Speaking at the opening of the 12th annual Herzliya Conference on Monday, Foreign Minister John Baird blasted the Palestinian leadership calling on them to return to peace negotiations without conditions, to give up on their bid for recognition as a sovereign state by the UN, and accept Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.
Baird added that, "whether it is rockets raining down on Israeli schools, or the constant barrage of rhetorical demonization, double standards and delegitimization, Israel is under attack."
"Clearly, Baird is working to entrench Canada as one of the world's most unbending supporters of the Israeli government," noted MacLeans Magazine's Alex Ballingall.
According to poll results published in the Globe and Mail, nearly half of all Canadians agree with the Harper government's policy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The poll, conducted by Environics Research Group, found that 48 per cent of those surveyed said the government has struck "the right balance," while only 23 per cent said Canada's policy was "too pro-Israel."There are some dissenting voices.Journalist Michael Harris says the government's decision to pick a side in this dispute means Canada will be left on the sidelines in future peace negotiations.
"The Harper government's policy on the Middle East is uninformed and crassly political," he wrote for iPolitics.Hmmmm........The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
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