40—hidny, Heneinbec 27, 1970
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
FLQ Is Labeled Anti-Semitic
By IINCRAEL
M.
SOLOMON
(Copyright 1575,11A, toe.)
The unprecedented kidnapings
of British Trade Commissioner
James R. Cross in Montreal, Oct.
5, and of Quebec Labor Minister
Pierre Laporte a week later by
two separate cells of the militant
underground Front de Liberation
du Quebec stunned and profoundly
angered Canadian Jews from coast
to coast.
The subsequent awesome dis-
covery of Pierre Laporte's tortured
body in the trunk of an abandoned
car aroused the unanimous feel-
ings of horror and revulsion across
all sections of the Canadian Jew-
ish community.
The FLQ's dealings are no
novelty for the Quebec Jews.
They have lived through the
1962 mail-box bombings in the
rich Westmount suburb. of
Montreal where rich English,
French and Jewish businessmen
live in grand style and they
looked upon the bombings as a
matter of ino particular concern
for the Jewish community as a
whole. Moreover, a good seg-
ment of the Jewish leftist intel-
lectuals and Jewish student body
looked upon the FLQ's exploits
then as something meant "to
give a bit of a shake up to the
too apathetic fat cats of West-
mount."
This time, alas, the situation
looks totally different. Appalled
by the savagery of the cold blood-
ed execution of the Quebec Minis-
ter of Labor, Canadian Jews have
received a shock when learning
that the FLQ is "a racist organ-
ization with anti-Jewish and anti-
Italian overtones." This char-
acterization of the FLQ was made
in the House of Commons in Ot-
tawa during the debate on the war
measures act decreed by the Tru-
deau government by no other than
the Federal Minister of Regional
Development, a French-Canadian
and the Prime Minister's first lieu-
tenant, Jean Marchand.
Replying to an attack by David
Lewis, NDP leader and member
of the House who is Jewish, who
criticized the government for im-
posing war measures in peace-
time, Marchand said that: "The
FLQ is a racist organization di-
rected against Jews and Italians
in particular." Marchand repeated
the statement on television and
radio afterwards. According to the
Hansard, (the official recording
of the House of Commons debates),
Lewis remained silent after hear-
ing Marchand's statement.
Canadian Jewish Congress
leaders tried to reach Marchand
for further details on his
Important statement but no
contact was made because the
minister was in Montreal for
the slain Quebec minister's fu-
neral. There can be no doubt,
however, that due to his posi-
tion, Marchand had made the
statement on the evidence of
the secret Information available
only to the Federal government.
A member of the Progressive
Conservative party for Oxford,
Ontario, Walter Nessbit, asked
Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Tru-
deau a few hours before he left
for the funeral whether the Cana-
dian government "is aware of
French-Canadians hav in g been
trained in Jordan and elsewhere
for terrorist activities in Quebec
and of the fact that they, the ter-
rorists, have the full backing of
one of the big powers."
The prime minister answered
that he will investigate and let
the House know the facts as soon
as possible.
Nessbit's Intervention in the
House of Commons came on the
heels of a sensational - interview
with two French Canadians whom
Montreal journalist Pierre Nadeau
met on the training grounds in the
Jordan desert. The two Quebecers
who had their faces carefully hid-
den behind their Arab kaffiahs and
were wearing dark glasses, had
.
-,
.
their picture published in the big
circulation French weekly Perspec-
tives, last August. Speaking in
flawless French but with Quebec
accent, the two men whose nom-
de-guerre were Salem and Salim,
told reporter Nadeau that after
finishing training they will return
to Quebec to carry out what they
called "selective assassinations."
A great Quebec patriot and a
champion for the social justice of
all Quebec inhabitants, Pierre
Laporte enjoyed during his polit-
ical career esteem and respect
from all segments of Canadian
Jewry.
In April he fought for the leader-
ship of the Quebec Liberal Party
and lost to now Quebec Premier
36-year-old Robert Bourassa. But
during his campaign he had the
support of many Jewish members
of the Liberal Party who described
him as a selfless and generous
man. A nationalist journalist at
the beginning of his political ca-
reer, Mr. Laporte evolved towards
a policy of cooperation and under-
standing with all minorities living
in the province. An open-minded
politician, he welcomed Jeviish
immigration to Quebec. Mr. La-
porte had constantly reminded his
compatriots that to force new im-
migrants to have their children
educated only in French is a terri-
ble blunder. He advocated instead
the way of friendly persuasion as
the best way to success.
When the FLQ Manifesto was
read on TV and radio as the gov-
ernment's concession to the ter.
rorists while bargaining for the
lives of the kidnaped men, Jews
discovered that only two Jews
were named among more than a
dozen so-called "capitalist exploit-
ers of the Quebec people." They
were the Bronfmans and the Stein-
bergs. The Bronfman family is
connected with the Seagram Dis-
tilleries and the Steinbergs are
the owners of the biggest food
supermarkets in the province. Both
figured in the good company of
the Quebec and Canada's financial
elite.
When the news of Pierre La-
perte's slaying became known,
Quebec Jews courageously voiced
their opinions and through "Let-
ters to the Editor," in the main
French and English dailies, ex-
pressed their horror and con-
demnation.
One of the most loyal ethnic
communities in respect to Cana-
dian unity and Canadian confed-
eration, the Jews from all •0
Canadian provinces unanimously
support the government's extraor-
dinary measures adopted last week.
The Canadian Jews stand as a
monolithe behind the Canadian
government's effort to liquidate
terrorism in this country. There
has been, so far, no panic, let alone
a rush to leave Quebec for other
provinces or for a foreign country.
It is true that a number of Israeli
citizens, now Canadian residents,
have expressed their wish to go
back to Israel..But among Cana-
dian Jews all one can see is that
no matter how grave the situation,
the overwhelming majority is con-
vinced that Trudeau will restore
order and law and, with that, the
necessary confidence in democracy.
Jewish immigrants who came to
Canada after World War II say
that they have already experiaced
all this horror under the rough and
tough rabble of Nazi stormtroop-
ers and pray that their gloomy
experience will not be repeated
here. To that, the bulk of Canadian
Jewry answers that Canada is not
the Third Reich and that democ-
racy here is a formidable reality
which neither the terrorist dealings
of the FLQ nor any Big Power sup-
porting them can easily overthrow.
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3 Israeli Pilots Die in Plane Crash
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Israel's first
commercial transport plane
crashed in the Samaria district
Nov. 19 while on a test flight, kill-
ing three pilots and injuring a
fourth. It was the second crash
involving a prototype plane de-
signed and built in Israel.
A committee has been estab-
lished to investigate the accident
The chief test pilot was Avraham
Hacohen, father of three, who had
survived a crash earlier this year
of the second of the two Israeli-
made planes, the Jet Commander.
In that test flight the Kibutz Beit
Alpha-born flyer received only
minor injuries.
The two other victims were
Amnon Azouri, an engineer who
graduated from the Technion, and
Eitan Spigel, an electrical techni-
cian. The plane that crashed Nov.
19, known as the Arava, is of
the STOL (Short Take-Off-and-
Lending) type, designed for feeder
services. It has a capacity of 22
passengers and 4,400 pounds of
cargo.
The air frame is the product of
the Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd.
Its two Pratt & Whitney turbo-
prop engines were built abroad.
They provided a maximum cruis-
ing speed of 209 mph at 10,000
feet and a cruising range of about
6,000 miles. The Arava was dedi-
cated last April by Premier Golda
Meir in a festive ceremony. It
passed its first test flight last who is director general of Aircraft
January and was due to make its Industries.
first commercial flight next April.
The sole survivor, David Levin,
FENR`i' - CARP
is an American employed by Is-
rael Aircraft Industries as a test
pilot. He reported on the fatal
flight to Defense Minister Moshe
Dyan. He was accompanied by Al
Schwimmer, another American,
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