Today — May 18, 2023 — a hard-core activist who tweeted that he wants to see all Jews die “in the most torturous and slow ways” is being honoured with the 2023 Calgary Peace Prize..You can’t make this stuff up..Now’s a really good time to get rid of the once-prestigious award that’s been tarnished and has nothing to do with peace anymore. Instead, it has morphed into a tool being used to legitimize a promoter of hateful, violent, blood-thirsty, vengeful radicalism. That’s equally chilling and disgusting..The recipient Mohammed El-Kurd, a Palestinian who celebrates terrorists, murderous Palestinian intifadas and who has called Zionists “sadistic barbaric neonazi pigs” — has a massive following on social media.. Romeo d'AllaireLt. Gen Romeo Dallaire .His name doesn’t belong on the list of impressive and worthy past recipients of the prize who dedicated their lives fighting to accomplish remarkable things that actually promote peace, safety, and justice..That includes former senator and retired Lt.-Gen. Romeo Dallaire who commanded the UN force in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide and has since fought for the eradication of using children as soldiers..And former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Rosalie Abella, whose work on equity and equality is recognized globally. Abella was born in a displaced person’s camp in Germany. Her parents survived the Holocaust..Now the Jew-hating El-Kurd is unworthily accorded the same respect as the distinguished Abella. Unbelievable..“You’ve honoured somebody that in a way demeans very worthy recipients of this prize,” said Toronto’s Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer of B’nai Brith, a human rights organization..To champion El-Kurd as ‘peaceful’ mocks the integrity of the prize established at the University of Calgary in 2006, then moved to Mount Royal University (MRU.).Then someone, for some reason, allowed it to be hijacked. Now MRU associate sociology professor Muhannad Mark Ayyash — affiliated with radical anti-Jewish organizations — has control over the prize..MRU disassociated itself, saying it doesn’t interfere with “academic freedom” and has nothing to do with the peace prize..But hold on.. rosalie-silberman-abellaSupreme Court of Canada judge Rosalie Silberman Abella was appointed to the highest court in the land in 2004. .Ayyash promoted the El-Kurd award on MRU’s website, with the MRU’s logo on the promo. MRU scrubbed it from the website only after HonestReporting Canada challenged it and sent a 1,000-signature protest petition its way..Mostyn expressed B’nai Brith’s concerns to MRU’s Dean of the Faculty of Arts Jennifer Pettit..She simply echoed an earlier feeble response from MRU President and Vice-Chancellor Timothy Rahilly who distanced the publicly-funded institution from this decision to give the award to El-Kurd..Pettit stressed that the prize is an initiative of an independent faculty member and not of MRU. Pettit said MRU opposes antisemitism and understands the Jewish community’s concern about El-Kurd receiving the price. But, that’s it..How patronizing..Despite proclaiming that it denounces anti-Semitism, MRU won’t denounce this..This presentation by an MRU faculty member “degrades the prize into a theatrical exercise where one controversial individual commends another,” said Mostyn..“It’s difficult to fathom how any individual could nominate an individual like this, or push this idea forward for an event.”.“It’s really troubling. And it shouldn’t only be troubling to the Jewish community. I think it should be troubling to all Albertans and to all Canadians.”.“One would hope someone would speak out in that institution, or alumni of that institutions would speak out.”.MRU has an obligation to explain who made the decision to hand control to Ayyash, a radical professor now riding on the coattails of the award’s prestigious reputation and veering away from everything it stands for to promote his pet interests..MRU wouldn’t confirm when this happened, but it appears to have been in 2019..“What gives an individual the right to just give awards to people like this? I think it’s a sham. It should be held out as a sham,” said Mostyn..It’s also a clever tactic being used by Ayyash who thinks so highly of El-Kurd..“This is how people elevate themselves in society by getting awards. We need to be cautious about giving things that sound prestigious to the wrong people because they’ll just hold that up and say ‘Listen to me, because I won the Calgary Peace Prize, you should listen to me, I’m working for peace.’”.“And yet they can say all kinds of vile, disgusting things about individuals just because they happen to be Jews.”.El-Kurd certainly is devoted to doing just that..He recently hailed three Hamas terrorists as “martyrs” after they were killed by Israeli Security Forces..In April, El-Kurd’s heroes ambushed and pumped 22 bullets from a Kalashnikov assault rifle into an Israeli mother and her two daughters, one a teenager..After their vehicle veered off the road, they were shot at close range..Yet he’s being recognized “for his exemplary contribution toward peace and justice in the struggle for a more humane, dignified, and free life for oppressed people in Palestine and beyond.”.The deception makes one want to vomit..He uses his social media platform — about one million followers combined on Instagram and Twitter — to glorify terrorism and depict Jews as demonic, ugly, evil, and conniving..People listen to him while pushes anti-Semitism in vile ways..And that’s dangerous..Over the past 10 years hate crimes against Jews have doubled in Canada, according to Statistics Canada..In 2021, more than half of hate crimes motivated by religion targeted Jewish people. Hate crimes reported by police rose to 3,360 from 2,646 in 2020..B’nai Brith recently released its annual audit on anti-Semitism..There were 2,769 antisemitic incidents recorded in 2022, compared to 2,799 in 2021, Mostyn said at a press conference in Ottawa..About 74% occurred online. There were 25 violent incidents. Many incidents go unreported..And a guy who celebrates this wickedness is being honoured with a peace prize.
