Kesher Talk

Genocide Bombing? Two months after a White House spokesman coined the phrase "homicide bombing," a member of Canada's Parliament has come up with a new term to describe self-immolators targeting Israeli civilians in discos, pizza parlors and buses: "Genocide bombers."

"Suicide bombing to me is an inappropriate and misleading term," explained MP Irwin Cotler, who is also a world-renowned professor of human rights law. The term homicide bomber, he said, was "a quick attempt to offset the term suicide bombing. It's better than suicide bombing, but I think it should be called what it in fact is."

Cotler tried out his new phrase in the House of Commons on Tuesday, where he gave a minute-long floor speech condemning the "genocidal bombing" that killed 19 Israelis earlier that day in Jerusalem. Then, he personally explained his new term to Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who promptly issued a rare statement on the Middle East. "Canadians are horrified by these brutal attacks," it began. (Jerusalem Post)

posted by Howard @ 6/24/2002 10:47:57 AM