A few months ago, Justin Trudeau assured Jewish voters in a private video that he had “Israel’s back” and assured them that that there is an “all party consensus” on Parliament Hill on this question.
It has certainly looked that way. At a time when our Prime Minister and Foreign Minister show “over the top” support for Israel, it is remarkable that none of the other parties has made any significant effort to distance themselves from his views. Even more remarkable, given that a recent poll shows that Canadians are in fact split on Israel/Palestine.
However there are some recent (feeble) signs that all 3 of the opposition parties are under some pressure to revise their positions toward a more balanced position.
At their recent convention, the Green Party of Canada passed a motion condemning Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank. While this is not a huge step, it was notable because it could have been headed off by Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. She decided not to do so. The motion is not binding on her, but she will have to take it into consideration in future statements if she does not want to have a row with her own activists.
The New Democratic Party has also been struggling with this issue. Since the silencing of Libby Davies a few years ago, the NDP has gone pretty well ‘mum” on the Palestine/Israel issue. It couldn’t even bring itself to criticize Harper’s statements in the Knesset during his visit to Israel. However, the Paul Manly affair has provoked a huge discussion within the party. Manly says he was prevented from being an NDP candidate by party brass because he is seen as strongly pro-Palestine. The party claims unconvincingly that his exclusion was for other reasons.
In any event, the NDP has been backpeddling ever since. While Baird and Garneau attended a big pro-Israel rally in Ottawa a week ago, the NDP discretely took a pass. A small gesture but a significant one. You can bet they were under a lot of pressure to attend.
While the NDP does not look to its activist base for money, it does need their active support when election time comes. They are the ones who knock on doors.
And there are even some glimmering signs that the Liberal Party is starting to feel some pressure. Mr. Trudeau may have fed the opposition forces within his party by his lopsided press release of a few days ago which essentially blamed Hamas for the current struggle in Gaza. That was too much for many longtime Liberals.
Here is an example of a letter which was copied to me by a Laurier Club member and Liberal Party volunteer.
“Mr. Trudeau, I am very disappointed with your statement of July 15th in regards to the current situation in Gaza. You refer to Israel’s right to defend itself but what about the rights of Palestinians to have access to the world? (…) The Liberal party’s failure to take a balanced stand is very demoralizing for members who are looking for better government, not just a different government.”
The letter writer told me that they immediately received a written personal email from Trudeau’s staff thanking them for their opinion. While responding to members letters is “pro forma” the opinion was given that this was not the only letter of this type arriving in Trudeau’s office.
Is the “all Party consensus starting to crack”? I hope so.
Anybody got a chisel?
Canada Talks Israel/Palestine 
Interesting. I wrote Trudeau and only got a reply from his assistant saying he was passing it on. An avalanche of letters might help.
At least you got a response. As an active member of the NDP for well over 40 years, I’ve written to Tom Mulcair on a number of topics since he became leader and the only correspondence directed to me during that period has been a request for money. Like many others, I am at a loss to know where my Party stands. My confusion is further compounded by the way Paul Manly has been treated. This is of special concern to me as I was his father’s Assistant for close to a decade and was very worried when Jim was arrested when he was participating in an attempt by the ship Estelle to break the blockade and allow food and other necessities to reach the people of Gaza. Apparently Paul’s concern for his father makes him ineligible to become a candidate for the NDP in the upcoming election.
As long-time active member of the NDP ( was senior correspondence writer for the Leader), I was interested to read, re the Liberals “The letter writer told me that they immediately received a written personal email from Trudeau’s staff thanking them for their opinion. While responding to members letters is “pro forma” the opinion was given that this was not the only letter of this type arriving in Trudeau’s office.”
Maybe the NDP should start responding to members.