- "Any actions taken by Israel to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem are illegal." Through this resolution, Canada is effectively agreeing that Israel has no jurisdiction over any part of Jerusalem. (Earlier this year, Canada withdrew all passports that had "Jerusalem, Israel" listed as place of birth.)
- "... the grave impact of the events that occurred in the Jenin refugee camp in April, 2002." Canada is implicitly endorsing the fabricated "Jenin Massacre" that has been discredited as a hoax.
- "... calls upon Israel particularly to cease obstructing the movement of the staff, vehicles and supplies of [UNRWA]." Canada is endorsing free movement of UNRWA after Reuters videos showed ambulances being used to transport terrorists and an admission by UNRW's secretary-general that many of their paid employees are Hamas members. There is no call for UNRWA to end its involvement in
terrorism.
- "... reiterates its calls for the prevention of all acts of violence by Israeli settlers, especially against Palestinian civilians and property." Canada condemns Israeli violence against Palestinians, almost all of which is defensive, with no balanced call for an end to offensive Palestinian violence against innocent civilians.
"... reaffirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine." Canada endorses the right of Palestinians to their own state with no obligation to end terrorism against Israelis or remove the destruction of Israel from their charter.
Is this a reason to praise the Canadian government? Hardly.
(I might add that the Canadian government would rather curry favour with the UN and be a respected member of the lynch mob then stand up for what is right. Ted Belman)
A small victory for Israel
National Post
Saturday, December 10, 2005
In the grand scheme of things, the rejection of Israel's Magen David Adom (MDA)society by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent is an obscure footnote to the wider Middle-Eastern conflict. Yet it has been a footnote with great symbolic freight.
Following the example of Muslim nations, which adopted the Red Crescent to avoid the Christian connotations suggested by the Red Cross, Jews founded MDA in 1930, and adopted a red Star of David as its symbol. But for decades, Muslim nations sought to deny the group legitimacy. And so MDA was forced to operate outside the Geneva-based Red Cross and Red Crescent international umbrella group.
But on Wednesday, the group took an important step toward ending this
discrimination. By a vote of 94 to 27, national representatives voted to accept MDA. At the same time, they approved a new organizational symbol -- a red diamond with no religious overtones. According to the compromise reached, the MDA will use its traditional Star of David symbol when operating inside Israel's borders. But when on foreign soil, the star will be placed inside the diamond.
Though it is a legalistic, cumbersome compromise, at least the Star of David will no longer be treated as the devil's mark. (bullshit)
For supporters of Israel, it is a tiny victory. But it shows that an important shift is under way in world opinion.
As the parade of anti-Israel resolutions that pass the UN's General Assembly every year shows, Muslim nations are generally successful in convincing international bodies to rubber stamp their prejudices. But this week's acceptance of MDA shows that is changing. The 27 nations voting against Israel on Wednesday were all Muslim: The Islamic bloc could not convince a single non-Muslim country to assist in propping up the status quo.
Even at the UN, there are signs of fresh thinking. Ariel Sharon spoke to the General Assembly in September -- a first for an Israeli PM -- and got a respectful audience. And nations such as Canada, which until recently lined up to vote for anti-Israel resolutions, are reconsidering their positions. Just last week, in fact, Canada changed its votes on three annual Israel-bashing resolutions, on top of the four Ottawa switched in 2004.
Although long overdue, it is worth noting that Canada has finally done the right thing and followed this trend. As the International Red Cross and Red Crescent concluded this week, world bodies should no longer serve to legitimize the bigotry of Israel's enemies. (Far from it)
C National Post 2005
Canada's annual sellout
Canada's National Post, known for its conservative stance, which by the way is weakening now that its founder Izzy Asper passed away, wrote an editorial entitled A Small victory for Israel
A friend of mine Joan O'Callahan, a Director of the fabled Canadian Coalition for Democracy, replied;
On reading this editorial, I was tempted to ask what the Post's editorial board had been smoking. Canada, opined the Post, has done the right thing by changing its vote on three resolutions at what has become the UN General Assembly's annual "Let's Kick Israel in the Teeth" festival.
But how substantive are these changes in Canada's shameful record of not supporting Israel, and just what do they mean? Of 17 UN resolutions this year, Canada voted against Israel 11 times, down from 12 in 2004. By comparison, the United States voted against Israel zero times, and Australia 4 times. Now examine language from the resolutions on which Canada cast votes against Israel:
Is this a reason to praise the Canadian government? Hardly.
(I might add that the Canadian government would rather curry favour with the UN and be a respected member of the lynch mob then stand up for what is right. Ted Belman)
A small victory for Israel
National Post
Saturday, December 10, 2005
In the grand scheme of things, the rejection of Israel's Magen David Adom (MDA)society by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent is an obscure footnote to the wider Middle-Eastern conflict. Yet it has been a footnote with great symbolic freight.
Following the example of Muslim nations, which adopted the Red Crescent to avoid the Christian connotations suggested by the Red Cross, Jews founded MDA in 1930, and adopted a red Star of David as its symbol. But for decades, Muslim nations sought to deny the group legitimacy. And so MDA was forced to operate outside the Geneva-based Red Cross and Red Crescent international umbrella group.
But on Wednesday, the group took an important step toward ending this
discrimination. By a vote of 94 to 27, national representatives voted to accept MDA. At the same time, they approved a new organizational symbol -- a red diamond with no religious overtones. According to the compromise reached, the MDA will use its traditional Star of David symbol when operating inside Israel's borders. But when on foreign soil, the star will be placed inside the diamond.
Though it is a legalistic, cumbersome compromise, at least the Star of David will no longer be treated as the devil's mark. (bullshit)
For supporters of Israel, it is a tiny victory. But it shows that an important shift is under way in world opinion.
As the parade of anti-Israel resolutions that pass the UN's General Assembly every year shows, Muslim nations are generally successful in convincing international bodies to rubber stamp their prejudices. But this week's acceptance of MDA shows that is changing. The 27 nations voting against Israel on Wednesday were all Muslim: The Islamic bloc could not convince a single non-Muslim country to assist in propping up the status quo.
Even at the UN, there are signs of fresh thinking. Ariel Sharon spoke to the General Assembly in September -- a first for an Israeli PM -- and got a respectful audience. And nations such as Canada, which until recently lined up to vote for anti-Israel resolutions, are reconsidering their positions. Just last week, in fact, Canada changed its votes on three annual Israel-bashing resolutions, on top of the four Ottawa switched in 2004.
Although long overdue, it is worth noting that Canada has finally done the right thing and followed this trend. As the International Red Cross and Red Crescent concluded this week, world bodies should no longer serve to legitimize the bigotry of Israel's enemies. (Far from it)
C National Post 2005
Posted by Ted Belman at December 12, 2005 09:57 AM