Stephen Harper, a proud pro-Israel Canadian PM
Our former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been honored with a new portrait in our Parliamentary Gallery. He has been lauded by so many as a brilliant and competent modest leader and economist (and hockey fan). He embodies Canadian virtues and values. I would like to pay tribute to him as a proud Canadian emphasizing his support for Israel, in our national interest.
For the expatriate Canadians reading this, here are some recent reports from the National Post, widely read by Jewish Canadians. Mr. Harper has said that “Canada must be defended”. I am proud to stand with him on that.
See also the charming analysis of the portrait depicting Mr. Harper in his office with many personal effects showing his kind and modest quintessentially Canadian humanity and religious faith.
Mr. Harper had a Bible on his shelf. More Canadians should read theirs. Judeo Christian values are at the heart of our legal system and Canadian civilization. Jewish values and the rule of law are consistent with Canadian liberal democracy, and always have been. Let’s bring that back. Firmly. And unapologetically. Do you hear that Mr. Carney?
https://nationalpost.com/news/official-portrait-former-prime-minister-stephen-harper-unveiled
https://nationalpost.com/news/stephen-harpers-portrait-is-loaded-with-secrets-and-clues-here-are-some-you-likely-missed
I had the privilege of covering Mr. Harper’s January 2014 Visit To Israel and speech to the Israeli Knesset for the Jewish Tribune national Jewish Canadian newspaper formerly published by B’nai Brith Canada. It was one of the proudest moments of my life as a Jewish Canadian.
In that visit to Israel, Mr. Harper was honored philanthropically with a dedication of a Jewish National Fund (JNF Canada) nature preserve in the Hula Valley in Northern Israel which opened six years later. Mr. Harper had been honored as Man of the Year at a 2013 JNF Negev Dinner, to the consternation of anti-Israel leftists and BDS protestors who sought to disrupt the event and block its attendees.
When I covered Mr. Harper's Visit To Israel in January 2014, I noticed the extreme anti-Israel bias and superficial knowledge of Canadian major media outlets. Every opportunity was used to cast aspersions on members of the delegation traveling with Mr. Harper. Much worse was the standard and superficial bleating of 'settlements' by major news media anchors as 'violations of international law'.
Not a single Canadian news outlet quoted expert sources who note that pending a lasting peace agreement with the Palestinian people (who have yet to renounce terrorism and admit to Israel's right to exist in peace and security with its neighbors), these territories remain disputed territories in international law subsequent to their capture by Israel in the DEFENSIVE Six Day War of 1967.
As I noted in my article, which was adapted from a longer essay analyzing media responses to PM Harper's Visit To Israel, this obvious media bias tended to create the impression that Jewish Canadians, Zionists, and those in support of Israel were illegal and immoral, if not fattening. Canadian public opinion hostile to Israel, Zionists and Jewish Canadians (as massaged by photo-op Liberal foreign affairs pronouncements and the CBC) has only become worse and significantly more dangerous to all of us since then, as reflected in escalating and unprecedented levels of antisemitic and anti-Israel harassment, hate crimes and marginalization.
In my article, I noted the rise of permanent postmodern global Islamist terrorism victimizing Israel and western democracies and provided the offices of key Canadian media outlets with copies of Canada's then-current policies on counter-terrorism, which recommended that as a matter of national security, Canadians begin to discuss these issues and risks openly and respectfully.
Perhaps they should start. Our safety as Canadians and Jewish Canadians has never been more at risk. Note the preponderance of pro-Palestinian and militant Islamist terrorist groups operating in Canada in our list of banned terrorist entities. Will no one educate these Islamist thugs and their leftist enablers against their criminal pro-terrorist ideologies and toxic masculinity and mob intimidation tactics in Canada? Someone should. Urgently and legally. This is not free speech. And we are not required to debate or engage with them.
Here are those guidelines as well as the Canada Israel Free Trade and Security Agreement we signed with Israel at that time. Our annual free trade with Israel amounts to roughly $1.8 billion per year, and Israeli investments remain eligible for inclusion in Canadian tax protected investment portfolios such as RRSPs, RESPs, and TFSAs.
https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/israel/fta-ale/index.aspx?lang=eng
https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/index-en.aspx
Sadly, years of Liberal government in Canada and the rise of roving gangs of anti-Israel BDS protestors and goon squads on campus and in the community, along with state sponsored international terrorism, have attempted to intimidate Canadians from their lawful purposes in supporting Israel as part of our proud Canadian international trade and proud Canadian international identities.
We must not allow them to do so. We must demand that our governments take action against the ongoing radicalization and criminality of Canadian youth and related hate crimes and harassment in our communities. As Mr. Harper said, "Canada must be defended." Sadly, these days, often from itself. Let's get together and turn this around now. Our Canadian way of life demands it.
