Dec. 4, 2020
B’nai Brith Canada
TORONTO — The Chief Executive Officer of B’nai Brith Canada has publicly drawn attention to the country’s failure to adhere consistently to its principles on its United Nations votes involving Israel.
Michael Mostyn, in a hard-hitting column in the Canadian Jewish Record, takes issue with objections in the CJR last week from former Canadian ambassador Jon Allen to a statement by B’nai Brith and other major Jewish organizations. The joint statement criticized Canada’s Nov. 19 vote at the UN supporting a resolution inimical to Israel.
Allen’s objections, however, omitted essential facts about Canada’s official policy in support of a comprehensive peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians – a policy based on principles which, if adhered to with consistency, would have obligated Canada to have voted against the resolution, as it had done in years past, with the exception of last year.
Mostyn explains that Canada’s longstanding policy calls on both sides to negotiate a resolution of conflict, including the status of territories in dispute, without pre-judging the outcome of those negotiations.
However, since the UN resolution in question predetermines that all territory east of the June 4, 1967 lines – including the sites holiest to Judaism – is “the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” Canada thereby violates a core tenet of its policy on peace-making.
B’nai Brith is calling upon our government to return to its core principles and, contrary to the anomaly of its vote this year and last, to adhere to its former principled position of not lending its vote in support of pre-judgmental, one-sided UN resolutions hostile to Israel.
To read Mr. Mostyn’s full article, CLICK HERE.
