Canada shows support for Israel

This article originally appeared on The Media Line.

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Robert Nicholson made his first visit to Israel, showcasing the close ties that Canada has with Israel at a time of tensions between the US and Israel.

“This is my first trip to Israel here and I’m here to demonstrate emphatically Canada’s unwavering support for Israel,” Nicholson said at his meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu against a backdrop of Israeli and Canadian flags. “Prime Minister Harper has made this very clear that we recognize Israel as a friend, a nation which shares core values, and a beacon of democracy in a region of repression and instability.”

Nicholson, who later told reporters that he had always wanted to visit Israel, said Canada “supports Israel’s right to defend itself against violent extremists.”

“We understand that Israel’s neighborhood is as dangerous as Canada’s is peaceful and so we know that Israel’s leadership has no choice but to take every step necessary to protect itself from the forces that are committed to its destruction,” he said. “We’ve long refused to be neutral in supporting Israel’s right to defend itself against violent extremists. Israel is on the front line of free and democratic nations and any who turn their back on Israel or turn a blind eye to the nature of Israel’s enemies do so, in the long run, at their own peril.”

Netanyahu used the podium to strike out at a decision by Britain’s National Union of Students to boycott Israel and affiliate with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement.

“A national student group in Britain voted to support a boycott of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “This is less than a year after they refused to support a boycott of ISIS. They boycott Israel but they refuse to boycott ISIS. That tells you everything you want to know about the BDS movement – they condemn Israel, do not condemn ISIS, they condemn themselves.”

Nicholson’s visit comes as Israel is under increasing international criticism for failure to move forward on peace talks with the Palestinians. In an interview with Israel Television this week, President Obama said the world does not believe that Israel is serious about a two-state solution which would create an independent Palestinian state next to Israel.

The Palestinians have joined a growing number of international organizations including the International Criminal Court, which is conducting a preliminary investigation into the conduct of Israeli soldiers during last summer’s war with the Islamist Hamas in Gaza.

Analysts in Israel say the sometimes-tense relationship between the US and Israel is different from the complete support of Canada and Israel.

“The US remains Israel’s most important global strategic partner and Canada is one of Israel’s closest friends,” David Weinberg, Director of the Israeli office of the Canada Center for Israel and Jewish affairs told The Media Line. “There is a tremendous amount of scientific and academic collaboration between Canada and Israel, and an increasing number of joint ventures in biotech, cleantech, environmental tech and military tech.”

The volume of trade between Israel and Canada has also increased to $1.2 billion dollars last year. There are about 20,000 Canadians living in Israel and 350,000 Jews in Canada. But analysts say that support for Israel is a personal issue for Prime Minister Harper, who last year visited Israel and addressed the Israeli parliament.

”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,” Harper said in that speech. “Canada supports Israel because it is right to do so. This is a very Canadian trait: to do something for no reason other than that it is right.”

Amid growing criticism of Israel, Netanyahu seems to bask in Canada’s friendship and support.