CANADA'S HAS A TRUE LEADER AT LAST!

PM affirms support for Israel
But peaceful end to conflict urged Tempers
stancein Toronto speech
Oct. 19, 2006. 01:00 AM
LES WHITTINGTON
OTTAWA BUREAU
Prime Minister Stephen Harper came to Toronto last night to
reaffirm his unwavering support for Israel, saying Canada
must stand firm against the enemies of the Jewish state.
But in an apparent attempt to moderate his position on
Middle East issues, Harper took time in a speech to leaders
of the Jewish community to stress the need for a peaceful
solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
And far from repeating his accusations that the Liberals
are anti-Israel, the Prime Minister said it's not hard to see
how opposition politicians would be critical of the
Conservatives' strong support of Israel's actions during
last summer's eruption of violence in the region.
It was a different approach than the one Harper took last
week, when he said Liberal leadership candidate
Michael Ignatieff's suggestion that the Israeli military had
committed a war crime during its attack on Lebanon
was typical of that party's negative attitude toward Israel.
"I understand that, with the news reports of the day, in
the sound of battle and the images of destruction and
suffering of innocents, it is sometimes difficult to see
what is truly at stake," he said during a dinner speech
to B'nai Brith Canada.
In what an aide said was a fresh attempt by the
Prime Minister to focus on the need for peace in the
Middle East, Harper said it's vital to "seek a fair and
just future for the Palestinian people."
"Our government believes in a two-state solution — in
a secure, democratic and prosperous Israel living beside
a viable, democratic and peaceful Palestinian state."
Harper's unstinting support of Israel has won new
backing for the federal Tories among otherwise staunch
Liberals. But he has been subjected to sharp criticism
by opponents who say he has abandoned Canada's
traditional role as a neutral peace broker in the
Middle East and played politics with a dangerously
divisive issue in Canada.
Some observers believe discontent with Harper's foreign
policies, particularly among Quebecers, has been partly
responsible for the Conservatives' inability to show
growth in national opinion polls recently.
But while seeking to temper his Middle East position,
Harper left no doubt that the Conservative government
is solidly behind Israel.
Though saying he understood why Canadians worried
during the fighting in Israel and Lebanon last summer
that the Tories were unduly favouring Israel, Harper
added that it would be a mistake not to stand firmly
behind the Israelis.
Alluding to the rise of Nazi Germany, the
Prime Minister said it must be remembered "that those
who seek to destroy the Jews will, for the same
reason, ultimately seek to destroy us all."
He said Hezbollah, which touched off last summer's war
by kidnapping Israeli soldiers, is a terrorist organization
and as such will be opposed by Canada as part of its
wider campaign against terrorists abroad and at home.
"We are fighting terrorists in Afghanistan. We have
arrested alleged terrorists here in Toronto.
"Therefore, it is very straightforward," Harper said
forcefully. "When it comes to dealing with a war between
Israel and a terrorist organization, this country, and this
government, cannot and will not be neutral."
The remark drew a standing ovation from the audience
of more than a thousand corporate executives, political
figures — including the master-of-ceremonies, former
Liberal premier David Peterson — and Jewish
community leaders.
The audience also applauded intensely when Harper
stressed the need to find a peaceful solution to Middle
East tensions.