“I think members of the Jewish community in Canada and around the world know that Canada is an ally, but there are times when we have to express our opinion and our position. »
This is what Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, François-Philippe Champagne, said when, in 2019, the country voted in favor of a resolution from the United Nations General Assembly recognizing the “right of the people Palestinian self-determination.
The decision, which put an end to nearly eight years of systematic rejection and abstention by Canada each time a UN resolution targeted Israel in the Middle East conflict, caused a stir in the country, but it also allowed us to hope for a rebalancing of the Canadian government’s position with regard to the region.
We thought we were gradually turning the page on the Harper years of unconditional support for the policies of the Jewish state in all circumstances. A wall-to-wall position which cast doubt on the country’s independence on the international scene and which harmed Canada when it wanted to sit on the Security Council.
Why tell you about it today? Because on November 9, Canada missed a great opportunity to remember the words of Minister Champagne.
You see, the same government that writes on its website that it opposes the expansion of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, notably because they are “a serious obstacle to the establishment of a global, just and lasting peace”, this same government voted against a UN resolution on the subject which nevertheless rallied 145 countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Japan and Ukraine.
Even Germany and India, which are among Israel’s most fervent supporters, voted for the resolution which “reaffirms that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal” and notably calls on Israel to bring to justice “Israeli settlers who committed illegal acts”.
Who voted against? Israel, the United States, Hungary, four small Pacific islands and Canada. That’s all.
However, a week earlier, during her speech to the Council on International Relations of Montreal (CORIM), Minister Mélanie Joly, in her statement on Canada’s foreign policy, denounced at the start of her speech “attacks by extremist settlers” in the West Bank and the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, after recalling his “unequivocal” condemnation of the Hamas “terrorist attacks” which left 1,200 dead on October 7.
The same minister also made a statement last February when Benjamin Netanyahu’s government – in which several Israeli settlers are ministers – announced that it intended to legalize certain settlements and expand others, despite international law.
Since then, the situation has deteriorated significantly in the West Bank. Between January and October, 1,000 Palestinians fled their homes to escape settler violence, and 900 more have had to follow suit in the last month alone, according to a United Nations tally.
“Since October 7, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has recorded 241 attacks by (Israeli) settlers against Palestinians, which either resulted in Palestinian casualties (30 incidents) or caused damage to Palestinian properties (174 incidents), or both. […] In half of the incidents, Israeli forces accompanied or actively supported the settlers,” reads the OCHA report released Monday on the ongoing conflict.
We are therefore talking here about violence under the supervision of the State and which has nothing to do with the objective of the Israeli armed forces to overcome Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. We are talking here about shepherds being chased from their pastures and families running for cover in the middle of the night to seek shelter.
And now a resolution at the United Nations makes it possible to specifically denounce these violations in these troubled times and that Canada sides with the Israeli government. It’s very difficult to justify.
How does Canada explain this decision? “When it comes to votes at the UN, Canada reiterates the importance of a fair approach. We will continue to vote “no” on resolutions that do not take into account the complexity of the issues or actions of all parties. We also remain opposed to disproportionate criticism aimed at Israel,” wrote the spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada in an email sent Monday evening.
Canada deplores in particular that Israel is targeted by 16 resolutions each year while several rogue countries which abuse the rights of their citizens – we are thinking here in particular of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela – are never worried.
This can justify not supporting all resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but not ignoring the one on Israeli settlements at the very moment when Canada is trying to remind all actors in the Middle East of the need to respect international law. .
Giving speeches is good. Acting accordingly is always better.
In memory of Vivian Silver
PHOTO AHMAD GHARABLI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Aid worker and peace activist Vivian Silver, 74, was killed in a Hamas attack on October 7. Until now, she was believed to have been taken hostage by the Islamist group.
Like many, I learned with dismay of the death of Vivian Silver, a Canadian-Israeli who fought for peace in the Middle East for decades. She was believed to be a hostage of Hamas since October 7, but we learned Monday evening that her remains had been identified by the Israeli authorities. In a column at the start of the conflict, I imagined her at the peace negotiation table when the guns and bombs fell silent in the Middle East. I now hope that the life she led – and not the terrible death she suffered at the hands of terrorists – will guide the steps of those who follow her.