I’ve learned to make concise and cogent speeches in the three minutes appropriate for rallies and meetings. Of the several dozen “three-minute” talks I have on file, here are six examples.
Against Islamophobia and white supremacy
The video version of this speech made a rally against Islamophobia and white supremacy went viral and received over 26,000 views as of this posting.
I speak today as a survivor of the Jewish Holocaust. Nazism took the lives of most of my family and six million my Jewish community. I and so many other Holocaust survivors are here only because of people united to protect us.
What is anti Semitism? It is simply the hatred of Jewish people. Amazingly, Donald Trump honoured the Holocaust by omitting, and in essence denying history. He forgot to mention that that six million Jews were murdered in the attempt to eliminate the whole Jewish people. It’s amazing that we heard no one object to this omission, and we especially did not hear a peep from Israel who prides itself on building a Jewish state.
What is Islamophobia? It is the hatred of people who believe in the Islamic religion.
There is no rational reason to hate — why? Because people have different concepts of the almighty? Because people have different ways of preparing food? Because people wear different clothing? What kind of idiocy is this?
We need to stand united and welcome refugees whether they be Syrian, Palestinian, or Iraqi and especially those who have been targeted by the U.S., bombarded, murdered, and robbed of the right to their basic needs to survive because they are Islamic.
People in the Middle Eastern countries that Donald Trump has named as untouchables are Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Iran. Among these countries which have been torn asunder, bombed, and mass murdered, the U.S. has not dared to touch Iran which stands for their own sovereignty.
What is the lesson of Hitler’s Holocaust? It is that we must defend every people victimized by racist oppression and genocide. We came out of the Holocaust and swore Never Again. By that we mean never again for humanity. We are against the hatred and oppression of all those who suffer as a result of occupation and as a result of war imposed on their society.
We in Canada have been shielded from war and bombs. We’ve been lucky. But we are part of humanity and we have an obligation as a nation to be united to help everyone survive and live well. We all need food, water, and shelter.
We thank the indigenous nations for their courageous defence of their land. We all are proud of our ancestry which has made Canada a rainbow of nations. Islamic, Christians, Jews, and the myriad of other faiths make Canada great.
Let us say it and mean it: Never again means for everyone.
To an anti-white supremacy rally – Feb. 4, 2017
Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) connects the dots
Boycott Divestment Sanctions, BDS, is a tool that is gaining support and popularity in the resistance movements against the neo liberal agenda.
Here are four examples among many others.
First, is the development of Black Lives Matter, a coalition of 50 groups in the U.S., formed in response to their outrage over the criminal justice system’s treatment of African American. Black Lives Matter is unafraid to include in their collection of positions papers, its “platform,” outright statement of support for BDS.
But Black activists are baited as anti-Jewish that extends to racist baiting for associating with BDS and Palestinian rights. But they see a parallel of their lives with the occupation of Palestine, as white supremacist.
Support for BDS has become a mainstay in multi-issue progressive campus coalitions. Attacks are made on Black Lives Matter for supposedly excluding Jews. But a joint Statement of JVP campus chapters sets the records straight and calls “on Jewish students to trace the intersectional connections between racism in America, Palestine, and around the world.”
Second, is the indigenous movement fighting a battle on two fronts: against the pipelines and against a frontal assault on indigenous rights and sovereignty. The BDS National Committee in a message of solidarity to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe stressed the colonial legacy they both suffer: Defending their land, their identity, their dignity and their heritage.
Lastly, the right to discuss the Palestinian plight where thousands of people across Canada, for instance, won a victory over Bill 202 which would have blacklisted and boycotted any resident or organization active in Ontario that support the BDS movement.
In the U.S. a proposed bill to strangle discussion in an effort to hide Israel’s murderous policies, is bipartisan-sponsored (bill, S.720, also known as the Israel Anti-Boycott Act). It would prohibit support for the obviously successful world BDS campaign. Boycotts by international governmental organizations, would punishment violators ranging from a penalty between $250,000 and $1 million, and/or up to 20 years in prison.
Black Live Matter in their statement against this legislation connects the dots between war abroad and domestic social programs, reminiscent of Martin Luther King’s stance against the war in Vietnam.
The BDS three point program is supported by those seeking social justice throughout the world. Recently, the Spanish parliament, unanimously passed a motion recognizing the right to advocate BDS. In the UK a court ruled it unlawful for the government to restrict local council from exercising their conscience and divesting their pensions from Israeli companies complicit in violating Palestinian human rights.
The fight continues as resistance to oppression must.
To Ideas Left Outside – August 2017
Witness to five revolutions
I have been a witness to five revolutions.
The U.S. civil rights movement and Cuba in the sixties, Poland’s Solidarity movement and Nicaragua in the eighties, and Venezuela in the new century.
Thinking back on these experiences, I ask four questions.
First: What was common to all?
The participants were a mass movement with working people in the lead, heading towards the overthrow their oppressors and new social relations.
Second: Within the revolutions, did working people take responsibility and leadership in their liberation?
Yes, in every case. The Venezuelans call this “protagonism,” and it was strongest in Cuba. In Nicaragua and Venezuela this has been moderately successful. There were limitations with the civil rights movement and Poland, where the movements were not in government.
Third: Did all these movements for revolution have a vision for a new society?
The civil rights movement, except for Malcolm X, fought for integration into the existing society. This was true of most leaders in Poland as well – and the society that served as their model was that of Western Europe. The Cubans fought for a new society. Nicaragua and Venezuela also have a vision of a new society, but proceed more cautiously.
Fourth: Did capitalism succeed in absorbing these revolutions?
The civil rights movement was largely absorbed. So too was the movement in Poland. The Nicaraguan movement was defeated, but now it has revived. In Venezuela, the outcome is unclear. Cuba is still undefeated and defiant.
I have mentioned only the revolutions where I happened to be present. There were others, which loom large in history. My conclusion is that we can gain by comparing these experiences.
Ideas Left Outside, August 2014
Haggadah contribution on climate change
Our world today faces a catastrophe without measure: escalating climate change. If not brought under control, it could make this planet uninhabitable. The cause is well known: our profit-driven economy.
So too is the cure: rapid reduction of carbon emissions. But when governments refuse to act, what should we do?
Collectively, we have to hit the brakes on carbon emissions. But how?
A year ago, I was among Toronto East End residents who joined in opposing a tar-sands pipeline project, “Line 9,” which runs through Toronto just north of Finch Avenue. We leaflet on street corners, knock on doors, put up many lawn signs, gather thousands of signatures on petitions, write for neighbourhood newspapers, speak in meetings, and visit elected representatives.
We warn of the danger of pipeline ruptures. “Line 9 threatens our air, our water, our land,” we say. “It violates indigenous land rights. It will increase carbon emissions and speed climate change.”
Our monthly public events discuss not only Line 9, but also the tar sands and their link to climate change. In one of our meetings, Bangladeshi neighbours told us how their home country is devastated by climate change caused, in part, by Canada’s carbon emissions.
The type of oil that exploded in Lac Megantic, killing 47 people, is transported by rail through Toronto. Yet residents are not allowed to know when or where this takes place. We demand our right to know.
The federal government is bulling ahead with Line 9, as part of its demented plan to build Canada’s future on the destructive tar-sands.
But our committee continues, part of a vibrant city-wide network of anti-tar sands activism. Together we are showing that ordinary people can learn the facts, raise their voices, and join in heading off a looming world disaster.
Contribution to Haggadah of the United Jewish People’s Order seder — April 2014
What Is Different about Bolivia and Why We Defend It
As you know Paul (Kellogg), John (Riddell), and I are active in Toronto Bolivia Solidarity, a small, poor country in the mountains of South America.
Why do we focus on this tiny country? Why do we highlight its accomplishments?
Since 2006, Bolivia has been ruled by an indigenous-led government. The indigenous majority, which long suffered segregation and oppression, now walks with new pride and confidence.
President Morales was the leader of the coca growers’ union and works closely with social movements. He is a socialist who has fought for land reforms, nationalized key industries, and opposed U.S. and foreign domination of the country. The Bolivians have not overthrown capitalism but in its period in office, the Morales government has led working people in making tangible advances. The experience has also demonstrated limits of reform under the present capitalist state, which is also an advance.
In the words of Evo Morales: “The best legacy of the Bolivian people is to be anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist and anti-neoliberal.”
Bolivia has fought to disentangle itself from the fangs of imperialism. In its quest for sovereignty, Bolivian government has joined ALBA, the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our Americas. It’s a trade and solidarity pact between Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador and three Caribbean island-nations. Bolivia has broken diplomatic relations with Israel in support of Palestinian human rights.
Within Bolivia, the Morales government has won a confrontation with the oligarchy and fascist currents, through reliance on mass action.
The Morales government has launched program to boost food sovereignty by supporting small farmers, guaranteeing local and self-sufficient production of high quality food.
Bolivia is the world leader in action on climate change and climate justice. Morales government hosted a major anti-capitalist gathering in Cochabamba last year where over 35,000 people gathered to counter the imperialist denial of global warming. This was an attempt to build international, eco-socialist networks.
Bolivia refers compares this effort to the world mobilization to overthrow South African apartheid. “The same mass-based movement is our only hope to overturn the climate apartheid we now face.”
Toronto Bolivia Solidarity has had two educational sessions, a teach-in, and several successful public events focusing on this crucial issue. This fall, we have drawn together different individuals and organizations to plan educational sessions. This will lead up to the next international climate justice gathering in Durban, South Africa, in December. We are sending two delegates who will be reporting to a public event upon their return.
We wholeheartedly support Bolivia, this tiny country, this Samson of the world, and its brilliant achievements during these past dozen years.
We oppose imperialist intervention in Latin America to restrict national sovereignty, shore up reactionary regimes, overthrow defiant governments and crush popular movements such as Bolivia. More than that, we try to learn what these more politically advanced peoples offer us as guidance for our own struggle in Canada.
Ideas Left Outside – August 2011
Take Back the Night
Sisters and Friends,
Most of the sisters here are survivors of the violence against women that pervades this society. I am also a survivor in another sense – a survivor of Nazism, that killed tens of millions of innocent people in the Second World War. As a child and a Jew, I was marked for death. I was hidden from Hitler’s murderers by a brave peasant family, and that is why I am here today.
It is worth remembering that Hitler’s crime was also a crime against women. Not only against the millions of women slaughtered in his death camps, but against all women. Hitler’s idea was that women should be confined to the “kitchen, church, and children.”
“Kitchen, church, and children.”
As we all know, to exclude women in this way from society as a whole, to confine them to the home, always means to expose them to sexual violence.
Sadly, this spirit of confinement is still alive in our society today. We see it in the constant efforts to whittle away at women’s right to abortion. Or the petty oppression of poor women raising children.
Our answer is to demand women’s full right to be present in all spheres of social activity. “Take back the night.” And take back all our rights.
Those of us who are survivors find many ways to fight against the oppression we have suffered. In my case, I call for freedom for Palestine. You are active in many other causes, equally important.
And today, we join as sisters in proclaiming,
End the violence against women!
To “Take back the night” rally, September 27, 2008. With thanks to our friend and comrade, a courageous indigenous feminist and revolutionary from Peru, Rosalia Paiva (d. 2009), who inspired this contribution.