People’s Voice Editorial
When John Baird resigned his federal cabinet post in early February. there was considerable mock “dismay”, including the question: how will Israel be able to function with only one foreign minister?
Probably it’s just a coincidence, but his sudden departure came just two weeks after a shocking “Memorandum of Agreement” was co-signed by Baird on behalf of Canada, and the notorious Zionist hawk Avigdor Lieberman, the actual Foreign Minister of Israel. Readers are urged to look up the MOU on the internet, but a few excerpts suffice to explain its content.
“Deeply concerned by efforts to single out the State of Israel for criticism and isolate the State of Israel internationally including calls for a boycott of the State of Israel, for the divestment of investments, and for sanctions to be imposed on Israel (and) Recognizing that the selective targeting of Israel reflects the new face of anti-Semitism (the two states) will work together to oppose efforts to single out or isolate the State of Israel through: developing a coordinated, public diplomacy initiative…”
Taken in the context of the Harper government’s vitriolic denunciations of Palestine solidarity movements, this MOU gives Bill C-51, the legislation currently before Parliament, a new and terrifying dimension. Essentially, Canada has signed a commitment to define any supporter of the Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions movement against Israel’s apartheid policies as a potential terrorist subject to a wide range of police surveillance, pre-emptive detentions, seizure of computers, and other dirty tricks and state repression. Supporters of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, and of the brutal killings of Palestinian civilians by Israeli Defence Forces and deranged Zionist settlers, will of course be treated as heroes. The stench of racist hypocrisy from Parliament Hill these days is overpowering.