(OTTAWA) Canadian MPs are wondering how vigorously and transparently they should challenge Israeli government moves to reduce the power of judges and expand illegal Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories.
Canadian MPs are wondering how vigorously and whether they should publicly challenge moves by Israel’s far-right government to curb the power of judges and expand illegal settlements on Palestinian land.
“We sometimes have difficult conversations, because we are friends. But that doesn’t mean friendship is thrown overboard,” Toronto Liberal MP Ya’ara Saks said Wednesday during a roundtable of mostly Jewish MPs.
She was speaking at a conference organized by the Israeli Embassy to mark the 75e anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel, as the government of Justin Trudeau increasingly expresses its concerns about the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The new coalition government has authorized the expansion of Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories, illegal under international law – but a claim disputed by Israel. This new Netanyahu government also wants to allow the Israeli Parliament to overrule judgments of the country’s Supreme Court.
Canada has publicly expressed concern about these two measures, as well as the upsurge in terrorist attacks perpetrated by Palestinian groups against Israelis. Ottawa also denounced the Israeli police’s assault on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem last month.
Wednesday’s panel discussion largely focused on ongoing judicial reform, which has sparked massive protests in Israel.
MP Saks expressed concern about this reform. But she stressed that this does not change Canada’s long-standing policy of promoting a two-state solution in this region of the Middle East.
Beyond any potential alignment of Ottawa with the government in Tel Aviv, she said Canada would advocate for self-determination for Israelis and Palestinians, and funding aid for projects to reduce tensions between the two camps was essential to create the conditions for peace.
more careful housefather
Another Liberal, Montreal MP Anthony Housefather, said it was best to raise concerns about Israeli democracy in private.
“I think in general you want to avoid criticizing your friends in public,” he said. Israel is constantly singled out in international organizations. »
Mr Housefather said he privately argued that democratic backsliding in Israel made it harder for Canadians to defend that state. The MP for Mount Royal explained that he only speaks publicly about issues that affect all Jews, such as access to prayer spaces in Israel or citizenship.
During the roundtable, Housefather revealed that MPs from the Canada-Israel Inter-Parliamentary Group will meet next week to hear from an Israeli government lawmaker and an opposition politician to understand all the issues of judicial reform. and determine how Canada should respond.
Deputy leader of the Conservatives in Ottawa, Melissa Lantsman, said she would “never” intervene on a domestic political issue in Israel because there is no consensus among her constituents, and it only attracts criticism of Israel.
Mme Lantsman argued that despite the fact that Canada has sided with Israel in almost every vote at the United Nations, political parties are hesitant to condemn attacks on Israel because of partisan politics. “The weight of numbers will never be in favor of the Jewish community, which is often alone in times when it is really, really difficult,” she said.
The Ontario MP specifically decried party silence in May 2021, when a crisis over evictions of Palestinian families led to rocket attacks on Israel, followed by airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. B’nai Brith Canada then documented an increase in anti-Semitic incidents that month.
Anti-Israelis or anti-Semites?
NDP MP Randall Garrison told the roundtable he had encouraged his leader, Jagmeet Singh, “to be more forceful” in stressing the party’s support for a two-state solution. The NDP has recommended sanctions and a freeze on arms sales to Israel, but Garrison said some elements of the party want to go far beyond that.
“There are very strong voices in my party that are anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic, I won’t deny that,” the BC MP said. I do not believe they represent the majority of New Democrats. They certainly do not represent our caucus in Parliament. »
The Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development voted on Tuesday to examine recent trends in Israel, but also the violence of terrorist groups against Israelis. Members of all parties, except the Conservatives, voted in favor of holding these hearings.
The NDP, which had proposed this review, accepted Liberal amendments that changed a reference to “Palestine” to instead refer to “the West Bank and Gaza” – the way the government refers to these territories.
Earlier this week, Canada followed many Western countries by not participating in a Monday event at the United Nations commemorating the forced displacement of Palestinians during the founding of Israel, called the “Nakba,” which means “catastrophe” in Arab. Global Affairs Canada did not respond to questions about why its delegation was not present at this commemoration.
In the House of Commons earlier this month, Liberal MP Ruby Sahota and NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice both called on Ottawa to highlight the “Nakba”.