Prime Minister Stephen Harper (C) delivers a speech at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem January 20, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner
Prime Minister Stephen Harper got it right in his speech to the Israeli Knesset on Monday.
In his first trip to the region, Harper described Israel and Canada as "the greatest of friends." This is not simply because there are almost 350,000 Jewish Canadians.
It's not just, as Harper noted, because of our longstanding free trade agreement.
It's because of "shared values." As the prime minister said, "Israel is the only country in the Middle East, which has long anchored itself in the ideals of freedom, democracy and the rule of law." They are quite simply the only country like us in that part of the world.
We must not approach human rights and democracy in the world from a relativist position.
On that note, these words from Harper are worth repeating: "Most disgracefully of all, some openly call Israel an apartheid state "¦ Think about the twisted logic and outright malice behind that: A state, based on freedom, democracy and the rule of law, that was founded so Jews can flourish, as Jews, and seek shelter from the shadow of the worst racist experiment in history, that is condemned, and that condemnation is masked in the language of anti-racism." We're tired of the Israeli Apartheid Week shenanigans that happen here.
http://www.torontosun.com/2014/01/20/harper-right-on-israel--palestine
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