Re: Israeli Ambassador: Will Muslim immigration drive Jew-hatred in foreign policy?

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Posted by G&M on 17:42:18 2008/05/08

In Reply to: Re: Never has Canada had such a principled Prime Minister posted by Michael Diamond

Your browser does not support inline frames, or it has been configured incorrectly. If page does not display on your browser, please <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080508.ISRAEL08/TPStory/TPNational/Politics/">CLICK HERE</a>. globeandmail.com: Israeli envoy fears policy shift Skip navigation   Login or Register | Member Centre var base_url = (location.protocol=="http:") ? WEBSITE_TGAM : WEBSITE_SECURE; var escFwdURL = escape(location.href); var regInfoGI = (insider==true) ? "\u2026insider=1" : ""; var pageType = "story"; var regInfoURL = base_url+WEBSITE_docroot+"/includes/global/regInfo-iFrame.html?user_URL="+escFwdURL+regInfoGI+"\u0026pageType="+pageType; d.getElementById("user").href = d.getElementById("user").href+"?user_URL="+escFwdURL+regInfoGI; d.write(' '); d.getElementById("welcomeBlock").style.display = "none"; createLogin(); My Globe My Portfolio My Weather Most Popular Print Edition Newspaper Subscription Globe Recognition Newspaper Ads sdomain="www.theglobeandmail.com";szone="national-hub";smode="Politics";sloc="hub";sURL_subhub="Politics";sURL_hub="TPNational";sadpg="National";sarena="arena=National";if(szone=="search"){skw="_UNDEFINED_VALUE_";} aPs="ldbd";a1=true;aLdrBd=true; var ldbdAC = fnTdo('a'+'ai',728,90,ai,'j',nc); Auto Real Estate Careers Personals Home   National British Columbia Prairies Ontario Quebec Atlantic Politics Education World Americas Europe Asia-Pacific Africa-Mideast Report on Business Industry News Commentary Market Action Globe Investor Globe Fund Managing Small Business Globeinvestor Gold Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Golf Soccer Others Columnists Yesterday's Stories Opinions Columnists Cartoon Editorials Letters to the Editor Arts Movies Television Theatre Music Books Technology Personal Tech @play -- tq@work Science Life Food & Wine Family & Relationships Work Travel Health Style Deaths Marketplace GlobeAuto Careers Classifieds Newspaper Ads Personals Real Estate try {globalNav($("header"));}catch(err){} if(d&&ldbdAC!=""&&(location.host.indexOf("cur")==-1)){d.write(ldbdAC);} placeAC("ldbd"); aPs="lug"; var lugAC = fnTdo('a'+'ai',330,60,ai,'j',nc); if(!aldbdStr){if(p.aldbdStr){var aldbdStr=p.aldbdStr;}else{var aldbdStr="";}}if(aldbdStr=="1"){var lugAC=ldbdString;} if(d&&lugAC!=""&&(location.protocol=="http:")){d.write(lugAC);} placeAC("lug"); ISRAEL AT 60 Israeli envoy fears policy shift Ambassador says continuing influx of Muslims to Canada could erode support for Jewish state CAMPBELL CLARK May 8, 2008 OTTAWA -- Israel's ambassador says he is concerned that the growing number of Muslim Canadians might cause a shift in this country's Middle East policy. Israel marks its 60th anniversary today and still feels isolated in the world. But it counts Canada as one of its few staunch allies on matters like UN votes, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper will visit the country in June. However, Alan Baker, Israel's ambassador in Ottawa, said Muslim communities have had an impact on the foreign policies of such countries as France, and he is concerned Canada might follow. "The question is, how do you treat the results of this fact? Do you expect from these greater numbers that they will absorb themselves into Canadian society as Canadians or that they'll try to push Canadians to adopt their own values and principles? And this is the gist of the problem," Mr. Baker said in an interview. Print Edition - Section Front   Enlarge Image   More National Stories Woman who dated Bernier had links to biker gang   France salutes the 'almost Queen of Canada'   Dion touts carbon tax on fuels, billions in tax cuts   Dancap sues Mirvish in Toronto theatre battle   Vancouver organizers wage war on brokers   Judge bars battling parents from court   Go to the National section getSLinks("topStoriesInSection","LAC.20080508.ISRAEL08",5); He cited intensifying demonstrations when he or other Israeli dignitaries speak on Canadian university campuses that have led to speeches being cancelled. He also mentioned reports that some delegates to the 2006 Liberal leadership convention sought to use the Jewish religion of Bob Rae's wife against him. "First of all, there's a Muslim member of Parliament, who's elected to one of the Toronto ridings ..., [Omar] Alghabra, who has been outspoken in his hostility toward Israel," Mr. Baker said. "I've got nothing against the fact that Muslims are members of the Canadian Parliament. But it worries me that the type of political influence that we're seeing in Britain, in France, might ultimately reach the Canadian political system." Mr. Alghabra, the Liberal MP for Mississauga-Erindale, said he is "at a loss" to understand why he would be called hostile to Israel, noting he supports a two-state solution for the Middle East. (Mr. Baker said in a later telephone conversation that he should have instead characterized Mr. Alghabra's views as "less than friendly," but did not cite any specific comment.) Mr. Alghabra also said Mr. Baker's suggestion that immigrant communities might shift policy is overly simplistic. "To assume that Canadian Jews or Canadian Muslims or any other community is monolithic and blindly following certain policies because of their ethnicity is, frankly, quite reductionist and unfair," he said. But Mr. Baker said he sees a possible sign of change in Canada in the intensifying demonstrations aimed at disrupting speeches, such as a planned 2004 appearance by former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, cancelled by Montreal's Concordia University because of fears of violence. "What I'm seeing is that it's developing into a standard practice, to the extent that I would say that it's violating the norms of academic behaviour in institutions. They're trying to prevent somebody from speaking. Now that violates Canadian values," he said. The number of Muslim Canadians more than doubled between 1991 and 2001, to about 579,600, according to Statistics Canada; the proportion of people who identified themselves as Jewish remained relatively static, at about 330,000. However, Canada's foreign-policy stand has become more pro-Israel since 2004, when Paul Martin's Liberal government began shifting the country's voting pattern at the United Nations. Mr. Harper's Conservatives moved further toward Israel, and Canada now votes consistently with a group of about a half-dozen countries, including the United States, Australia and Israel itself, that tend to buck the overwhelming majority. "This was a major shift, in my opinion, in Canadian policy," Mr. Baker said. "My aim is to ensure that any Canadian government will continue to maintain this position of realizing the true commonality of interests, and not going back to a non-committal attitude," he said. Search the News Search News Stock Print E-mail Share License Letter to Editor aPs="boxR"; var boxRAC = fnTdo('a'+'ai',300,250,ai,'j',nc); Top Stories by Section Report on Business : Oil continues record run   National : Bernier's ex-girlfriend nobody's business, PM says   World : Hezbollah says Lebanon has declared war   Sports : Maurice leaves with one regret   Arts : Hagar from heaven   Technology : MySpace, partner sites form greater links   Life : Pretty complicated in pink   Most Popular Most Viewed Most E-mailed Most Discussed National All News Rank Headline 1. Bernier's ex-girlfriend nobody's business, PM says 3:25 PM 2. Tim Hortons rehires fired woman 12:02 PM 767 3. Deadly shooting at Vancouver strip club 3:48 PM 3 4. Dion weak, uninspiring but still more likeable than PM: poll 2:52 PM 182 5. Saskatchewan backbencher resigns as premier's secretary over remark 1:11 PM 6. Woman who dated Bernier had links to biker gang 3:30 AM 7. 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Biovail narrows focus, unveils stock buyback 11:20 AM Rank Headline 770 Tim Hortons rehires fired woman 770 721 Dion touts carbon tax, billions in tax cuts 721 258 Pro-Hezbollah protesters paralyze Beirut 258 188 Dion weak, uninspiring but still more likeable than PM: poll 188 More popular news items aPs="halfpageR"; var halfpageRAC = fnTdo('a'+'ai',300,600,ai,'j',nc); On-line: Help Contact Us Staff RSS Subscriptions Group Subscriptions Member Centre Mobile Newspaper Ads Newspaper: Customer Care Contact Us Staff Press Room Corrections Subscribe Vacation Stops Change Address Recognition Card Advertise: Media & Marketing Advertise with Us -- Advertise: Advertise With Us Newspaper Magazines Online Marketing Solutions Group Media Central Classifieds Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Disclaimer © Copyright 2008 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc. 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