The Jewish Defense League is apparently pressuring the Canadian government to maintain its ban on British MP George Galloway, although he is scheduled for a speaking tour there next week. Galloway said the tour organizers are going to court over this.

The government claims Galloway is a threat to national security, despite his long history of giving talks there. It is probably connected to his recent meeting with Hamas. Galloway took part in a caravan of aid to Gaza that began in London.

When Galloway arrived in Gaza, Hamas leader Ismail Hanieh made his first public appearance since the Israeli invasion to greet Galloway. He also gave him an honorary Palestinian passport. Naturally, as soon as he gets a Palestinian travel document, countries start banning him.

The British parliamentarian faced one of his accusers from the JDL in Canada on television. As usual Galloway is indomitable in debate. Still, the video, which is below, is not his greatest showing, but the format sucked. Galloway’s argument that they are wrongfully silencing him has merit, especially since they have no real argument that he is a threat to national security. It is clearly and ideological exclusion. I thought Canada was better than that.

The JDL, which was founded by the militant Rabbi Meir Kahane, was named as a “violent extremist Jewish organization” by the FBI. It has been implicated in planned attacks in the United States, including the assassination of Arab-American leader Alex Odeh.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAm7rfHKSyY]More juicy stuff from Wikipedia:

In a 2004 congressional testimony, John S. Pistole, Executive Assistant Director for Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence for the Federal Bureau of Investigation described the JDL as “a known violent extremist Jewish Organization.” FBI statistics show that, from 1980 through 1985, there were 18 terrorist attacks in the U.S. committed by Jews; 15 of those by members of the JDL. Mary Doran, an FBI agent, described the JDL in a 2004 Congressional testimony as “a proscribed terrorist group”. According to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs>,

In a 1986 study of domestic terrorism, the Department of Energy concluded: “For more than a decade, the Jewish Defense League (JDL) has been one of the most active terrorist groups in the United States….Since 1968, JDL operations have killed 7 persons and wounded at least 22. Thirty-nine percent of the targets were connected with the Soviet Union; 9 percent were Palestinian; 8 percent were Lebanese; 6 percent, Egyptian; 4 percent, French, Iranian, and Iraqi; 1 percent, Polish and German; and 23 percent were not connected with any states. Sixty-two percent of all JDL actions are directed against property; 30 percent against businesses; 4 percent against academics and academic institutions; and 2 percent against religious targets.” (Department of Energy, Terrorism in the United States and the Potential Threat to Nuclear Facilities, R-3351-DOE, January 1986, pp. 11-16)

So Canada harbors members of known terrorist groups and it has never come up by anyone. Strange, I thought Bush declared such countries his enemy. But he continued to show PM Stephen Harper the bromance after his February, 2006 election. Just another Bush contradiction.

Al-Qaeda’s leadership should convert to Judaism. Bin Laden and Zawahiri could move to Toronto and open a shisha bar, “Ayman and Osama’s Hookah Paradise.”

But seriously, after seeing him on Celebrity Big Brother, how can anyone call him a threat to Canada?

Related posts:

1. Galloway Lands in Gaza
2. Galloway Rips Into Sky News Over Lebanon
3. Galloway Hits the Senate in the Kisser
4. George Galloway’s Speech in Gaza
5. Film: “Terror’s Advocate”