Warm Winds From CanadaI don't know whether many Israelis or their American supporters have noticed how pro-Israel Canadian PM Stephen Harper is compared with prior leaders in Canada.
Technically, on matters of policy, the U.S. is much more supportive of Israel than Canada - which has generally adhered, more or less, to a Western European stance. But it's quite obvious that in his gut, Harper likes Israel a lot more than, say, Barack Obama - not to mention some mid-level people in the Obama Administration.
Perhaps this is mostly just about Harper, but more likely, it is indicative of a fundamental right-left split on Israel that has now reached Canada.
If so, the conservative support for Israel is most welcome, but Israel and its supporters must demonstrate to well-meaning moderate liberals the absurdity and hypocrisy of their implicit support for repressive regimes and terrorist murderers. In this regard, Israel must counter the "occupation" narrative by doing a lot better at explaining the bases for its presence in Judea and Samaria.
posted on 2/18/2010
