Canadian Jewish Congress on Settlements, Media Bias and Dissent

By John Dirlik

Indicative of the esteem in which she is held by Canada's Jewish community, External Affairs Minister Barbara McDougall received a standing ovation even before she began her speech to the Canadian Jewish Congress in Toronto May 21.

Flanked by an Israeli flag, McDougall lavished praise on the state of Israel and assured her receptive audience that "my door is open to you and to your concerns." She affirmed her "close bond" with the outgoing executive members of the Jewish Congress, saying many of the issues they addressed "were important issues on my own agenda as well."

McDougall paid tribute to the "miracle" of emigration to Israel, and compared the Jews of Ethiopia and of the former Soviet Union to "hundreds of thousands of seedlings, their lives transplanted from a barren and repressive soil to one that is rich and fertile in the land of Israel."

The minister of external affairs jokingly alluded to her government's dismal ratings at the polls while at the same time expressing confidence in the future of her party. "I was told that not only do the Jewish people expect miracles, they rely on them," she said. "This is something we Progressive Conservatives understand. Miracles are a part of our campaign strategy."

Unlike her predecessor, Joe Clark, whose outspoken criticism from pro-Israel individuals and organizations, McDougall worked hard to avoid offending her audience's sensitivities. When asked by the Washington Report if Canada contemplated following the example of the United States in exerting pressure on Israel to halt settlements in the occupied territories, McDougall's reply was, "We've made our views known on the settlements and I've expressed to the government of Israel that all sides have to engaged in confidence-building measures and that includes the other countries in the region in that it would be helpful if they would lift their trade embargo against Israel."

The closest McDougall came to criticism of Israel was when she expressed Canada's "regret that Syria, Lebanon and Israel" did not attend the recent multilateral round of talks on refugees held in Ottawa. (Israel had boycotted the talks to protest the participation of Palestinians from outside the occupied territories.)

McDougall worked hard to avoid offending her audience's sensitivities.

The five-day plenary of the Canadian Jewish Congress also included a lively panel discussion on the media's handling of Jewish issues, particularly its coverage of Israel. Allegations were made during the question period that the nation's largest daily, the Toronto Star, exhibited a "persistent anti-Israel bias."

The editorial page editor of the Star responded that "very many have not liked coverage of unpleasant events, but very few have found factual errors." The editor, Haroon Siddiqui, said that the Star has also been accused by Arab organizations of being anti-Arab. His response to criticism from both sides, he said, was that international news coverage is by nature usually negative. "It is not my job to do the public relations of governments," he said.

Siddiqui was not entirely successful in convincing his audience that, in comparison to other ethnic minorities, the organized Jewish community enjoys a "healthy and professional relationship" with the mainstream media. "You do have something to celebrate," he said to murmurs of disapproval. When Siddiqui insisted that the Star's policy was to try to present both views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one member of the audience loudly complained to those around him that "They give those bastards the same space as we who are the victims. It's outrageous."

"We're entitled to have distinct points of view, but not in the media."

Expressions of discontent from the floor were also voiced at the conclusion of the plenary, when the Canadian Friends of Peace Now (CFPN) attempted to pass a resolution calling on the Israeli government to stop expanding settlements in the occupied territories during the current peace negotiations. As hecklers grumbled "enough," a representative of Peace Now argued that the Jewish Congress should reflect the opinion of a majority of Canadian Jews, which he said favored a suspension of settlement activity.

In opposition to the proposed resolution, the president of the Canadian Zionist Federation said it was "inappropriate" for the Jewish Congress to vote either for or against the settlements because this was an issue to be decided by Israeli voters. Other opponents said that "Arab intransigence" and not Jewish settlements were obstacles to peace, and that a vote for such a resolution would send the wrong signal to the "Arabists" in Canada's external affairs ministry. The resolution was defeated by a vote of 72 against, 28 in favor.

Another session that provoked a lively debate dealt with the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. Itzhak Levanon, the Israeli consul-general to Montreal, warned against "washing our dirty laundry" in public. "We're entitled to have distinct points of view, but not in the media," cautioned Levanon, because a "public argument would end up twisted and misinterpreted and would harm us."

A different observation on the issue of public dissent came from Rabbi Down Murmur of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. "The failure to speak our minds has exacerbated our relationships with our non-Jewish neighbors, who, in increasing measure, are questioning our moral sensitivities that allow us to be so high-minded about others and so uncritical about our own," he said.

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