Canada and the recent
Israeli-Palestinian crisis

James Mangan
Team Member

anada has been Israel’s ally since its
beginning in 1949, and, as a result,
Canadians want to see long-term peace
and stability in the Middle East. The very
least we expect from our government
is for them to support political factions
with this goal in mind. Unfortunately, the
Conservative Party of Canada has neglected
this expectation.

Canada has simultaneously supported
Israel's right to live as a safe and sovereign
nation and the Palestinian people's right

to self-determination. As a result, Canada's
traditional stance on the Israeli-Palestinian
crisis has been one of support towards

the "Two-State Solution." The Two-State
Solution would see Israel's borders altered
as to accommodate a sovereign Arabic state
for the Palestinians. This solution does not
guarantee peace between the two sovereign
nations. However, negotiations required to
achieve this goal could ease the tensions
between Israel and Palestine, resulting

in fewer casualties in future tensions.

Canada supports the Two-State Solution
because Israeli moderators, who recognize
that the status quo concerning Palestine
would lead to heightened Israeli tensions,
promote it. Canada would also like to see
peace come to the region for economic
purposes; Canada has deep commercial
relations with Israel. As a result, Canadians
should expect their government to back
political organizations with long-term
peace and stability as their primary goal.

Unfortunately, this has not been the

case. Since coming to power in 2006,

the Conservative Party has minimized
criticism of the nationalist, hard-

line Israeli government. Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of
the Consolidation Party (economically
conservative nationalists), promoted
rhetoric concerning the Two-State
Solution, but the recent ground-
invasions conducted by Israel in the
Gaza Strip are signs that they do not
take this goal seriously. Whether Israel's
current ground-offensive against Hamas
is justifiable is a question even the
international community struggles with,
and the major political parties of Canada
overwhelmingly agree that Israel has the
right to defend itself. That being said,
one has to question the effectiveness of
long-term peace and stability between
two groups when the dominant group is
responsible for the deaths of hundreds of
civilians over the course of a few weeks.

During a press conference on July 11,
Netanyahu stated that Palestinian
sovereignty was impossible. This
statement comes after years of Israel
demanding that Hamas negotiate with
them unconditionally while yielding
to Israel's numerous conditions.

It is becoming increasingly clear that
Netanyahu's Consolidation Party does

not share the same long-term goals as
Canadians concerning peace, stability,

and self-determination in the Middle East.
Therefore, Canadians should be demanding
that the Conservative Party re-examine

its close relationship with Prime Minister
Netanyahu and the Consolidation Party.

News 15

Life in politics

Suln Margaret Lee
Publisher

pos have a limited shelf life.
They are kind of like milk—it has to be
[drunk] before the due date.” - Pat Bell

Jobs Minister Pat Bell represented

Prince George as a Liberal MLA for three
consecutive terms. After 12 years in office,
Mr. Bell announced that due to a discovery
of a heart aneurysm, he would not seek
re-election. Despite his long involvement
with politics, it was not a traditional

path for Mr. Bell. “Usually people get into
politics because they have studied it at
the university, or they were interested in
it from before. That was not my case.”

He had not been planning on seeking
political office when he was asked by
local business people to run in a BC
general election back in 2001. “Maybe
they thought I would be good for the job
because I had a bad habit of speaking

up at the meetings,” he laughed.

Ever since being newly elected as an MLA
for Prince George North, he has not looked
back. He was re-elected in 2005 and went
on to take the position of Minister of

Jobs, Tourism, and Innovation in 2011.

Being involved with politics has taught
him some lessons. “I have learned to
listen 80 percent and talk 20 percent

at political events,” he said when

asked about networking advice for
students. “As much as it is important
for people to speak up, they should also
remember to not dominate the talk.”

Every year, students’ search browsers

are open with various internship links
and application forms as they strive to
gain opportunities to observe the daily
workings of the government first hand.
Mr. Bell suggests that students seeking

to enter public office should first and
foremost make the effort to be present for

local community events. The opportunities
are endless if one is willing to reach out
and make an effort to be present as an
interested and dedicated individual.

“Government hires numerous young
people, and various internship
opportunities await new graduates.
Remember that our municipal election
is coming up in 2015--knock on the
doors of your local representatives and
offer to be part of their campaign.”

However, once the packaging process
in complete, there is bound to be an
expiry date. Throughout his political
life he has seen fellow politicians
leave the political scene abruptly.

“Politics is an exciting field to go into.
However I would not recommend the
students to consider it a career, because
people should not look forward to being

in politics for their whole life.” When

asked if ex-Premier Gordon Campbell

lied to British Columbians when he
promised not to sell BC rail in 2001, Mr. Bell
recognizes that sometimes a good decision
is not necessarily a popular decision.

“T have known [Mr. Campbell] for over

10 years and I regard him as a competent
leader. At the same time, there will always
be people who have specific ideas of

what they did not like during the office
term.” He suggested that it is important
to recognize that no leader’s skill set is
best suited to every kind of endeavour.

Maybe bad politicians

are kind of like &
milk—they have - X
to be drunk y—~ ")
before the due

date. The good
ones are like
wine. They
get better

over time.

a

/ \ |

/ aun
/ * y [Y |
/ /
|