Speak 'truth to power'

by Gil Troy

The Canadian Jewish News, Letters, February 28, 2002 / 16 Adar, 5762

I was very glad to see that the Canada-Israel Committee has lined up an impressive roster, including Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Foreign Minister Bill Graham, for its 17th parliamentary dinner and policy conference on March 6. I hope that amid all the wining and dining an important message will be respectfully conveyed: the Chrétien government's Middle East policy has been unfair to Israel and deeply disappointing to the overwhelming majority of Canadian Jews. Over the last 11/2 years, in vote after vote, in New York and in Geneva, in the UN General Assembly and at special conferences, the Canadian government has not stood up enough for its good friend and sister democracy.

This government's supposed "even-handedness," its constant talk about ending "the cycle of violence," has failed to distinguish between Israel, which took huge risks for peace during the Oslo peace process, and the Palestinian Authority, which in September 2000 made a calculated decision to turn away from negotations and try to achieve its political aims through terrorism. Furthermore, too many Liberal MPs and ministers have failed to repudiate all forms of terrorism as an immoral political strategy, preferring instead to indulge in the fantasy that some forms of terrorism may be legitimate. Events since Sept. 11 have shown that when terrorism is repudiated, all of a sudden countries like Pakistan figure out ways to stop their homegrown terrorists. The nice-guy, even-handed approach of the Canadian government has failed dramatically in the Middle East, helping to mislead the Palestinians into believing that they can accomplish something through violence and terror.

On March 6, the deep, enduring friendship between Canada and Israel should be celebrated. Prime Minister Chrétien should be greeted properly. But it is in fact a mark of great respect in a democracy to convey criticism and concern as well as support. If Chrétien and company walk away from the evening with no awareness of the anguish their policies have caused, here in Canada and the Middle East, the CIC will have failed in its mission. As citizens in a democracy we must speak "truth to power" - respectfully, constructively, but clearly.

Gil Troy
McGill University
Montreal