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Not All Jews Oppose HLI

Michael Coren

I seldom devote two columns to the same subject but sometimes events demand a change in policy. The propaganda campaign against the anti- abortion group Human Life International (HLI), currently holding its annual conference in Toronto, has become so intense and so absurd that a response is essential. To summarize the arguments of HLI's opponents, the organization's leaders, and by extension its membership of more than 70,000, are hateful, violent and, most significant of all it seems, anti-Semitic.

There are also rumours that the chief of HLI tried to murder the Easter bunny and wouldn't let Rudolph join in the other reindeers' games.

Last week's column dealt with the allegedly racist remarks made by HLI's founder Father Paul Marx by simply quoting them properly and in context, thus showing that the priest in question is perhaps more concerned about unborn Jewish children than many Jewish leaders seem to be. It listed just a few of the Jewish people who support HLI and then demonstrated from video evidence that any violence at HLI's Montreal conference in 1995 came from protesters, who were throwing used condoms at children and wrecking a police car.

Best now to let one of HLI's leaders speak for himself.

Yehuda Levin is from Brooklyn, New York and is an orthodox rabbi and the father of nine children. He has met with presidents Reagan and Bush and with Pope John Paul II. In other words, a highly respected man.

"For 20 years I've been an occasional spokesman for the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the USA and Canada and the Rabbinical Alliance of America, on issues of abortion and family values. Those groups have a combined membership of a thousand rabbis, many with congregations or schools. That's a lot of people," Levin explains. "The problem in Canada is that most rabbis, even most Jews, don't even know what HLI is. They get a line from the Canadian Jewish Congress or B'nai Brith and that's it." A pause.

"I, however, do know HLI. I've worked with them for ten years now. If I thought there were Jew-haters here I'd be out so quickly you wouldn't even see me. These people have spent tens of thousands of dollars helping Jewish pro-life groups. They're in the process of setting up a crisis pregnancy centre in Israel, to save Jewish babies. This is anti-Semitism? If it is, give us some more anti-Semites," and he almost laughs.

"Look, their enemies constantly quote one article written by Father Marx 12 years ago, and then forget to say that he begins by thanking many of the leaders of the pro-life movement who are Jewish. He then calls on Jews to take back their organizations from people promoting abortion and homosexuality. I find it interesting that the likes of former Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, feminist leader Betty Freidan and Henry Morgentaler up here can scream for abortion and proclaim their Jewishness, but take offence when they're identified as being Jewish (in this context). There are groups who throw the appellation 'anti-Semite' around so loosely that it becomes meaningless. And these same people won't debate the issue."

He's got a point. In attempting to prepare a show on CTS's Michael Coren Live on this issue my producer, researcher and myself made the best part of 50 telephone calls and spoke to every Jewish or pro-abortion group we could find, asking them to participate in a discussion. All refused. Nor would any of the militants preparing to demonstrate outside of HLI's Toronto conference stop shouting for a few moments and speak with an orthodox rabbi on the subject of Judaism and its foes. So much for freedom of speech.

The Canadian Jewish Congress explained that none of its officers would appear in a discussion with a member of a group whose leader is an anti-Semite. Pretty ironic stuff. Decide who is an anti-Semite and then refuse to speak to that person and let him defend himself against charges of anti-Semitism. Understandable with a holocaust denier or a thug, but surely not appropriate in this case.

As one critic had it, "This is the type of nonsense that was exposed by brilliant Jewish minds such as Kafka and Koestler." And as Rabbi Yehuda Levin has it, "a terrible waste of time and opportunity while unborn Jewish babies are being slaughtered."

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