Harper stands alone, again

It's been more than a day, but it's interesting that Canada once again has stood out at the Human Rights Council, refusing to condemn the excesses of Israel's military campaign against the leadership currently controlling the Gaza Strip. Many European countries (most of them EU members but all with significant Muslim minorities) simply chose to abstain while a large number of countries voted for the non-binding resolution. The final vote was 33-1 with 13 abstentions.

What explanation is there for this, other than Mr. Harper is solidly in the hands of the extreme religious right who equates any hint of opposition to Israel's policies as "anti-Semitism"? This is a truly disturbing sign. At a time when we're about to have a US President who while supporting an undivided Jerusalem also wants the Palestinian "question" to be settled once and for all, we have a Prime Minister who leans towards the extreme that there is no such thing as a Palestinian.

I'm half expecting him to next unban Kach - Kahane Chai, long listed as a terrorist group in Canada. Or to openly declare, as do most televangelists quietly but not openly, that the real goal of the Government of Canada is to convert the Jews in Israel to Christianity?

To suggest -- even insinuate -- that civilian Palestinians who oppose terrorism must nonetheless be punished as part of collective guilt is just as crazy as when we legally persecuted Jews, even here in Canada, for their "collective guilt" in executing Jesus (when there was none to begin with) or when blacks were discriminated against collectively not just because they were different but also because they weren't seen as the true heirs of the covenant -- the old and racist British Israelism heresy which teaches among other things that the Queen of the United Kingdom is a direct descendent of King David and the Scone Stone is really Jacob's pillow.

Harper certainly isn't like that, in the camp of the Armstrongtists, Arnold Murray, Pete Peters and so forth. But the way he's going, soon that may very well be official government policy; and all the gains we've made since World War II both in international affairs as well as race relations here will go down the toilet.

We must oppose anti-Semitism by every means possible. I do. But there is a distinction to be made between the government of Israel and the Jewish people who live in the State of Israel.

Many people within Israel itself opposes the current campaign or questions where this is going. Does that make them anti-Semitic?

The rocket attacks from Gaza must stop. There is no question of that. But is killing hundreds of civilians, many of whom may actually oppose Hamas, the way to do that? Are we to suggest that a thousand Palestinians is worth one Israeli? Isn't every human being on our planet of equal worth? And is it really worth making a million and a half people jammed into an area barely twice the size of DC and already in misery suffer even more, just to round up a couple thousand fanatics?

For what it's worth, most people who claim they "support" Israel can't find Israel or the Occupied Territories on a map. They can't even find America, and it's got problems enough of its own. We know which televangelists they support and how they vote. That says enough. At least more people who support reason voted the other way in November for the first time in ages.

Even Brian Mulroney would have a better perspective on the Middle East problem than what we're getting now which is saying a lot. Harper needs to be clear on this once and for all -- where and when will he find the time to criticize Israel where appropriate? If he can do it for dictatorships, he certainly can do so for fellow democracies -- as most leaders in the free world do. Heck, the heads of government within the EU go at each other, let alone at countries outside the bloc.

But Harper can't be bothered to be critical even for ten seconds with a juggernault like the US or a beacon of hope like the Promised Land for fear of sending the wrong signals.

Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.