Canadian Foreign Minister Reiterates Country’s Strong Support of Israel
Jan 31, 2012 5:15 PM
Declaring unequivocally that “Israel has no greater friend in the world” than the globe’s second-largest nation, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird took the opportunity presented by his third visit to Israel to denounce Palestinian terrorism and further cement his country’s strong ties to the government in Jerusalem.
Accompanied by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and, for part of the trip, Rabbi Chaim Mendelsohn, director of public affairs for the Canadian Federation of Chabad-Lubavitch, Baird helped inaugurate a new international seminars wing at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum, spoke at the 12th annual Herzilya Conference on Israel’s coast, and held meetings with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority leaders.
On Tuesday, Baird also visited communal institutions and met with terror victims and their families in the central village of Kfar Chabad. He was joined by Flaherty, Mendelsohn, Israeli Ambassador to Canada Miriam Ziv and Canadian Ambassador to Israel Paul Hunt.
“This meeting is important to me, because until now I have only known about terror attacks through dry reports,” Baird said during his sit down with terror victims coordinated by the Chabad Terror Victims Project. “But now, [I know of terrorism’s effects] through the pain worn on the faces of the living.”
According to the Ottawa-based Mendelsohn, who has known the foreign minister for several years, the degree of Baird’s personal concern with the survival of Israel and its citizens is rare among many politicians.
“John Baird has been very responsible for helping shape his government’s vision on foreign affairs,” said the rabbi. “He’s been an unashamed supporter of Israel and its security for a long time.”
At Yad Vashem, where Baird introduced the crowd to Mendelsohn by saying that “although, I am not Jewish, I have a rabbi … who is my advisor on Jewish affairs,” the foreign minister reiterated Canada’s support for Israel’s safety.
“Canada does not stand behind Israel,” he said. “Canada stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel.”
He expanded on that theme at Kfar Chabad when, after sampling the product at a kosher-for-Passover matzah bakery, he met with the terror victims and their families.
He told a story of his experience several years ago when, prior to his ascendancy to the top of Canada’s foreign ministry, he reviewed a report on an act of Palestinian terrorism. An advisor told him that it would be better for Canada to not take sides, given that “we can’t tell the difference between the white hats and the black hats.”
Baird took a piece of paper and drew a black hat and a white hat. Underneath the black one, he wrote the words “Hizbullah,” “center of world terror,” and “our enemy.” Underneath the white hat, he wrote “Israel,” “free and democratic state,” and “our best friend.”
“I showed the drawings to [the advisor],” said Baird, “and I told him [that] we know how to distinguish between the black hat and the white hat. And it’s completely clear to me on whose side I’m on.”