TORONTO STAR EDITORIAL – Harper’s extreme posture no way to support Israel – Prime Minister’s attack merely seeks to muffle legitimate debate and attack the opposition – By Haroon Siddiqui
Stephen Harper equates criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism.
“Unfortunately, Israel at 60 remains a country under threat – threatened by those groups and regimes who deny to this day its right to exist,” he told a Toronto celebration marking the anniversary.
“And why? Look beyond the thinly veiled rationalizations: Because they hate Israel, just as they hate the Jewish people.”
Many groups and regimes, such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, do deny Israel’s right to exist. But not all others do so solely for the reasons cited by Harper. Some hold back recognition as a negotiating tool in the Palestinian dispute.
The Prime Minister also told radio station CFRB: “My fear is what I see happening in some circles is anti-Israeli sentiment, really just as a thinly disguised veil for good old-fashioned anti-Semitism.” He added that he saw anti-Semitic sentiments during the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon among “some elements in our political system, even some Members of Parliament.”
On Friday, Bob Rae, Liberal foreign affairs critic, asked in the Commons as to which MPs the Prime Minister was referring.
Rae did not get an answer.
One wonders what Harper would make of those Israelis, as well as Jewish Canadians and others, who do strongly support Israel but also question some Israeli policies.
What would he say about the Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians? This newly formed umbrella organization of 23 groups, critical of some Israeli policies, obviously does not “hate Israel,” or “hate the Jewish people.”
Harper’s position is designed to silence and delegitimize even the mildest criticism of Israeli policies.
It’s an undemocratic formulation that the Israelis themselves would reject. There’s a sturdy debate in Israel on all aspects of its policies in the Occupied Territories.
In Rae’s words, Harper is saying, “there’s a very close association between being anti-Israel and being anti-Semitic … I don’t think it’s fair to say that everybody who has or expresses concerns about Israeli foreign policy is anti-Semitic.
“If that were true, three-quarters of the population of Israel would be anti-Semitic.”
. . . CLICK HERE TO READ MORE .
Short URL: http://tinyurl.com/yg5t6wj
