Why the Town of Markham is so Concerned About Israeli Apartheid Week  http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/487.php

The battle over Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) has reached “the 905” as the Town of Markham, a suburb just north of Toronto, has decided to take its own swing at IAW. Councillor Howard Shore introduced a motion calling on the Town of Markham to ban IAW and to pressure York University to do the same. The motion was first debated in March 2011 and will be brought to council again on April 11, 2011.[1]The motion itself is quite puzzling because no IAW events take place in Markham – IAW is campus-based and Markham has no universities. This begs the question of why the Town of Markham is making the move to ban an event that does not take place within its jurisdiction. The answers to this question, I believe, shed light not only on the situation in Markham, but also provide important context to the attacks on IAW and pro-Palestine activism across Canada.

While there is a compelling case to argue that this motion is simply a manoeuvre to pander to the pro-Israel base in Markham, there are certainly other factors at play. One central issue is economic ties between the Town of Markham and Israel. Shore has boasted of the plans for Markham to send a trade delegation to Israel in order to intensify their economic cooperation.[5] This delegation is in partnership with York University, which is not surprisingly targeted by Shore's motion. It is no coincidence that as Markham is set to increase its trade relations with Israel, they are moving to silence any criticism of their important business partner. This tactic is not new or unique to Markham.