In the first leaders debate, carried out last week, some small differences emerged between Mr. Harper and Mr. Mulcair on the Israel/Palestine issue. In this video interview, David Lorge Parnas explains why he thinks the differences are smaller than they might appear.

Dr. David Lorge Parnas of Ottawa is a Jewish engineer who is best known for his contributions in the area of Software Design, Documentation, and Analysis.  In the 80s he voiced his doubts about U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s highly touted Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI).  His papers on that topic were widely discussed,  Currently, he is very concerned about the unjust treatment of the indigenous people in the Middle East.

Dr. Parnas is regularly invited to give technical papers at conferences around the world, including in Israel/Palestine where he has seen for himself the situation of the Palestinians.

“As a child, my parents, both of whom were Holocaust escapees and lost relatives in the Holocaust, sent me to what was called Hebrew School where I learned what I consider to be the essentials of the Jewish religion. The treatment of the indigenous people of Palestine by “The Jewish State” is decidedly a violation of the principles that I was taught. For example, there is a Jewish version of what Christians call “the golden rule”.  But I have never met an Israeli who would want to be treated the way that they treat Palestinians. My position on the rights of Palestinians has led some to call me a “self-hating Jew”.  I believe that I am being true to what my Rabbi and the teachers in the Hebrew School taught me and this is not, in any sense, self-hate.”