Democracy and the true meaning of free speech always amazes me. In countries like Canada and the U.S., the citizens are essentially free to criticize the government publicly without fear of reprisal. Sure, if you turn out to support an anti-government rally, you might find your name added to an FBI or RCMP list of activists, but, unless you break the law, you probably won't find yourself in a jail cell or worse.

Tonight, I was scanning the internet news service, and read about Jewish peace protesters in Israel, rallying against recent defence initiatives of the Israeli government, and lauding the government for it's pullout from West Bank cities. And I was thinking only in a democracy would such behaviour be tolerated. OK, I'm Jewish, and as much as I try to keep an open mind, I confess to some bias. But am I the only one who wonders whether a similar peace rally held by Palestinian people in the West Bank or Gaza, advocating the end of violence and the end of suicide bombings against Israel, would result in their deaths - either by paramilitary organizations or street mobs?

I was disappointed that during my past trips to the Middle East, I was denied the opportunity to visit countries such as Lebanon and Egypt - simply because I was Jewish, and it was considered a dangerous thing to do. And earlier in my career, when I worked for Nortel (before it was called Nortel), I was summarily denied the opportunity to work in Saudi Arabia because I was Jewish.

When will all this nonsense finally come to an end?