Canadian Government Says "A Moral Defense of Israel"
May Be Hate Propaganda
Oct 3, 2002

IRVINE, CA--Canadian Customs may ultimately refuse to allow into Canada a brochure produced by the Ayn Rand Institute titled "In Moral Defense of Israel."

Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute, called the detainment by the Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) "censorship at the border," and said, "should the CCRA bar entry of this brochure into Canada, it will be an outrageous intrusion on free speech that should not be tolerated by Canadians or Americans."

The detained brochures were being sent to the University of Toronto in advance of Dr. Brook's Oct. 6 talk there in defense of Israel. CCRA's Notice of Detention informed us that our property was "detained for a determination of tariff classification as [it] may constitute . . . hate propaganda."

"The brochure," explained Dr. Brook, "is a collection of reasoned essays arguing for support of Israel against our common enemy, militant Islamic terrorism. Nowhere in the brochure do we incite hatred or urge any illegal private violent action. We call only for a proper response by government to give Israel the support it deserves.

"It makes no sense for Canadian Customs to detain our words in defense of Israel while the world is flooded by anti-Israel 'hate propaganda' sponsored by Arab/Islamic governments. We trust CCRA will do the right thing and release these materials immediately. One of the foundations of Western Civilization, freedom of speech, is at stake."

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Dr. Yaron Brook is available for interviews. To interview Dr. Brook or book him for your show, please e-mail media@aynrandcenter.org

For more articles by Yaron Brook, and his bio, click here.