Israeli Apartheid Week comes to Winnipeg

The University of Manitoba says it won't stand in the way of a controversial event on campus next week.

Organizers deny their Israeli Apartheid Week events promote hatred against Jews.

"It's not an anti-Semitic event or anything like that, it's actually an anti-racist event," said organizer Bryan Latour.

"Israeli apartheid is a system of oppression which is something that needs to be talked about," said Latour.

The week-long seminars at the University of Manitoba will discuss the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the decades long cycle of violence between Arabs and Jews.

Israeli Apartheid Week started six years ago at university campuses across Canada, but it will be held for the first time in Winnipeg next week.

Canada's largest Jewish organization says Israeli Apartheid Week promotes hatred against Jews and is calling on the University of Manitoba to ban the event.

"Apartheid itself is an international crime," said David Mats, senior counsel for B'Nai Brith Canada.

"They wouldn't give a forum to the Ku Klux Klan, they wouldn't give a forum to the Neo-Nazi movement and this is similar as far as we're concerned," said Matas.

Despite the controversy, the University of Manitoba says it will allow the event to go ahead.

"The University of Manitoba in no way endorses speakers or view points associated with this event, this appears to be a student organized event," said John Danakas, a spokesperson for the U of M.

A supporter of Israeli Apartheid Week will also be speaking at the Millennium Library next week.

Mayor Sam Katz says he isn't happy about it.

"As mayor, and someone who is Jewish, I would prefer there would be no events at the Winnipeg Library," said Katz.

The city says it will send someone to monitor the speech and it will intervene if laws are broken.