<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Canada – Israel’s new best&nbsp;mate]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><strong><em>Why Canada has made itself Israel’s new friend on the block- | Jews for Justice for Palestinians</em></strong></p>
<p>Lia Tarachansky for JNews Blog, 30 March, 2011</p>
<blockquote><p><strong><a href="mailto:lia@therealnews.com">Lia Tarachansky</a> is an Israeli-Canadian journalist and the director of the upcoming    documentary, Seven Deadly Myths. Most recently she worked as a Middle    East correspondent with The Real News Network. Her writings and videos    are available <a href="http://leichik.webs.com/">here</a>.</strong></p></blockquote>
<p>It used to be that when you counted Israel’s top allies, the obvious names came to mind: Germany, the <span>UK</span> and, of course, the <span>US</span>.    These days, Canada seems determined to soar to the top of that list,   confirming the judgment of Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s Foreign  Minister.  While visiting Canada in 2009 he said, “Canada is so friendly  that  there was no need to convince or explain anything to anyone… We  need  allies like this in the international arena.”</p>
<p>And again, the current Canadian Prime Minister reaffirmed this   relationship in his speech at a conference that equated criticism of   Israel with antisemitism, where he declared that “There are, after all, a   lot more votes in being anti-Israeli than in taking a stand.  But as   long as I am prime minister, whether it is at the United Nations, the   Francaphonie, or anywhere else, Canada will take that stand, whatever   the cost”.</p>
<p>Indeed, while presenting itself as an honest broker, Canada’s been an   uncritical friend to Israel, especially since the election of the   Conservative minority government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Under   his leadership Canadian aid was redirected from <span>UNRWA</span>, the special <span>UN</span> agency that works exclusively with Palestinian refugees.  Domestically, funding was cut to <span>KAIROS</span>,   a faith-based group falsely connected to the global boycott movement,   sending a chill through NGOs dealing with the Middle East conflict.</p>
<p>But Harper’s critics have been too quick to point the finger.   Canada’s support for Israel runs across party lines and extends back   decades.  And while most Canadians view their country as a peacekeeping   nation, Canada’s arms trade, military assistance, and intelligence   cooperation with Israel paint a different picture.  Indeed, Canada’s   involvement in the areas of the conflict that have direct impact on the   ground, such as Canadian corporations constructing the Israeli   settlements and segregation wall in the West Bank, make that   peacekeeping image seem like nothing more than an illusion.</p>
<p><strong>Canada’s Military Aid</strong></p>
<p>Canada has long played an important role in backing <span>US</span> foreign policy. While America was busy in the overthrow of Haitian   president Bernard Aristide, Canadian forces trained the Haitian police   despite continuing accusations of extra judicial killings, rape and   torture. Canadian troops are also training the Afghan security forces   associated with the <span>US</span>-backed government of  Hamid Karzai.   Here too, the forces were accused of torture, leading to  Canada’s own  military refusing to hand over detainees to the Afghan  forces in 2009.</p>
<p>The same form of political selectivity and Canadian complicity plays itself out in occupied Palestinian territories.  When <span>US</span> Lieutenant General Keith Dayton established his training program for   the Palestinian Authority security forces, Canada jumped on board. It   continued to support the <span>PA</span> despite the fact  that its  electoral mandate expired in 2008 and the programme’s  popularity fell  when Palestinians discovered that these forces  collaborate with the  Israeli army. In essence, Canada began training one  faction of the  Palestinian leadership while working to weaken  the others.</p>
<p>This involvement amounts to 55 Canadian personnel, the military’s   second largest on-land deployment after Afghanistan (that is until last   week’s addition to the Libyan effort).  It may not seem like much but   it’s not the size of the contingent that matters, it’s how you use it.   This deployment is named Operation Proteus and gives the Fatah-led <span>PA</span> the means to<a href="http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=209756" target="_blank"> crack down on</a>Hamas activists in the West Bank. After 9/11 Canada was second only to the <span>US</span> in placing Hamas on a list of terrorist organizations and freezing all   its assets (despite it having nothing to do with the attack). Canada  was  also the first country to sever all ties with Hamas when it won the   2006 election in Gaza. At the same time, Canada pledged $300 million  in  aid to its rivals, the <span>PA</span>.</p>
<p>While categorized as part of the global war on terror, this policy   towards Hamas is inconsistent, considering most of the people who make   up the <span>PA</span> forces were also once involved in armed struggle against Israel, as members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (<span>PLO</span>).   Many even served lengthy prison terms and were incorporated into the   security forces because of their experience in armed struggle.</p>
<p>While thousands of Palestinians demonstrate in Gaza and the West Bank   demanding that factions come together, crackdowns continues on both   sides. In 2010 alone <span>PA</span> forces <a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/60331" target="_blank">arrested</a> 3,000 Hamas activists in the West Bank and in Gaza; Hamas returned in equal measure.</p>
<p><strong>Operation Proteus</strong></p>
<p>As a result of the training being undertaken by the <span>US</span>, the <span>EU</span>, and Canada, the <span>PA</span> forces will comprise 25,000 troops, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125547035200183335.html" target="_blank">according</a> to security officials within the Authority. 8,500 will serve as a   standing army, 7,200 as officers, 3,500 in intelligence, 3,000 as a   secretive <span>CIA</span>-trained internal security service, 600 will work in civil defense or as firemen, and the <span>PA</span> President (currently Mahmoud Abbas) will even get 2,000 men as part of an elite force answering strictly to him.</p>
<p>General Keith Dayton, who began the programme and was recently  replaced  in Tel Aviv by Major General Michael Moeller, has a four  decade-long  history with the <span>US</span> army. He served in Iraq,   Israel/Palestine, Russia, and is now based in Germany. As he describes   himself: “I had been the defense attaché of the United States in Russia,   but in my heart, I’m an artilleryman.”<a href="http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC07.php?CID=456" target="_blank">Speaking</a> at the Washington Institute on Near East Policy, a think-tank with deep   connections to all branches of the government, Dayton answered the $64   million question: “Why was a <span>U.S.</span> general officer chosen to command this thing?”</p>
<p>“Well, three reasons”, he answered. “The first was that senior   policymakers felt that a general officer would be trusted and respected   by the Israelis. Put that one in the ‘yes’ block. The second was that a   general’s prestige would help leverage Palestinian and other Arab   cooperation. You can put that in the ‘yes’ block. And the third idea was   that a general officer would have greater influence over the <span>US</span> government interagency process. Two out of three isn’t bad.” The   general’s sense of humor was welcomed with applause and laughter.</p>
<p>But the Canadian leader of the programme, Colonel Fred Lewis, was more diplomatic, <a href="http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/commun/ml-fe/article-eng.asp?id=5934" target="_blank">portraying</a>it   as an exercise in democracy: “It’s all in order to create a sense of   confidence and get rid of any apprehensions that Israel might have with a   Palestinian state next door.” In the same interview for the military   publication, <em>The Maple Leaf</em>, Dayton added, “We simply couldn’t do this job without the Canadian contribution”.</p>
<p>And following the Americans in Haiti and Afghanistan, Canada’s   training programme with Palestinians has not stopped the forces from   perpetuating violations and being <a href="http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/10/20/west-bank-reports-torture-palestinian-detention" target="_blank">accused</a>of torture. The Ramallah-based civil-rights <span>NGO</span>, Al Haq, took thousands of testimonies from sworn witnesses detained by the <span>PA</span>. Its report <a href="http://www.alhaq.org/etemplate.php?id=384" target="_blank">describes</a> such practices as “psychological torture, an increase in arbitrary   arrests, and arrests and detention carried out in violation of the   Palestinian Basic Law and penal procedural laws. And while government   officials have pledged to bring the security forces into line with the   law and punish those responsible, the reality on the ground   remains bleak.”</p>
<p>In 2010 Al Haq followed up on the initial report in a statement addressed to the <span>EU</span> signed together with other Palestinian NGOs. It <a href="http://www.alhaq.org/pdfs/Input%20from%20Palestinian%20NGOs%20on%20EU-PA%20Action%20Plan%202010.pdf" target="_blank">reads</a>: “The <span>PA</span> has adopted a pattern of oppressive policies to stifle political   dissent and to generate a sense of intimidation within Palestinian   society, turning the latter into what resembles a ‘police state’ void of   democratic values and the rule of law.”</p>
<p>In fact this involvement extends beyond the military. In a February 2010 article in <em>The Maple Leaf</em>, Leslie Craig <a href="http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/commun/ml-fe/article-eng.asp?id=5934" target="_blank">writes</a>:   “Operation Proteus, though military in origin, has grown to encompass a   whole-of-government approach, with team members from the Department of   Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Canadian International   Development Agency, Justice Canada, and the Canadian Border Services   Agency [bringing] their expertise to the table.”</p>
<p>And indeed Canada’s political meddling in the conflict doesn’t end   overseas. It also plays out at home.  In the 1990s and after, Canadian   intelligence agents <a href="http://yvesengler.com/2010/08/20/is-canada-passing-information-on-its-citizens-to-israel/" target="_blank">harassed</a> opponents of the Olso Accords, the now failed peace process.  More recently, agents have <a href="http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/08/canadian-intelligence-collaboration-with-israeli-occupation/" target="_blank">harassed</a> Canadian activists involved in the global campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (<span>BDS</span>) against Israel. In 2008 Canada signed a security cooperation agreement with Israel, <a href="http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/media/nr/2008/nr20080323-eng.aspx" target="_blank">formalising</a> such practices.</p>
<p><strong>Canada-Israel Arms Trade</strong></p>
<p>Perhaps the most significant assistance Canada provides in support of   Israel’s military aggression is through the arms trade. Canadian  forces  use Israeli-made drones in Afghanistan and the <span>IDF</span> uses Canadian-made electronics in its operations in the West Bank and Gaza.</p>
<p>The Canada-Israel free trade <a href="http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/israel/index.aspx" target="_blank">agreement</a>, alongside provincial agreements and indirect sales through the <span>US</span>, make this trade very lucrative. I investigated this in detail in a <a href="http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=31&amp;Itemid=74&amp;jumival=6353" target="_blank">video report</a> for The Real News and interviewed Yves Engler, the author of Canada and   Israel: Building Apartheid as well as Richard Sanders, the Coordinator   of the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade.</p>
<p>While Canadian foreign policy has been historically one-sided, the   current government is strengthening its relationship with Israel   diplomatically, militarily and through trade.  Of course a country has   the right to pick its allies, but when it does so it carefully weighs   the consequences. Considering the <span>PA</span>’s submission to Israel as revealed by the <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/palestinepapers/2011/01/201112214310263628.html" target="_blank">Palestine Papers</a>,   its willingness to cooperate with the Israeli army to carry out the   occupation on behalf of the occupiers and the state of the Middle East,   Canada’s choice is dubious in the extreme. While the government employs   the rhetoric of democracy, its actions speak a different language.</p>
<p><a href="http://jfjfp.com/?p=22422&amp;utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=canada-israels-new-best-mate">Source</a></p>
]]></html></oembed>