Standing up for Checkpoint

I seldom find myself defending self-proclaimed Zionists, but the letter trashing Eric Scott and his documentary, Checkpoint: The Battle for Israel's Soul, merits a response [Letters, Aug. 28]. The authors complain that Scott avoids dealing with Israel's occupation, land theft and racist laws, and instead focuses on checkpoints - which they dismiss as the "surface of the problem."

Is it not possible, however, that the filmmaker zeroed on checkpoints precisely because they serve as a potent symbol for these very issues? After all, the ever-pervasive barricades can certainly be used as a metaphor for the collective imprisonment of Palestinians and their inhumane treatment by a supremacist and expansionist power.

Instead of criticism, Eric Scott deserves praise for highlighting an aspect of the widespread oppression in Palestine. (He will be chastized enough by the established Jewish community for daring to paint a less-than-flattering picture of the state they worship). And who knows, perhaps his next documentary will be on Israel's Orwellian-named "Law of Return," which encourages Jews worldwide to receive instant citizenship upon "returning" to a place they never set foot on, while the exiled indigenous Palestinians are prevented from going back to their homes. Such courageous soul-searching by Jews like Scott can even help augment the too-few Arabs who engage in similar self-criticism, and inspire them to more vigorously denounce the well-known failings of their own countries. Zionist or not, hats off to Mr. Scott.

» John Dirlik

Had Messrs. Samuel, Hage, Ramsay and Hogarth bothered to check their history books, they would admit that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza did not just "happen" in a vacuum [Letters, Aug. 28]. In 1967, the government of Egypt blocked the Straits of Tiran. The combined armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan formed a military alliance to destroy the Jewish state, but they failed and they lost the Six Day War. The result was the Occupation.

I make no apologies for being simultaneously a Zionist, a Montrealer, a Quebecer and a Canadian [Cover, "Bringing down walls," Aug. 21]. Contrary to the authors' accusation, there is no "code" here. I find their not-so-veiled allusion to my double loyalty particularly amusing when one considers that Canadians still swear allegiance to a foreign, non-resident queen. Should these gentlemen have problems with my identification with the Jewish state, it is their problem, not mine.

The checkpoints indeed are the tip of the iceberg. The iceberg is the Occupation. But the checkpoints are the places where the realities of occupier and occupied meet every day. That's why this subject fascinates me. I had no idea that these gentlemen were privy to my film's scenario and intentions and to what degree the film will deal with other aspects of Occupation. It seems as if they know better than I do!

These gentlemen ask a series of very provocative questions that they feel I should address. The first one deals with the Palestinian versus the Jewish right of return. The concept of the right of return is not uniquely Israeli or Jewish. Without thoroughly researching this issue, it should be noted that the United Kingdom and Germany both acknowledge the right of return for those whom they consider their own. In the case of the United Kingdom, having one grandparent of U.K. ancestry is sufficient criterion, oddly reminiscent of the Nazis' Nuremberg definition of a Jew as having one Jewish grandparent. Hong Kong Asians, among other British passport holders, do not share this right.

In the case of Germany, the tiniest quantity of German blood is still a valid criterion. Witness the return to Germany of thousands of Volga Germans who have lived in Russia since the time of Catherine the Great. These "Germans" for the most part speak no German, are neither Protestant nor Catholic, and have no immediate relatives in Germany, yet they are considered Germans by blood, with the full right to citizenship and social benefits - at least according to German law.

This is, of course, in contrast to Mr. Samuel's native Pakistan where the Hindu minority numbering in the millions was forced into exile at the time of Partition, leaving valued homes and possessions behind, lucky to escape with their lives. This makes me wonder why Mr. Samuel makes no mention of the right of return of the millions of his former, fellow-Hindu countrymen back to the land of their birth, an issue that would logically seem closer to his heart than the plight of dispossessed Palestinians. Or maybe it's that nasty "code" problem again.

» Eric R. Scott

Gays and God

Comments like that the one made by Bernice L. Seguin last week [Letters, Aug. 28] make me want to run for cover, screaming and ripping my hair out.

What if, just what if, God does not exist. What if it's just a gaga-gougou notion, an absolute fantasy created to keep the bland and colourless humans from enjoying their misery on this earth, always waiting, anticipating, yearning for this "heaven," this perfect place where this perfect father sits and waits.

There are no rules or limits, just different levels of tolerance and ease. Love is not sexual, it is much deeper and if you had caught a glimpse of it in your life, Bernice of Cornwall, you would see your black heart for what it is.

I am a gay woman and my eyes are open. I think I speak for a lot of gay men and women when I say that we will not fear you or your God. We will continue to exist and challenge you, and when your judgement day comes, you will not be judged on whom you lay with but what lay in your heart through your long, bitter life. Good luck and may you find peace.

» Melany Bossa

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