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70 September 22 2011
Jewish mother, told The Associated
Press that a SWAT team pulled her
and two Indian men from Frontier
Airline flight 623 after it landed
Sunday at Detroit Metro Airport.
Hebshi, a freelance writer and
mother of two, wrote on her blog that
she was held for hours, strip-searched
and questioned before being released
without charges.
Hebshi told the Detroit Free Press
that she believes she was targeted
because of her dark complexion. She
also is in contact with the American
Civil Liberties Union.
"They did seem to think that my
rights were violated, even in such
a sticky situation:' Hebshi wrote
in an email, referring to the ACLU.
"Understandably, security issues are
heightened when dealing with air-
planes, regardless of what day of the
year you choose to fly."
According to Frontier Airline and
the Transportation Security Authority,
the three were arrested after a pas-
senger reported "suspicious activity."
None of the three knew each other.
However, airline spokesman Peter
Kowalchuk in an email to the AP said
that both the passenger's complaint
and the alert passed on by the flight
crew referred only to "the suspicious
activity of two gentlemen and only
two gentlemen."
"After that, what happened was out
of the control of the Frontier crew,"
Kowalchuk said.
Hebshi on her blog asked, "What is
the likelihood that two Indian men
who didn't know each other and a
dark-skinned woman of Arab/Jewish
heritage would be on the same flight
from Denver to Detroit? Was that sus-
picion enough?"
which sent a news release to media
and other Jewish community groups
calling for Johnston's firing. Blogs and
social media picked up the story.
"In the lecture, I discussed that the
course focuses on the texts and not
`opinions," Johnston said in a state-
ment. "In fact, I stated that for this
course opinions are not relevant and
I questioned the common idea that
everyone is entitled to their opinion.
"I pointed out that everyone is not
entitled to their opinion by giving
the example of someone having an
anti-Semitic opinion that is clearly
not acceptable. This was an example
of the fact that opinions can be dan-
gerous and that none of us really do
believe that all opinions are accept-
able."
Grunfeld told the Toronto Star that
she may have misunderstood the con-
text and intent of Johnston's remarks,
but that doesn't matter.
"The words 'Jews should be steril-
ized' still came out of his mouth, so
regardless of the context, I still think
that's pretty serious:' she said.
In a statement, the newly created
Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
said it believes Johnston's "use of an
abhorrent statement was intended to
demonstrate that some opinions are
simply not legitimate. This point was,
without ill intentions, taken out of
context and circulated in the Jewish
community."
"Professor Johnston, himself a
member of the Jewish community,
may regret his wording but should not
see his reputation tarnished:' the cen-
ter said. "This event is an appropriate
reminder that great caution must be
exercised before concluding a state-
ment or action is anti-Semitic."
Jewish Professor Defends
Himself Against Allegation
TORONTO (JTA) — A Jewish profes-
sor in Toronto was forced to defend
himself against allegations of anti-
Semitism in an episode tinged with
irony.
Cameron Johnston, who has been
teaching at York University for more
than 30 years, was the focus of contro-
versy following a Sept. 12 lecture on
critical thinking and whether one is
entitled to one's opinions, even if they
are extreme.
"All Jews should be sterilized" is an
example of such an extreme opinion,
Johnston told the 500 students.
One of them, 22-year-old Sarah
Grunfeld, stormed out of the class.
She contacted Hasbara at York, an
on-campus Israel advocacy group,
Netanyahu U.N. Talk, P.A.
Statehood Bid Same Day
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will
address the U.N. General Assembly
on the same day that the Palestinian
Authority presents its statehood bid
to the Security Council.
The Palestinians will submit a bid
for full membership in the Security
Council of the United Nations on
Sept. 23, PA Foreign Minister Riyad
al-Malki announced late last week. On
the same day, Netanyahu told a news
conference with Czech Prime Minister
Petr Necas that he will address the
issue of the statehood bid and the
quest for peace in the region in his
address Sept. 23.
P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas will
Roundup on page 72