him to “express the abhorrence of the government of Canada at this terrorist act against innocent civilians.”
It urged him “to distance the Canadian government from the PLO, an organization which has not seen fit to denounce terrorism and violence against Israel, both within and without the borders of the State of Israel.”
THIRD CANADIAN KILLED
It was signed by the CZF’s president, Kurt Rothschild, and Nachum Wilchesky, the chairman of the board.
Kimmelman, 17, died from injuries received when a terrorist bomb exploded on a Tel Aviv beach on Saturday. She is the third Canadian killed by Arab terrorists since the start of the intifada.
Frank Diamant, executive vice president of BBC, also criticized government officials for failing to attend Kimmelman’s funeral, which attracted over 1,500 people.
The BBC organized a nationwide petition circulated on the fast of Tisha B’Av, observed Monday night and Tuesday, calling on Clark to sever all ties with the PLO.
Canada has had longstanding relations with PLO representatives and, as of March 1989, all restrictions on government-PLO contacts have been lifted, up to the ministerial level.
The Canadian Arab Federation, acting as an umbrella organization for many other Arab groups, condemned both B’nai B’rith and Canadian Jewish Congress for their statements.
The Arab Federation said it found the Jewish groups’ comments insulting, since no one has yet claimed responsibility for the crime.
It also said the PLO does not use violence against civilians.
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