Feb. 14, 2018
By Aidan Fishman
Interim National Director of the League for Human Rights
B’nai Brith Canada
OTTAWA – Canadians should be concerned that the country’s third-largest political party will be asked to consider voting for a resolution that aims to eliminate Israel as a Jewish State.
B’nai Brith Canada needs your help to stop this from happening when NDP members assemble in Ottawa for their national convention this weekend.
The resolution in question falsely implies that Israel is obligated to absorb more than 5-million Palestinian refugees under international law. It is silent on Palestinian terrorism, calling on Israel to make sweeping territorial withdrawals for nothing in return. Finally, it would open the door for economic warfare against Israel – including the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement.
The NDP must be balanced in its approach to Middle East issues and failure to do so will isolate the party from the Canadian political mainstream. Any resolution that supports a Palestinian right of return, directly or indirectly, is a call for the destruction of Israel. Any resolution that supports BDS is inherently antisemitic in nature and punishes Israel unjustly.
If you agree with us that the NDP must refrain from targeting Israel and the Jewish community with this resolution, as well as certain other problematic resolutions, (page doesn`t exist anymore) please act quickly by taking the following three steps:
- Forward this email to all of your like-minded friends.
- Send an email to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Hélène Laverdière and key MPs Cheryl Hardcastle, Murray Rankin and Alexandre Boulerice.
- Use the NDP website to find your local riding association and send them an email, asking them to oppose this counter-productive and prejudiced resolution: http://www.ndp.ca/your-riding/
Time is running short – but with your help, we can make a real difference.
