Avidly Pro-Israel Minister Takes Over as Minister of External Affairs

By John Dirlik

The appointment of Barbara McDougall as Canada's new external affairs minister has delighted Jewish organizations, but raised concern among Arab groups over the direction of the country's foreign policy in the Middle East.

Joe Clark—who after six years at external affairs becomes minister responsible for constitutional affairs—had increasingly been winning the respect of the Arab community because of his willingness to face the wrath of Zionist groups by tackling the politically explosive issue of Palestinian rights. But in a major cabinet shuffle April 21, when Prime Minister Brian Mulroney made 24 changes in his 39-member cabinet, Clark was replaced with employment and immigration minister Barbara McDougall, an ardent supporter of Israel.

Representing the midtown Toronto riding of St. Paul's, a constituency with a large number of Jewish voters (16 percent at the time of the 1988 election), McDougall has had "longstanding and good relations" with the Jewish community, in the words of Canadian Jewish Congress President Les Scheiminger.

Just hours before being sworn in to her new portofolio at the governor-general's residence in Ottawa, McDougall was speaking at a Toronto synagogue, where she received a standing ovation after praising Israel and insisting that peace in the Middle East could not be "imposed" by outside powers.

At the last Canada-Israel Committee (CIC) annual parliamentary dinner (the CIC is the Canadian equivalent of the Washington based American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Israel's principal US lobby), McDougall pledged Canada's "inalienable" friendship for the Jewish state, adding that "Israel has shown its willingness time and again to make peace."

In stark contrast, two years earlier External Affairs Minister Joe Clark caused a major uproar at a CIC dinner when, after citing a long list of human rights abuses, he sternly condemned Israel's handling of the Palestinian intifada. Clark was a proponent of a land-for-peace deal to solve the Arab-Israeli dispute. Only recently he further discomfited the Jewish community by insisting that the PLO retain an important role in peace negotiations despite its backing of Iraq during the Gulf war.

Given the Jewish community's successful lobbying record on Parliament Hill, it is tempting to speculate on the extent that Zionist influence played in Mulroney's decision to move Joe Clark out of external affairs. Most observers, however, agree that in this case the prime minister's reasons were legitimate. Clark was widely regarded as the ideal candidate for the important position of constitutional minister at a time Canada finds itself deeply embroiled in a national unity crisis because of the specter of Quebec separation.

"I have no doubt that there was great pressure by the Jewish community to have McDougall nominated."

"In all fairness, while it undoubtedly served the interest of the Jewish community, this was not the decisive factor in moving him," said Ian Watson of the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations. "Clark was literally the only one who had the combination of qualities needed for this tough job."

Mulroney's choice of Barbara McDougall as replacement for Clark was a different story, however. James Kafieh, president of the Canadian Arab Federation, put it this way: "McDougall comes with the full approval of the Jewish community."

One informed source, who wished to remain anonymous, was more explicit. "I have no doubt that there wasgreat pressure by the Jewish community on the prime minister to have McDougall nominated," he said.

Another analyst, Jim Graff of the Near East Cultural and Educational Foundation (NECEF), insisted that Mulroney didn't need Zionist pressure to appoint McDougall, because of his already deeply entrenched pro-Israel bias. "I think he would do that under his own steam. He wouldn't need much pushing," said Graff.

Graff predicted that, unlike Joe Clark, who often displayed remarkable independence from the prime minister on Middle East issues, Barbara McDougall will likely "echo Mulroney, who in turn will echo the Israeli lobby. " He added, however, that the direction of Mulroney's Middle East policy will largely depend on the success of US President George Bush's peace initiatives. "If Mulroney has to choose between Bush and the Israeli lobby in Ottawa, I think he would go with Bush, " said Graff, "but if the American peace initiatives are not really serious, I am convinced he will echo the lobby."

Kahane's Successor Welcomed in Toronto

Lacking the oratorical skills but not the anti-Arab venom of his militant mentor, the successor of assassinated Rabbi Meir Kahane spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of more than 300 at the Shaarei Tefilah synagogue in Toronto.

Rabbi Avraham Toledano, who now heads the rabidly racist Kach movement, urged the mass expulsion of the 1.8 million Palestinians living in the occupied territories. "The Jewish state, the Jewish land, belongs only to the Jewish people. There is no room for a people that doesn't recognize Jewish sovereignty," he said.

The 33-year-old Moroccan-born rabbi, who now lives in the West Bank town of Kiryat Arba, ridiculed Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir for being too soft in his attempt to crush the Palestinian uprising.

"Instead of having Jewish pride, we have Jewish self-hatred, " he lamented.

During the lecture, sponsored by the Jewish Defense League, Toledano paid tribute to Rabbi Kahane. "Think about all the values of the Rabbi (Kahane), and with God's help the Messiah will come, " he said.

Toledano urged members of the Toronto congregation to make collective aliya (emigration to Israel) and build new synagogues in Israel. "We have many mosques that will soon be liberated," he promised, "but maybe you don't like our style."

John Dirlik, a free-lance writer from Montreal, Quebec, writes on Canadian and Middle East affairs.