Politicians Praise Israel at Canada-Israel Meeting

By John Dirlik

With elections on the horizon, federal politicians worked hard to outdo each other in their praise for the Jewish state at the biennial policy conference of Canada's principal lobby group, the Canada-Israel Committee.

"Israel stands alone as a beacon of popular democracy in the Middle East," Liberal leader Jean Chretien told a gathering of over 1,400 community leaders gathered in Ottawa March 29-30. "My party is committed to expanding our trade relationship with Israel ... Together, we can make the relationship between Canada and Israel stronger than ever. "

Although Chretien expressed support for the ongoing Arab-Israeli negotiations, pointedly missing from his speech was any mention whatsoever of Palestinians, let alone Palestinian rights. The only reference the Liberal leader made to Arabs was when he chastised Arab states for "Persisting in their hostile stance toward Israel, " and urged Arab leaders to "reciprocate Israeli gestures of good faith."

Delicate Hints

Audrey Mclaughlin, leader of the New Democratic Party, was equally zealous in extolling Israel's virtues, but hinted ever so delicately that not everything the Jewish state did was praiseworthy. After declaring that Canadians "marveled at the capacity of Israel to welcome Soviet Jews, " and praising Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin for his "vigorous pursuit of peace," Mclaughlin suggested "friends sometimes disagree" and that the mass expulsion of Palestinians last December may not have been in Israel's best interest.

Even this mild rebuke evoked an angry response from some members of the audience during the question period, prompting Mclaughlin to protest that she was not criticizing Israel's move but only suggesting the expulsions "may not have had the intended effect" of curbing violence.

The only politician bold enough to address the contentious issue of Palestinian rights was the leader of the Bloc Quebecois, a nationalist party committed to Quebec's independence. "To call for a negotiated solution is also to insist on the need for recognizing and taking Palestinian rights into account," said Lucien Bouchard. He expressed his party's support for Canada's present position, which advocates the land-for-peace formula inherent in U.N. Resolution 242.

"I can't see how a sovereign state of Quebec could be less forceful than Ottawa in its support for the Palestinians' right to self-determination, " he said to murmurs of disapproval. When asked about his party's position on the status of Jerusalem, however, Bouchard frankly evaded the issue. "I am not ready to be clear on that," he replied.

In contrast, the leader of Canada's Progressive Party was predictably steadfast in his support for Israel. Although not in need of political support because of his previously announced resignation as prime minister in June, Brian Mulroney nevertheless heaped praise on the Jewish state.

"Israel is more than just a country, it is the embodiment of the spiritual values that have shaped Western civilization," he said. In a remarkable statement that went unreported by the media, Mulroney said Canada's primary reason for joining the war effort against Iraq during the Gulf war was to protect the state of Israel. "The ultimate ambition of Saddam Hussain was to launch an attack on Israel, which is why Canada took a stand to avoid this eventuality, " said Mulroney. (Indeed, barely a day after Iraqi missiles had first hit Israel, Canadian fighters for the first time since the war in Korea were ordered to engage in offensive military action.)

At a banquet attended by over 100 members of Parliament, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres thanked Mulroney for his unwavering friendship. Referring to Mulroney's implicit support for Israel's expulsion of Palestinians during a recent press conference with President Clinton in Washington, Peres congratulated the Canadian prime minister, saying that "Even Israelis could not have done it better." (Responding to a question about the legality of expulsions, Mulroney had told reporters that Israel "does not need lectures o from third parties on how to handle its security.")

During Peres' three-day visit to Canada, however, not all of the crowds were so friendly. He encountered demonstrations by Arabs and their supporters protesting Israeli policies, as well as counter-demonstrations by Jewish students expressing support for Israel.

John Dirlik, a free-lance writer from Quebec, writes on Canadian and Middle Eastern affairs.