Canada against Gaza

[Written just before the Israeli/Gaza ceasefire]

John Baird [Canada's foreign minister] is correct that there is a double standard when it comes to Israel, but it is the opposite of what he thinks. He wants us to ignore the illegal occupation of Gaza, including the collective punishment that is the blockade. He wants us to ignore the fact that the death rate is always much higher on the Palestinian side and that the majority of deaths there are among civilians (even if we assume that every adult male is a militant). He wants us to ignore the fact that the Palestinians actually have a right to resist, but the Israelis do not have the right to enforce their occupation of Palestinian lands by force. He wants us to pretend that Israel is a democracy, without explaining how a "Jewish State" can give equal treatment to non-Jews. And he wants us to pretend that Palestinians hate democracy by turning a blind eye to the assassination of many of their democratically elected government's leaders. He wants to avoid the fundamental question of where the Palestinians came from and why they have largely lost their right to live where generations before lived.

The biggest lie is that the Palestinians caused this latest round of violence. The Israeli's assassinated Ahmad Jaabari and the immediately started a bombardment that resulted in well over 100 Palestinian deaths, many more injuries, and caused a reaction that has caused a handful of deaths in Israel. All deaths, including those in Israel, are criminal. But it was Netanyahu's calculated political action, putting his own people at risk, that caused the latest conflagration.

Canada could return to being a world leader on this issue, putting pressure on both sides to end the violence, but Canada's Israel-is-always-right standard is, quite simply, disgusting as it puts our country in the position of supporting many outrageous war crimes.