Manitoba is no friend to Palestine

 

Despite its progressive image, Manitoba NDP echo Ottawa’s stance on Gaza

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s oft-repeated claim that Israel has the right to defend itself—even as it attacks other nations—has become something of a pathetic joke.

Over the past two years, Israel has launched strikes against Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iran, yet it has not faced condemnation from Canada, neither under Justin Trudeau nor, since the general election in April of this year, under Mark Carney. In the final days of his leadership, under the looming shadow of Israeli genocide, Prime Minister Trudeau proudly declared, “I am a Zionist.”

Carney’s electoral success was largely built on his defiant stance against US threats to Canadian sovereignty, but his rejection of American expansionism has not extended to Israel’s own territorial ambitions in the Middle East. Belligerent Israel continues its attacks on neighbouring nations, its illegal settlements in the West Bank, and its genocidal campaign in Gaza, with both material and rhetorical support from its ally, Canada. Carney’s recent strings-attached promise to recognize a Palestinian state will do little to help starving Gazans in the critical, immediate future.

Manitobans hoping that a progressive NDP provincial government would show greater sympathy for Palestinians than the federal Liberals should prepare to be disappointed. Supporters of Palestinian human rights often quote Nelson Mandela: “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” For many, support for Palestine is a litmus test distinguishing genuine progressives from mere performative allies.

The term PEP (Progressive Except Palestine) is commonly used among activists to describe those who advocate progressive causes—except when it comes to Palestine. The implication is clear: a PEP is not truly progressive. And while the Manitoba New Democratic Party likes to brand itself as the province’s progressive option, its record on Palestine suggests otherwise.  (more...)

Manitoba is no friend to Palestine