Israel Matzav: Would the Obama administration ever issue postage stamps like these?

The postage stamp pictured above is newly issued by Canada. That's not a big deal until you ask yourself whether any other country - including the United States under Obama - would ever consider issuing such a stamp (Hat Tip: Jerry G via The American Thinker).

Let's hear for Stephen Harper and his government!

Clear language on jihad from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Canadian PM Stephen Harper blames Hamas for deaths in Gaza and Israel

Rabbi Bulka on PM's historic visit to the Middle East

PM Harper entertains at Jerusalem dinner

Harper: Blaming Israel for Middle East problems is anti-Semitism

JERUSALEM — Blaming Israel for the problems of the Middle East or demanding boycotts against the Jewish state are nothing more than a modern form of anti-Semitism, says Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Harper made the remarks to the Knesset, becoming the first Canadian prime minister ever to speak directly to the assembled members of the Israeli parliament.

But while the speech drew plenty of sustained applause, at least one Arab member briefly tried to shout Harper down before angrily storming out of the chamber when the prime minister spoke of what he called “the twisted logic” of calling Israel an apartheid state.

Harper looked into history, touching on the Holocaust and Canada’s own refusal in the 1930s to help Jewish refugees, which he called a terrible mistake.

He spoke of the foundation of Israel as a place where people could “seek shelter from the shadow of the worst racist experiment in history.”

And he said the crude bigotry of old has been recast “into more sophisticated language for use in polite society.”

“We have witnessed, in recent years, the mutation of the old disease of anti-Semitism and the emergence of a new strain,” Harper said.

He said criticism of Israeli government policy isn’t anti-Semitic, but criticism which only targets Israel while ignoring violence and oppression in its neighbours is unacceptable.

“It is, thus, a Canadian tradition to stand for what is principled and just, regardless of whether it is convenient or popular,” Harper said. “But, I would argue, support today for the Jewish state of Israel is more than a moral imperative. It is also of strategic importance, also a matter of our own, long-term interests.”

Harper said the forces that have threatened Israel “every single day of its existence” threaten all countries, “as 9-11 graphically showed us.”

The prime minister said he refuses to single out Israel for criticism, saying it is easy to follow the international crowd and focus only on that one country — a “go-along-to-get-along” approach he described as both weak and wrong.

Harper said Canada holds that Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state is absolute and that it would be quick to welcome a new sovereign Palestinian state if its leaders choose democracy and peace.

“Just as we unequivocally support Israel’s right of self-defence, so too Canada has long supported a just and secure future for the Palestinian people,” Harper said

“And, I believe, we share with Israel a sincere hope that the Palestinian people and their leaders will choose a viable, democratic, Palestinian state, committed to living peacefully alongside the Jewish state of Israel.”

Harper also pledged solidarity with Israel on Iran, saying it will keep sanctions in place and steadfastly work to oppose Tehran’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

“We truly hope that it is possible to walk the Iranian government back from taking the irreversible step of manufacturing nuclear weapons,” he said.

“But, for now, Canada’s own sanctions will remain fully in place and should our hopes not be realized, should the present agreement prove ephemeral, Canada will be a strong voice for renewed sanctions.”

That promise drew one of the loudest and longest of several standing ovations from the assembled members.

Earlier in the day, Harper met the president of the Palestinian Authority, offering $66 million in new aid for the Palestinians.

Under heavy security in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Harper and Mahmoud Abbas met for about a half-hour at the presidential palace before appearing at a joint news conference.

Relations between the two have been strained since the Conservative government attempted to block a bid by the Palestinians for observer-state status at the United Nations last year.

On Monday, as Palestinian officials and some Canadian cabinet ministers looked on, the prime minister disputed suggestions that his stance on the conflict between Israel and Palestine is pro-Israeli.

Instead, he said, his position is a Canadian one, adding he favours a two-state solution in which Israel can thrive in peace and security alongside a Palestinian state.

But, foreshadowing his Knesset speech, he added forcefully, he would not be drawn into chiding Israel.

He also denied reports in some Israeli media that he’s been asked to absorb Palestinian refugees as part of a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East. The prime minister said Canada hasn’t been asked to take any refugees.

Abbas, meantime, said Canada is entitled to its opinion on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians but made clear he wants an open dialogue with his Canadian counterparts.

The Conservative government says the new aid money will help advance the peace process, promote security and deliver humanitarian assistance. In a release announcing the aid, the Conservatives said Canada has provided more than $650 million in assistance to the West Bank and Gaza since 1993.

While the new funds are on top of $30 million announced last November, it still isn’t as high as previous levels of funding to the Palestinians.

Harper made the trip to Ramallah after visiting the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, considered by many to be the birthplace of Christ.

Prime Minister Harper's speech to the Knesset

Monsieur le Premier Ministre, Monsieur le Président de la Knesset, Monsieur le Président de la Cour Suprême, Monsieur le Chef de l’Opposition, Mesdames et Messieurs les Ministres, Et les Députes, Distingués Invités, Mesdames et Messieurs,

Shalom. And thank you for inviting me to visit this remarkable country, and especially for this opportunity to address the Knesset. It is truly a great honour.

And if I may, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my wife Laureen and the entire Canadian delegation, let me begin by thanking the Government and people of Israel for the warmth of your hospitality. You have made us feel extremely welcome. We have felt immediately at home.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Canada and Israel are the greatest of friends, and the most natural of allies. And, with your indulgence, I would like to offer a reflection upon what makes the relationship between Canada and Israel special and important. Because the relationship between us is very strong.

L’amitié entre le Canada et Israël prend ses racines dans l’histoire, se nourrit de valeurs communes et se renforce volontairement aux plus hauts échelons du commerce et du gouvernement ce qui est l’expression de fermes convictions.

The friendship between us is rooted in history, nourished by shared values, and it is intentionally reinforced at the highest levels of commerce and government as an outward expression of strongly held inner convictions.

There has, for example, been a free trade agreement in place between Canada and Israel for many years, an agreement that has already proved its worth. The elimination of tariffs on industrial products, and some foodstuffs, has led to a doubling in the value of trade between our countries. But this only scratches the surface of the economic potential of this relationship. And I look forward to soon deepening and broadening our mutual trade and investment goals.

As well, our military establishments share information and technology. This has also been to our mutual benefit. For example, during Canada’s mission to Afghanistan, our use of Israeli-built reconnaissance equipment saved the lives of Canadian soldiers.

All such connections are important, and build strong bridges between us.

Pour bien comprendre la relation particulière entre Israël et le Canada, il faut regarder, au-delà du commerce et des institutions, les liens personnels tissés par l’amitié et la parenté.

However, to truly understand the special relationship between Israel and Canada, one must look beyond trade and institutions to the personal ties of friendship and kinship. Jews have been present in Canada for more than 250 years. In generation after generation, by hard work and perseverance, Jewish immigrants, often starting with nothing, have prospered greatly. Today, there are nearly 350,000 Canadians who share with you their heritage and their faith. They are proud Canadians. But having met literally thousands of members of this community, I can tell you this: They are also immensely proud of what the people of Israel have accomplished here, of your courage in war, of your generosity in peace, and of the bloom that the desert has yielded, under your stewardship.

Laureen and I share that pride, the pride and the understanding that what has been achieved here has occurred in the shadow of the horrors of the Holocaust.

La compréhension du fait qu’il est juste d’appuyer Israël parce qu’après avoir connu la persécution durant plusieurs générations, le peuple juif
mérite d’avoir son propre pays et mérite de vivre en sécurité et en paix dans ce pays.

The understanding that it is right to support Israel because, after generations of persecution, the Jewish people deserve their own homeland and deserve to live safely and peacefully in that homeland. Now let me repeat that: Canada supports Israel because it is right to do so.

This is a very Canadian trait, to do something for no reason other than it is right, even when no immediate reward for, or threat to, ourselves
is evident.

On many occasions, Canadians have even gone so far as to bleed and die to defend the freedom of others in far-off lands. To be clear, we have also periodically made terrible mistakes as in the refusal of our government in the 1930s to ease the plight of Jewish refugees. But, as a country, at the turning points of history, Canada has consistently chosen, often to our great cost, to stand with others who oppose injustice, and to confront the dark forces of the world.

Il est donc dans la tradition canadienne de défendre ce qui est juste et fondé sur des principes, que ce soit ou non commode ou populaire.

It is, thus, a Canadian tradition to stand for what is principled and just, regardless of whether it is convenient or popular.

But, I would argue, support today for the Jewish State of Israel is more than a moral imperative. It is also of strategic importance, also a matter of our own long-term interests.

Ladies and gentlemen, I said a moment ago that the special friendship between Canada and Israel is rooted in shared values.

En effet, Israël est le seul pays du Moyen‑Orient à s’être ancré depuis longtemps dans les idéaux de liberté, de démocratie et de primauté du droit.

Indeed, Israel is the only country in the Middle East Which has long anchored itself in the ideals of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. These are not mere notions. They are the things that, over time and against all odds, have proven to be the only ground in which human rights, political stability, and economic prosperity, may flourish. These values are not proprietary; they do not belong to one nation or one people. Nor are they a finite resource; on the contrary, the wider they are spread, the stronger they grow.

Likewise, when they are threatened anywhere, they are threatened everywhere. And what threatens them, or more precisely, what today threatens the societies that embrace such values and the progress they nurture? Those who scorn modernity, who loathe the liberty of others, and who hold the differences of peoples and cultures in contempt. Those who often begin by hating the Jews, but, history shows us, end up hating anyone who is not them. Those forces which have threatened the State of Israel every single day of its existence, and which, today, as 9-11 graphically showed us, threaten us all.

Ou bien, nous défendons nos valeurs et nos intérêts, ici, en Israël, nous défendons l’existence d’un État libre, démocratique et distinctement juif ou bien nous amorçons un recul, sur le plan de nos valeurs et de nos intérêts dans le monde.

And so, either we stand up for our values and our interests, here, in Israel, stand up for the existence of a free, democratic and distinctively Jewish state, or the retreat of our values and our interests in the world will begin.

Ladies and gentlemen, Just as we refuse to retreat from our values, so we must also uphold the duty to advance them. And our commitment as Canadians to what is right, fair and just is a universal one. It applies no less to the Palestinian people than it does to the people of Israel.

Autant le Canada soutient sans réserve le droit d’Israël à la légitime défense, autant il préconise depuis longtemps un avenir juste et sûr pour le peuple palestinien.

Just as we unequivocally support Israel’s right of self-defence so too Canada has long-supported a just and secure future for the Palestinian people.

And, I believe, we share with Israel a sincere hope that the Palestinian people and their leaders will choose a viable, democratic, Palestinian state, committed to living peacefully alongside the Jewish State of Israel. As you, Prime Minister, have said, when Palestinians make peace with Israel, Israel will not be the last country to welcome a Palestinian state as a new member of the United Nations. It will be the first.

Sadly, we have yet to reach that point. But, when that day comes, and come it must, I can tell you that Israel may be the first to welcome a sovereign Palestinian state, but Canada will be right behind you.

Ladies and Gentlemen, support – even firm support – doesn’t mean that allies and friends will agree on all issues all of the time. No state is beyond legitimate questioning or criticism. But our support does mean at least three things.

First, Canada finds it deplorable that some in the international community still question the legitimacy of the existence of the State of Israel.

Notre point de vue sur le droit à l’existence d’Israël en tant qu’État juif est absolu et non négociable.

Our view on Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state is absolute and non-negotiable.

Deuxièmement, le Canada est convaincu qu’Israël devrait pouvoir exercer ses pleins droits d’État membre de l’ONU et profiter de sa souveraineté dans toute sa mesure.

Second, Canada believes that Israel should be able to exercise its full rights as a UN member-state, and to enjoy the full measure of its sovereignty. For this reason, Canada has spoken on numerous occasions in support of Israel’s engagement and equal treatment in multilateral fora. And, in this regard, I should mention that we welcome Israel’s induction this month into the western, democratic group of states at the United Nations.

Troisièmement, Nous nous refusons à critiquer Israël de façon isolée sur la scène internationale.

Third, we refuse to single out Israel for criticism on the international stage. Now I understand, in the world of diplomacy, with one, solitary, Jewish state and scores of others, it is all too easy “to go along to get along” and single out Israel. But such “going along to get along,” is not a “balanced” approach, nor a “sophisticated” one; it is, quite simply, weak and wrong. Unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, we live in a world where that kind of moral relativism runs rampant. And in the garden of such moral relativism, the seeds of much more sinister notions can be easily planted.

And so we have witnessed, in recent years, the mutation of the old disease of anti-Semitism and the emergence of a new strain. We all know about the old anti-Semitism. It was crude and ignorant, and it led to the horrors of the death camps. Of course, in many dark corners, it is still with us. But, in much of the western world, the old hatred has been translated into more sophisticated language for use in polite society. People who would never say they hate and blame the Jews for their own failings or the problems of the world, instead declare their hatred of Israel and blame the only Jewish state for the problems of the Middle East.

As once Jewish businesses were boycotted, some civil-society leaders today call for a boycott of Israel. On some campuses, intellectualized arguments against Israeli policies thinly mask the underlying realities, such as the shunning of Israeli academics and the harassment of Jewish students. Most disgracefully of all, some openly call Israel an apartheid state. Think about that. Think about the twisted logic and outright malice behind that: A state, based on freedom, democracy and the rule of law, that was founded so Jews can flourish, as Jews, and seek shelter from the shadow of the worst racist experiment in history, that is condemned, and that condemnation is masked in the language of anti-racism. It is nothing short of sickening.

(At this point in Harper’s address, several Arab Knesset members, some of whom had earlier heckled him, got up and left the Knesset chamber. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Knesset stood to applaud Harper.)

Mais, il s’agit du nouveau visage de l’antisémitisme. Un antisémitisme qui vise le peuple juif en prétendant viser Israël.

But this is the face of the new anti-Semitism. It targets the Jewish people by targeting Israel and attempts to make the old bigotry acceptable for a new generation. Of course, criticism of Israeli government policy is not in and of itself necessarily anti-Semitic. But what else can we call criticism that selectively condemns only the Jewish state and effectively denies its right to defend itself while systematically ignoring – or excusing – the violence and oppression all around it? What else can we call it when Israel is routinely targeted at the United Nations, and when Israel remains the only country to be the subject of a permanent agenda item at the regular sessions of its Human Rights Council?

Ladies and gentlemen, any assessment – any judgment – of Israel’s actions must start with this understanding: Depuis soixante-cinq ans qu’existe comme nation l’État moderne d’Israël, les israéliens ont enduré d’innombrables attaques et calomnies et n’ont pas eu une seule journée de véritable paix.

In the sixty-five years that modern Israel has been a nation, Israelis have endured attacks and slanders beyond counting and have never known a day of true peace. And we understand that Israelis live with this impossible calculus: If you act to defend yourselves, you will suffer widespread condemnation, over and over again. But should you fail to act you alone will suffer the consequence of your inaction, and that consequence will be final, your destruction.

La vérité, que le Canada comprend, est que beaucoup des forces hostiles dirigées contre Israël s’exercent aussi sur tous les pays occidentaux. Et Israël y fait face pour beaucoup des mêmes raisons que nous. Mais Israël y est confronté de beaucoup plus près.


The truth, that Canada understands, is that many of the hostile forces Israel faces are faced by all western nations. And Israel faces them for many of the same reasons we face them. You just happen to be a lot closer to them. Of course, no nation is perfect. But neither Israel’s existence nor its policies are responsible for the instability in the Middle East today.

One must look beyond Israel’s borders to find the causes of the relentless oppression, poverty and violence in much of the region, of the heartbreaking suffering of Syrian refugees, of sectarian violence and the fears of religious minorities, especially Christians, and of the current domestic turmoil in so many states.

So what are we to do? Most importantly, we must deal with the world as we find it. The threats in this region are real, deeply rooted, and deadly and the forces of progress, often anaemically weak. For too many nations, it is still easier to scapegoat Israel than to emulate your success. It is easier to foster resentment and hatred of Israel’s democracy than it is to provide the same rights and freedoms to their own people.

Je suis convaincu qu’un État palestinien viendra, et l’une des conditions qui va lui permettre de venir c’est lorsque les régimes qui financent le terrorisme se rendront compte que le chemin de la paix est celui de la conciliation, pas celui de la violence.

I believe that a Palestinian state will come, and one thing that will make it come is when the regimes that bankroll terrorism realise that the path to peace is accommodation, not violence.

Which brings me to the government of Iran. Late last year, the world announced a new approach to diplomacy with the government in Tehran. Canada has long held the view that every diplomatic measure should be taken to ensure that regime never obtains a nuclear weapon. We therefore appreciate the earnest efforts of the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany. Canada will evaluate the success of this approach not on the merits of its words, but on the implementation and verification of its promised actions.

Nous espérons vraiment qu’il soit possible d’obtenir que le gouvernement iranien renonce à s’engager, sur la voie sans retour, de la fabrication des armes nucléaires. Mais, pour le moment, le Canada maintient intégralement en vigueur les sanctions que nous avons imposées.

We truly hope that it is possible to walk the Iranian government back from taking the irreversible step of manufacturing nuclear weapons. But, for now, Canada’s own sanctions will remain fully in place. And should our hopes not be realized, should the present agreement prove ephemeral, Canada will be a strong voice for renewed sanctions.

Ladies and gentlemen, Let me conclude with this thought.

Je crois que l’histoire d’Israël est un très bel exemple pour le monde entier.

I believe the story of Israel is a great example to the world. It is a story, essentially, of a people whose response to suffering has been to move
beyond resentment and build a most extraordinary society, a vibrant democracy, a freedom-loving country with an independent and rights-affirming judiciary. An innovative, world-leading “start-up” nation. You have taken the collective memory of death and persecution to build an optimistic, forward-looking land, one that so values life, you will sometimes release a thousand criminals and terrorists, to save one of your own.

In the democratic family of nations, Israel represents values which our Government takes as articles of faith, and principles to drive our national life.

And therefore, through fire and water, Canada will stand with you.

(MKs and hundreds in the Knesset gallery rise to give Harper a standing ovation.)

My friends, you have been generous with your time and attention. Once more, Laureen and I and our entire delegation thank you for your generous hospitality, and look forward to continuing our visit to your country.

Merci beaucoup.

Thank you for having us, and may peace be upon Israel.

Former Canadian Minister 'Shocked' by Visit to Temple Mount Stockwell Day, a former Canadian minister who visited the Temple Mount, was shocked to see the discrimination towards Jews.

A former Canadian minister who visited the Temple Mount on Sunday was shocked to learn of the discrimination shown by Israeli police officers towards Jews.

Stockwell Day, who served as Canada’s Minister of Public Safety between 2006 and 2008, visited the Temple Mount following a coincidental meeting with a resident of Jerusalem, Yosef Rabin, who regularly visits the Temple Mount compound.

Rabin, who spoke to Arutz Sheva on Monday, said that his meeting with Day took place over Shabbat, when he visited friends for a Shabbat meal also attended by Day.

During the meal, Rabin said, he told the former Canadian minister about the situation on the Temple Mount where police, in an attempt to appease the Muslim Waqf which was left in charge of the compound after the 1967 Six Day War,  ban Jews from praying or performing any other form of worship. Police sometimes close the Mount to Jews altogether in response to Muslim riots - for days or weeks at a time - despite evidence that such violence is usually planned in advance for the specific purpose of forcing Jews out.

“When I told Day about the situation on the Temple Mount, it pegged his interest and he asked me to arrange a visit for him,” said Rabin.

After the Sabbath, Rabin got in touch with LIBA project coordinator Yehuda Glick, who accompanied Rabin and Day to the Temple Mount the next day.

"[The former Canadian minister] was shocked over how Jewish police can do these things to Jews. He did not understand how one can talk about the reunification of Jerusalem while at the same time Jews are not allowed to open their mouths on the Temple Mount," said Rabin, who added that during this particular visit, he encountered a new phenomenon whereby Jews were forbidden to speak with tourists who asked questions about the Temple Mount. Police forbade Israelis to speak with tourists about the compound, claiming it bothers the Waqf, he added.

Former minister Day, said Rabin, could not believe his eyes when he saw the long lines of Jews waiting to get in, the Arab disturbances on the compound, the conduct of the Waqf and the endless shouting. “He could not understand how the Israeli government could do this to Jews.”

Rabin told Arutz Sheva that Day is scheduled to meet Prime MinisterBinyamin Netanyahu during his visit to Israel and would bring up the issueof the Temple Mount during the meeting.

Day, a former leader of the Canadian Alliance party which later merged with the Progressive Conservative Party to become the Conservative Party of Canada, lost the party’s leadership to Canada's current Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, in 2002. Nevertheless, he remained on good terms with Harper, who is also currently visiting Israel, and served as a minister in his cabinet before retiring from political life.

The Temple Mount is Judaism's holiest site and the location of the two Holy Temples of Jerusalem, the latter of which was destroyed by the Romans in 70CE. Despite that fact, Jewish visitors face severe restrictions upon ascending the Mount, while the Waqf works to remove any Jewish presence on the Mount and consistently destroys Jewish antiquities on the compound in a direct violation of a ruling by the Supreme Court.

Canadian Muslim group demands rabbi's removal from Harper delegation

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, one of Israel's best friends, is here visiting for a few days. One of the people how is part of his delegation is a rabbi named Daniel Korobkin. The National Council of Canadian Muslims - the Canadian branch of Hamas-affiliate CAIR - has demanded that Harper remove Rabbi Korbokin from his delegation. Pamela Geller explains why.

[T]he Rabbi attended and spoke briefly at my September talk in Canada.

Their letter charged that both Robert Spencer, who also spoke at that September event, and I “have a lengthy and clear record of promoting anti-Muslim sentiments and demonization.” In support of this, they listed a number of statements (wrenched from explanatory context, of course) that are demonstrably true and abundantly established by every day’s headlines. Do they think Harper, a strong defender of Israel, is so stupid as to be blind to the reality of Islamic jihad?

Whatever the nature of the things that I say, Rabbi Korobkin didn’t utter them and is not by any conceivable stretch of the imagination responsible for them. It is bitterly ironic that Islamic supremacist groups would label my efforts to defend the freedom of speech and equality of rights for all people before the law as “anti-Muslim.” That speaks volumes. However, whatever my work may be about, it is not Rabbi Korobkin’s work or his responsibility.

There is another strategy at play here: the message is being sent to every rabbi and clergyman, and everyone in the public square, that if you have anything to do in the public square with those fighting jihad and Sharia, they will come after you.

You don't think Canada's Muslims are trying to shut their opponents up, do you?

Canadian PM: I Will Defend Israel 'whatever the cost'

Ottawa, Canada - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he is prepared to suffer any political backlash that comes his way for speaking out against anti-Israel rhetoric.

Harper told an audience Monday that while Israel is receptive to fair criticism, Canada is obligated to stand up for its ally when it comes under attack from others.

"Not just because it is the right thing to do, but because history shows us, and the ideology of the anti-Israel mob tell us all too well, that those who threaten the existence of the Jewish people are in the longer term a threat to all of us."

The prime minister acknowledged that his position is not popular with all governments and organizations, including members of the United Nations and the Francophonie.

"And I know, by the way, because I have the bruises to show for it, that whether it is at the United Nations or any other international forum, the easiest thing to do is simply to just get along and go along with this anti-Israel rhetoric, to pretend it is just about being even-handed, and to excuse oneself with the label of honest broker.

"There are, after all, a lot more votes—a lot more—in being anti-Israeli than in taking a stand. But as long as I am prime minister, whether it is at the United Nations, the Francophonie or anywhere else, Canada will take that stand, whatever the cost."

The prime minister's use of the phrase "honest broker" is an apparent reference to a recent speech made by Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.

Ignatieff criticized the Harper government for using Israel as a wedge issue with his political opponents in Canada, at the expense of the country's influence on peace in the Middle East. The Liberal leader called for a return to a time when Canada was perceived to be an honest broker in the global community.

Harper made his remarks at the start of a two-day conference on anti-Semitism that is being held on Parliament Hill during Holocaust Education Week.

Harper rejects Palestinian statehood bid

OTTAWA—The intractable Middle East conflict threatens to overshadow Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s trip to the United Nations next week.

Harper is travelling to the large General Assembly gathering ostensibly for meetings on Libya and child and maternal health.

On Friday, the Prime Minister was drawn into the brewing showdown over the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition at the UN.

“We view this unilateral action on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to be not helpful,” Harper said during a stop in Saskatoon.

“No unilateral actions like this are helpful in terms of establishing a long-run peace in the Middle East. Canada views the action as very regrettable and we will be opposing it at the United Nations.”

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, who will be accompanying Harper to New York, has already expressed Canada’s opposition to the Palestinian plan. Canada supports a two-state solution to the conflict but only after a negotiated settlement between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

The Prime Minister is not expected to address the General Assembly, and will leave that duty to Baird the following week.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said Friday he will ask the UN Security Council to endorse his people’s statehood bid next week.

Abbas emphasized that he did not intend to isolate Israel. But the plan sets the UN stage for a diplomatic showdown. The United States has indicated it would veto the measure in the Security Council.

The Palestinians say they are turning to the UN after years of frustration with Israel. Any recognition would be symbolic, but the Palestinians hope the elevated stature would give them more clout in future negotiations with Israel.

“We don’t want to raise expectations by saying we are going to come back with full independence,” Abbas told Palestinian leaders. He said he was going to the United Nations to “ask the world to shoulder its responsibilities” by backing the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.

Abbas urged the Palestinian people to refrain from violence, saying “anything other than peaceful moves will harm us and sabotage our endeavours.”

Israel has mounted a full diplomatic counteroffensive to the Palestinian statehood bid, and will be looking to the Harper government — one of its most steadfast international allies — among others to thwart the Palestinian aspirations.

With files from the Associated Press

OFFENSIVE CARTOON PUBLISHED IN WALRUS MAGAZINE

Why would Walrus Magazine’s editorial cartoonists impugn nefarious motives, without evidence, about Prime Minister Harper’s support for Israel and Jewish causes?
In a cartoon published in the October 2011 issue, Stephen Harper’s support for Israel and Jewish causes is portrayed as a means to an end, and by “end,” this cartoon is referring to the “end time.” A period when tribulation precedes the second coming of Jesus. According to this cartoon, the basis of Canada’s and Harper’s support for a democracy like Israel – which is constantly under siege by terrorism and worldwide attempts to challenge the legitimacy of the Jewish state – are not based on principle and shared values, but solely on Harper’s supposed Evangelical belief of the end of days. The cartoon, in essence, unfairly portrays Harper as using Canadian Jews for his own religious zealotry. It closes with an offensive image of observant Jews placing a “Free Palestine” banner on the front of a synagogue to symbolize their rejection of Harper’s supposed clandestine agenda. According to Walrus cartoonists David Parkins and Jason Sherman, these Jews would rather be Pro-Palestinian than have Harper at the helm.
In reality, Harper has been commendably unapologetic in his support for Israel. Under his administration, Canada has always backed Israel’s right to self-defense saying that "When it comes to dealing with a war between Israel and a terrorist organization, this country and this government cannot and will never be neutral." Harper has also taken forceful stands against anti-Israel rhetoric and actions at various world bodies including the United Nations and the Franophonie. His staunch support for Israel is one that he recognizes produces little political dividends. He has also consistently condemned increasing anti-Semitism in Canada and he and his staff have worked tirelessly with the Canadian Jewish community to address these threats on multiple levels.
Instead of casting false aspersions by caricature, a more accurate illustration would have shown Prime Minister Harper’s support for Israel and Jewish causes as being based on deeply-rooted moral convictions, principle, and shared interests between liberal democracies.

HonestReporting Canada has communicated these concerns to Walrus Magazine editors. To send your considered comments, please send letters to: letters@walrusmagazine.com

Israel Thanks Canada for Defense at G8 Summit

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman made sure to pick up the phone and call his counterpart in Ottawa this weekend to thank him for Canada's stance at the G8 summit last week.

Lieberman told John Baird, who recently came into the post, that Canada is a “true friend of Israel.”

Israel's foreign minister added that Prime Minister Stephen Harper had been correct in his reading of the situation to know that the 1967-1949 Armistice lines are incompatible with the demographic realities in the Jewish State – and are indefensible as borders.

Harper blocked the G8 from issuing statements with any mention of the recommendation, stated by U.S. President Barack Obama in his Middle Eastern policy speech a week prior.

Although G8 leaders called for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the group's final communique issued Friday in Deauville, France, the “1967 lines” were not included.

A day later, the Arab League issued its own communique, stating it would support the Palestinian Authority's refusal to return to any negotiations.

Instead, the Arab League will back a bid by the PA to appeal directly to the United Nations for recognition of a new Arab country called “Palestine” in Gaza, Judea and Samaria with much of Jerusalem as its capital – including many areas where Jews currently live and work.

The “peace process follow up committee” at the Doha meeting in Qatar said it would request membership for the “State of Palestine” at the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York in September. Qatar is set to chair that meeting, according to the current rotation.

As Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pointed out in his speech to the U.S. Congress last week, there are more than half a million Israelis, most of whom are Jewish, living in the areas claimed by the PA.

Canada sticks up for Israel

Let's start finding ways to invest in and tour Canada. This is unreal!

This is from aliveblog of the G8 conference in Deauville, France.

12.52 A G8 statement on Israel and Palestine had to be toned down after the Canadians objected to a specific mention of a return to the 1967 borders, according to unnamed diplomatic sources. Canada's right-leaning Conservative government insisted that no mention be made, against the wishes of most other leaders present, said the source:

The Canadians were really very adamant, even though Obama expressly referred to 1967 borders in his speech last week.

But it sounds like Barack Hussein Obama would have gone along with that statement. And you thought he walked back the '67 lines' (1949 armistice lines) when he spoke at AIPAC on Sunday, didn't you?

Let's hear it for Stephen Harper and Canada!

Canada says Nobama

Coming just a few weeks after the stunning (due to its margin) re-election of Conservative Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, it should come as no surprise to anyone that Canada is not going to back Barack HusseinObama's pressure on Israel (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).

“What the government of Canada supports is basically a two-state solution that is negotiated,” a senior federal official said. “If it’s border, if it’s others issues, it has to be negotiated, it cannot be unilateral action.”

Pressed by reporters, federal officials said both the Israelis and the Palestinians have to decide on their bottom lines, which the Israelis have said will not include a return to the 1967 border.

“If the two parties are of the view that this is a starting point, that is fine for them,” said the federal official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Prime Minister’s director of communications, Dimitri Soudas, added that Canada’s position continues to be the search for a two-state solution.

“No solution, ultimately, is possible without both parties sitting down, negotiating and agreeing on what that final outcome will look like,” he said.

Canada under Stephen Harper is a true friend of Israel.

Hillel Neuer Slams Iran on CTV's "Canada AM" Show

Hillel Neuer slams Iranian President Ahmadinejad for anti-semitism, salutes Canadian PM Harper for principled positions on Middle East.

With Israel, Whatever the Cost by Stephen Harper The prime minister of Canada rebukes those who condemn Israel. Text of a speech at the Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism Prime Minister Stephen Harper Ottawa Canada, November 9, 2010

Two weeks ago I visited Ukraine for the first time.

In Kiev I laid a wreath at Babi Yar, the site of one of the numerous atrocities of the Holocaust. I was left there with much the same impression as I had in Auschwitz in 2008 — that such horrors defy all comprehension.

At the killing grounds of Babi Yar, I knew I was standing in a place where evil — evil at its most cruel, obscene, and grotesque — had been unleashed. But while evil of this magnitude may be unfathomable, it is nonetheless a fact.

It is a fact of history. And it is a fact of our nature — that humans can choose to be inhuman. This is the paradox of freedom. That awesome power, that grave responsibility — to choose between good and evil.

Let us not forget that even in the darkest hours of the Holocaust, men were free to choose good. And some did. That is the eternal witness of the Righteous Among the Nations. And let us not forget that even now, there are those who would choose evil and would launch another Holocaust, if left unchecked. That is the challenge before us today.

The horror of the Holocaust is unique, but it is just one chapter in the long and unbroken history of anti-Semitism. Yet, in contemporary debates that influence the fate of the Jewish homeland, unfortunately, there are those who reject the language of good and evil. They say that the situation is not black and white, that we mustn’t choose sides.

In response to this resurgence of moral ambivalence on these issues, we must speak clearly. Remembering the Holocaust is not merely an act of historical recognition.

It must also be an understanding and an undertaking. An understanding that the same threats exist today. And an undertaking of a solemn responsibility to fight those threats.

Duty to Take Action

Jews today in many parts of the world and many different settings are increasingly subjected to vandalism, threats, slurs, and just plain, old-fashioned lies.

Let me draw your attention to some particularly disturbing trends. Anti-Semitism has gained a place at our universities, where at times it is not the mob who are removed, but the Jewish students under attack. And, under the shadow of a hateful ideology with global ambitions, one which targets the Jewish homeland as a scapegoat, Jews are savagely attacked around the world, such as, most appallingly, in Mumbai in 2008.

One ruthless champion of that ideology brazenly threatens to ‘wipe Israel off the map,’ and time and again flouts the obligations that his country has taken under international treaties. I could go on, but I know that you will agree on one point: that this is all too familiar.

We have seen all this before. And we have no excuse to be complacent. In fact we have a duty to take action. And for all of us, that starts at home.

In Canada, we have taken a number of steps to assess and combat anti-Semitism in our own country… For the first time, we are dealing with Canada’s own record of officially sanctioned anti-Semitism. We have created a fund for education about our country’s deliberate rejection of Jewish refugees before and during the Second World War.

But of course we must also combat anti-Semitism beyond our borders, an evolving, global phenomenon. And we must recognize, that while its substance is as crude as ever, its method is now more sophisticated.

Harnessing disparate anti-Semitic, anti-American and anti-Western ideologies, it targets the Jewish people by targeting the Jewish homeland, Israel, as the source of injustice and conflict in the world, and uses, perversely, the language of human rights to do so.

The Bruises to Show For It

We must be relentless in exposing this new anti-Semitism for what it is. Of course, like any country, Israel may be subjected to fair criticism. And like any free country, Israel subjects itself to such criticism — healthy, necessary, democratic debate. But when Israel, the only country in the world whose very existence is under attack — is consistently and conspicuously singled out for condemnation, I believe we are morally obligated to take a stand. Demonization, double standards, delegitimization, the three D’s, it is the responsibility of us all to stand up to them.

And I know, by the way, because I have the bruises to show for it, that whether it is at the United Nations, or any other international forum, the easy thing to do is simply to just get along and go along with this anti-Israeli rhetoric, to pretend it is just being even-handed, and to excuse oneself with the label of “honest broker.” There are, after all, a lot more votes, a lot more, in being anti-Israeli than in taking a stand.

But, as long as I am Prime Minister, whether it is at the UN or the Francophonie or anywhere else, Canada will take that stand, whatever the cost. And friends, I say this not just because it is the right thing to do, but because history shows us, and the ideology of the anti-Israeli mob tells us all too well if we listen to it, that those who threaten the existence of the Jewish people are a threat to all of us.

Use Freedom Now

Earlier I noted the paradox of freedom. It is freedom that makes us human. Whether it leads to heroism or depravity depends on how we use it.

As the spectre of anti-Semitism spreads, our responsibility becomes increasingly clear. We are citizens of free countries. We have the right, and therefore the obligation, to speak out and to act. We are free citizens, but also the elected representatives of free peoples. We have a solemn duty to defend the vulnerable, to challenge the aggressor, to protect and promote human rights, human dignity, at home and abroad. None of us really knows whether we would choose to do good, in the extreme circumstances of the Righteous. But we do know there are those today who would choose to do evil, if they are so permitted. Thus, we must use our freedom now, and confront them and their anti-Semitism at every turn.

That is the purpose of our intervention today: our shared determination to confront this terrible hatred. The work we have undertaken, in our own countries and in cooperation with one another, is a sign of hope.

Our work together is a sign of hope, just as the existence and persistence of the Jewish homeland is a sign of hope. And it is here that history serves not to warn but to inspire.

As I said on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, Israel appeared as a light, in a world emerging from deep darkness. Against all odds, that light has not been extinguished. It burns bright, upheld by the universal principles of all civilized nations — freedom, democracy and justice.

By working together more closely in the family of civilized nations, we affirm and strengthen those principles. And we declare our faith in humanity’s future in the power of good over evil.