Canada takes pro-Israel stance at UN

Published: Friday, November 17, 2006
UNITED NATIONS - Canada under the Conservatives demonstrated a marked shift in favour of Israel in votes at the United Nations Thursday, registering its third change in a row on more than 20 Arab- and Muslim-sponsored resolutions that are annually critical of Israeli policy, but light on Arab responsibilities.

The switch from the way former Liberal governments voted is expected to continue when Canadian diplomats join those of other UN member states to consider 10 more of the annual resolutions next Tuesday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said in successive speeches his government would not endorse international resolutions on Arab-Israeli relations it considers unbalanced.

Arab and Muslim states use their developing world support to produce ''automatic majorities'' that slot the resolutions into the international record, then cite them to argue they have global support for their causes.

On many of the resolutions, Israel has typically received support only from the United States, a few U.S.-dependent Pacific island states, and frequently Australia but now Canada is breaking from its traditional siding with the Europeans on most of the issues.

''If this is a shift, and if the resolutions are largely unchanged from previous years, then it will have implications for our reputation around the world, and echoes in Canada as well,'' warned Paul Heinbecker, a former Canadian ambassador to the UN under the Liberals who is now an international governance expert with two Waterloo, Ont., think-tanks.

''Canada is known for taking a fair-minded and principled approach to these questions, and when I was ambassador, Canada judged every resolution on its merits, taking into account the central issue they are trying to address, and the question of fairness.''

But pro-Israel and Jewish groups in Canada have for years lobbied that the resolutions are biased because they demand so much of Israel, but little from the Arab side in the search for Middle East peace and the current government appears to agree, prompting praise from Canada's Jewish community.

''We're very pleased Canada is staying the course and is now guided by a (new) set of principles,'' said Sara Freedman, a senior official with the Canada-Israel Committee. ''Doing so is putting the onus on the UN to be fair and equitable as they deal with the Middle East situation.''

('Staying the Course' is an interesting way of putting it ...)

The Jewish human rights activist group B'nai Brith Canada expressed similar satisfaction.

''It's anti-Israel time at the UN once again and Canada has taken up the challenge,'' said Frank Dimant, the group's executive vice-president. ''The changes to Canada's vote on Ethree resolutions so far demonstrates that the government will not be bound by traditional anti-Israel voting patterns, but will instead continue the principled course it has charted.''

Officials with the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations did not return calls for comment.

The resolution before the UN Thursday speaks of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and saw Canada abstain, whereas Canada endorsed the resolution last year under the Liberals.

''Canada reiterates its strongest possible support for the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination as part of a negotiated, two-state settlement Ehowever, this resolution does not adequately address the responsibilities of both parties to the conflict to demonstrate efforts towards establishing a peaceful settlement,'' Alan Bowman, a senior official with the Canadian mission to the UN, told delegates in explanation of Canada's shift.

Of the two earlier resolutions in which Canada changed its vote, one spoke of the risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, and the other called on Israel not to exploit natural resources in territory the draft designates ''occupied Arab lands.''

Canada abstained on both after voting in favour last year. The nuclear proliferation resolution says Israel, which is widely presumed to possess nuclear weapons, should join the nuclear non-proliferation treaty a move that would involve Israel's giving up the bomb. But Canada said the resolution fails to also point out Iran is currently defying the UN over its nuclear program. Indeed, Western powers believe Iran is trying to develop a nuclear bomb even though it has signed the non-proliferation treaty, which allows it to legally develop nuclear technology for electricity production.

On the natural resources resolution, Canada expressed concern it fails, in part, to additionally make references to Israel's security concerns.

All the resolutions are currently before UN committees, though all 192 UN member states sit on each one. The drafts enter the international record after the full General Assembly votes on the measures later this year. The process is usually a rubber stamp.

www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=36b95e29-d72c-4557-bde7-5c39a6

The Liberal party and the Canadian Jewish community

CBC News Viewpoint | Aug. 14, 2006 | More from Larry Zolf

Veteran journalist and Canadian political expert Larry Zolf is a regular contributor to CBC News Online. Larry has been a critic, reporter, producer and consultant for CBC news and current affairs since he joined the CBC in 1962. Born and raised in North End Winnipeg, the hotbed of general strikes and socialism, Larry has covered stories such as integration in Mississippi and the October Crisis in Quebec. He was one of the hosts of the CBCs flagship current affairs television show "This Hour Has 7 Days." He is now retired.

Polls suggest the leaderless Liberals are neck and neck with Stephen Harper's Conservatives – a sign that the lacklustre Liberals are inheriting the backlash against Harper's pro-Israel stand.

The Globe and Mail and Decima polls suggest Canadians want to be neutral vis-a-vis Israel and Hezbollah, and they are definitely not on Israel's side of the Mideast conflict, feeling that Israel has used disproportionate force in Lebanon.

As predicted, the Canadian Jewish community has rallied even more to the cause of Israel and Harper, and become more and more conservative.

That's despite the fact Canada's Jewish community has a strong Liberal history – it was the Liberals who first let Jews come to Canada; the Jewish communities in Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg have tended to vote Liberal.

PMs' ties to community

Sam Bronfman, head of the Canadian Jewish community and the Seagram whisky king, was a fervent Liberal and a big contributor to then Liberal Prime Ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent.

As well, it was Pierre Trudeau who made Barney Danson minister of defence, and who appointed Bora Laskin as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Traditionally, Canadian Jewry found the Tories to be a bit too nativist for their liking. Certainly, the Reform party of Preston Manning and Harper did not appeal to Canadian Jews.

But this pattern changed in 2006. During the federal election in January, constituents in Winnipeg South elected a Tory, Rod Bruinooge, in a riding that was held by Reg Alcock, cabinet minister under then Prime Minister Paul Martin.

More dramatically, I understand that Gerry Schwartz of Onex Corporation and his wife Heather Reisman of Chapters and Indigo Books sent a letter to Harper congratulating him on his pro-Israel stance.

Schwartz, a billionaire Toronto Bay Street wheeler-and-dealer, was president of the Liberal Party of Canada, while Reisman held an executive post in the party.

I've known Schwartz and Reisman a long time. My sister was a secretary for Schwartz's father at an auto-wrecking parts business in Winnipeg. Schwartz's grandmother also adopted my family in Winnipeg, teaching me table manners and etiquette.

Today, Schwartz and Reisman – as well as having their respective careers – are the chief benefactors of the respected Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. For Harper to get the support of Schwartz and Reisman shows the Canadian Jewish community is prepared to swim against the Canadian current, and sever its long association with the Liberal party.

Taking a stand on Mideast

The Liberals are all over the map in the war in the Middle East.

In particular, Michael Ignatieff, a frontrunner in the Liberal leadership race, has come under suspicion for his views published in the Globe and Mail. In the newspaper, Quebec journalist Lysiane Gagnon echoed the views of many Canadian Jews when she said of Ignatieff: "His belated stand is somewhat troubling… Nowhere in his opinion piece does he distribute moral blame; nowhere does he chastise Hezbollah for starting the conflict, for hiding behind civilians and for aiming at the destruction of Israel."

I might add at this point that early in the Liberal race, Schwartz and Reisman indicated to myself that they were leaning towards Ignatieff. Still, Ignatieff's campaign manager, Senator David Smith, is a voluble supporter of Israel. So, I am told, are the Peterson brothers, Jim, the former Martin cabinet minister, and David, the former Liberal premier of Ontario.

Benefiting from all this is Liberal leadership contender Bob Rae, who is married to a Jewish woman and whose daughters have been raised Jewish.

The Mideast crisis may have hurt Harper at the polls, but pollster Conrad Winn told me Harper is doing well.

The Decima and Globe and Mail polls suggest the Liberals are rising and Harper's Tories are slipping, and Harper's pro-Israel policy is also sharply dividing the Liberal party.

Harper also has some big Canadian Liberals backing him, with many members of the Canadian Jewish community abandoning the party for the Tory Harper brand of Mideast foreign policy.

www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_zolf/20060814.html

The marked shift began to occur as a response to Canadian Zionism's imposition of "Emergency Cabinets" on formerly Jewish organizations, which now act more like Israeli Lobbying organizations that ones which represent the interests of Canadian Jews.

So are these policies reflective of a change in the attitudes of Canadian Jews themselves, or simply the organizations which claim to speak in their names?

Big changes nationally

PAT JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
A major restructuring of Canada's national Jewish organizations took place with an agreement between several groups last week. As the practical impacts of the realignment become evident over the coming months, the Bulletin will explore how these changes affect Jews in Canada, British Columbia, Israel and elsewhere. This week, an overview of the situation as it now exists.

Canada's national Jewish communal agencies are undergoing perhaps the most significant bureaucratic shakeup in their history. National responsibilities are being reassigned, with Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), the Canada-Israel Committee (CIC), campus organizations and the federation system working together more closely in order to counter what has been seen as a growing threat posed by anti-Israel attitudes in Canada. At the same time, substantial sums of cash are about to be injected into the process.

www.jewishindependent.ca/Archives/Nov03/archives03Nov07-01.html

Community agencies restructured

UIA Federations Canada (UIAFC) last week announced the creation of a new community organization that will play a major role in setting policy and allocating funds to national Jewish advocacy organizations.

As a result, Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), the Canada-Israel Committee (CIC) and national campus organizations should see a boost in their cumulative annual budgets of up to $5 million, raised through annual federation fundraising campaigns, said Maxyne Finkelstein, executive vice-president of UIAFC.

The “functional framework” of the new Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA) should be in place in three months. Although final details concerning its role are yet to be finalized, plans are for CIJA to set overall policy, manage each organization’s budget and co-ordinate activities for advocacy agencies, she added.

www.cjc.ca/ptemplate.php?action=itn&Story=438

"Israel Advocacy" in Canada
Submitted by Gary on June 27, 2006 - 11:56am. A&S News Wire | Canada
ZNet | Israel/Palestine

AIPAC North

by Daniel Freeman-Maloy; June 26, 2006

The establishment of the so-called Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC) in late 2005, just in time for the federal election of January 2006, has elicited heated debate within Canada's Israel lobby. B'nai Brith Canada's Jewish Tribune, for instance, first reported the development under the headline "Mystery surrounds Jewish political committee CJPAC," and has since been harshly critical of the initiative. CJPAC claims to success following the election did little to change this. In a March 2006 story titled "CJPAC's wall of silence not in spirit of lobbyist's code of conduct," Tribune correspondent Julie Lesser blasted the organization for "continuing to maintain a wall of silence surrounding the availability of basic information to the public." In early May (p.3), Lesser upheld the point, stressing that "CJPAC remains an organization that conducts business under a veil of secrecy."

Amidst a mix of inattention and controversy, CJPAC is moving forward with its "multi-partisan" lobbying work. Exactly what this involves remains unclear. What is tolerably clear is that CJPAC constitutes yet another Canadian foothold for the U.S.-Israeli alliance. In fact, it appears to have emerged under the direct guidance of this alliance's North American powerhouse, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

auto_sol.tao.ca/node/view/2179

The New Israel Lobby in Action
by David Noble | Canadian Dimension | 1 November 2005
This is not about Jews. It is not about race, ethnicity or religion. It is about power. The new Israel lobby in Canada — the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA) — has enormous power, derived from abundant resources, corporate connections, political associations, elaborate and able organization and a cadre of dedicated activists. Since its inception several years ago, this hard-line lobby has used its power, first, to gain political hegemony and impose ideological conformity on the matter of Israel within a heretofore diverse Jewish community, and second, to influence government decisions and shape public opinion regarding Israel — ostensibly in the name of all Canadian Jewry. From the outset, a primary focus of this lobby’s attentions has been the university campus, alleged centre of anti-Israel sentiment, conveniently construed as anti-semitism. Over the last two years, the lobby has by various means attempted to pacify these campuses and bring them into line, particularly Concordia and York. While the lobby has made some significant gains, at York their effort has been stalled.

www.monabaker.com/pMachine/more.php?id=3056_0_1_0_M