I’m loath to congratulate the NDP for any step they take to lessen Canadian complicity in Israel’s violence since Jagmeet Singh’s Palestine policy swings wildly based on backlash. But the reaction of some Palestine solidarity voices to the social democratic party’s call for an arms embargo, recognition of Palestine, funding of UNRWA etc. misses the big picture.
In response to Monday’s opposition day motion the opinion editor at The Maple Davide Mastracci posted to X, “Once again, the NDP has wasted our time.” He linked to a statement showing how the NDP had accepted Liberal demands to water down an already weak resolution. Be that as it may, the motion is a step forward in upending Canadian complicity in Israeli colonialism and violence.
The opposition day motion was the first ever focused on Canadian policy towards Palestine/Israel. Supposed to be debated March 1, the NDP (cowardly) agreed to postpone it after former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s death. This gave Palestine solidarity groups time to flood MPs emails, even propelling the NDP leader to put out a video calling on people to “fill Justin Trudeau’s inbox” in support of it.
The motion led to some mainstream discussion about Canadian arms sales to Israel and how Canada wasn’t one of the 139 countries that had recognized Palestine. A CBC article about the motion noted, “The Trudeau government has also sought to prevent Palestine from advancing its case for statehood through the courts. Three different Liberal foreign ministers have written to the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court asking it to refuse to hear Palestinian cases.”
The Israel lobby and Israeli officials panicked over a motion calling for a shift in Canada’s slavishly pro-Israel policies. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs organized an e-mail campaign and B’nai Brith released a statement signed by multiple groups and individuals condemning the motion. Israel’s ambassador criticized it while Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz called Trudeau to oppose it.
During a long debate in the House of Commons many MPs made strong statements. La Presse quoted Bloc Quebecois MP Stéphane Bergeron, who I haven’t seen make any statements on the matter, denounce Canadian support for Israel’s “genocidal plan”. (more...)
NDP motion a (tiny?) step forward in Palestine solidarity
Once again, the NDP has wasted our time. https://t.co/8bvCIiLMau
— Davide Mastracci 🤌🏼 (@DavideMastracci) March 19, 2024
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