Canada’s Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney recently told a United Nations Assembly that Canada would show “zero tolerance’ towards the movement to boycott Israel. What does that mean? Mr. Blaney and Mr. Harper seem to think that criticizing Israel should be made illegal in Canada. Not everyone agrees. See more. (more…)
Palestine has now joined the International Criminal Court. What does it mean? Will Netanyahu be dragged into court in the Hague? Or is it purely a propaganda move by the Palestinian Authority? We asked Peggy Mason, President of the Rideau Institute, and former Canadian Ambassador for disarmament. She was helped by legal research assistant Leigh McCarroll. Read more
Senior UN official Chris Gunness was sharply critical of the Canadian government this week over its refusal to give humanitarian aid to starving Palestinian refugees trapped in Yarmouk, Syria. Read more.
Of all the ethnic cleansing operations carried out by Jewish militias during the creation of the State of Israel, the massacre of over 100 Palestinians in the village of Deir Yassin on April 9th, 1948 was probably one of the most significant. Why? Read more
Michael Shenstone joined External Affairs in 1952 and within a year, was sent off to Lebanon to learn Arabic. He eventually rose to be Canadian ambassador to several mid-east countries. He retired from the foreign service 40 years later. He continues to be a strong advocate for fairness towards the Palestinians and for balance in Canada’s relations with Israel and the Arab world. “A stance”, he notes wryly, “that, until recently, was central to Canada’s policy.” – Read my interview here. (more…)
Canada Talks Israel/Palestine 