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B’nai Brith Canada claims NDP caucus contains anti-Israel bias
http://www.straight.com/article-699926/vancouver/bnai-brith-canada-claim...
I wound't put it past the Libs to have had a hand in this.
And as a Jew, I saw B'nai B'rith should stop assuming it speaks for all of Canadian Jewry. I am getting sick of them. What, my country right or wrong? Bull!
The headline should read Jewish group demands Mulcair gag democratically elected MP's. I can well imagine where the party will end up if he tries to tell Megan and Libby that they can no longer continue in their commitment for justice for the people of Palestine. Libby has been active in that movement since before she was elected to parliament in 1997.
Nice people at B'nai B'rith they get an ally in Tom but that is not nearly good enough. The audacity of a group to demand he rip his party apart to suit their political goals.
Yup it sounds like the people putting this out are Liberals. If not they are inadvertently doing the Liberals work for them.
All he has to do is keep saying "two-state solution" and he will be fine. It is not a radical position, unless you compare it to the Conservative position.
Knownothing, what you makes sense, but it takes the focus of issues important to the NDP and puts them on defense instead. I am absolutely convinced the Libs are behind this.
The other thing, and I have not qualitative or quantitative research to back this up is that I am convinced the majority of the Jewish Community in Canada has become compromised by its growth into the establishment. It seems to me that I just don't see the great Jewish Progressive voices out there as was the case when my parents were young. I truly feel the community has become co-opted and overly friendly to the Libs.
B'nai Brith's CEO Frank Diment is an arch-Conservative with Harper's ear. It shouldn't surprise that he's using his position to take potshots at the NDP.
Last month: "B'nai Brith CEO makes list of most influential in Canada."
http://www.jewishtribune.ca/news/2012/04/24/bnai-brith-ceo-makes-list-of...
Pathetic! Thanks for letting us know about that Jeff! Cheers!
It's worth noting that B'nai B'rith criticized Megan Leslie for referring to the "illegal occupation" of Palestine, and used that as evidence of the NDP's anti-Israel bias.
The current status of the settlements under international law is that they violate the 4th Geneva Convention, and are indeed illegal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_law_and_Israeli_settlements
Yes, Virginia, the occupation IS illegal.
I know Mulcair received a lot of flack during the leadership race for being in the pocket of the Israel lobby, let alone being "indistinguishable from Harper". But it's worth noting his actual stance on this, so we know who the real impediments to peace and justice are.
"Israeli settlements in the West Bank have been one of the chronic impediments to peace and constitute a violation of the 4th Geneva Convention." (from http://www.wranter.com/thomas-mulcairs-middle-east-leadership-campaign-p... )
... which might not be as strong a pro-human rights statement as a lot of people here would like. But it serves to distinguish Mulcair from the more tendentious voices on this debate.
Mulcair also repeated the same thing about the legal status of the settlements here:
http://www.straight.com/article-681786/vancouver/ndp-leader-promotes-peace
And clarified that his support for israel "in all circumstances" is basically support for the existence of the state of Israel, and not a statement designed to eliminate all opposition to illegal or unreasonable actions by the Israeli government.
It's not an A+. But I give Mulcair a passing grade for now. Movement on this issue will take a lot of bridge-building, not just vitriol.
I think Mulcair's denial of bias in his cabinet should have included a call-out of Diment as a Conservative and a Harper advisor. To the general public, B'nai Brith probably sounds like a non-partisan Jewish advocacy group. They need their reputation to suffer by being ID'd as a Conservative action group.
Jeff, great comment!
I'm guessing there's very little chance of QS ever supporting the Liberals - the Libs have CAQ behind them, at any rate. And Pauline Marois (PQ) supports Charest's Plan Nord, with minor changes. We're screwed either way, whether Charest leads the Libs again, or not.
It's telling that the federal Conservatives praise McGuinty's Ring Of Fire and Charest's Plan Nord developments in the same breath they use to praise the tar sands.
Perhaps Mulcair's personal ideal outcome would be to see someone from the left side of the PLQ (like he was) become their next leader.
Would it be fair to say Mulcair's views on Israel are somewhere in the "J Street" part of the spectrum?
I haven't spent much time reading it but J Street seems largely onside with most of the criticisms of Israel while rejecting negative language about Israel - so you won't see them out holding Israeli Apartheid signs, but they will agree with a lot of things being said by the people who do hold those signs.
Seems like Mulcair would be comfortable there.
Too bad for the Arabs caught living in the Jewish state. Personally I prefer secular governments and think that all theocracies like Israel and Iran fail a fundamental test for the definition of democracy, i.e. all citizens have the same fundamental rights. Two tier democracy is not democracy it is high sounding repression of the non Jewish.
Thanks Unionist and Bärlüer for getting back to me on my questions regarding the NDP's stance on childcare. Much appreciated.