Stephen Harper's Ill-Advised Calculation

Stephen Harper, Canadian Prime Minister presiding over a conservative minority government, clearly aims to put to political use the hyper-sensitivity surrounding all things Israeli (therefore, all things Jewish). In America, it’s a truism that political success is facilitated by espousing a pro-Israel position, however balanced and fair one tries to make that position appear (see for e.g., My Life as an “Anti-Semite”; Manufacturing Anti-Semites; The Israel Lobby and the Left: Uneasy Questions). Is this to be true in Canada as well? I’d wager the answer is no but Harper appears willing to give it a go anyway. Much to his disgrace and to the embarrassment of Canada.

Why is it that this tactic, this public show of solidarity for Israel - against sound criticisms and compelling evidence to the contrary - why does it work? How is it that mantras such as “the right to defend itself”, “the right to exist” and even “those Arabs are fanatics” - how do these persuade the public that Israel’s militant acts are only ever justified responses to security concerns rather than acts of aggression in the service of its regional land and resource based ambitions? Israel does have a right to defend itself. Who would dispute that? So do the Lebanese and the Palestinians. Who would dispute that? Israel’s various ongoing acts of violence, however, do not easily fit into the category of “defence”. What about those of Palestinians and Hezbollah in Lebanon? There is a far stronger case to be made that their violence is truly based on fighting for the right to exist, including the right to land and resources (see for e.g., Israelis and Indians as well as Michael Neumann’s The Case Against Israel, 2005). The disparity in power, the obvious intent of Israeli actions such as annexing swaths of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the colonization of this territory (settlements) - all this is evident (see for e.g., A Commission to Investigate the Occupation; In the Name of Security - What Israeli Police Documents Reveal About the Occupation of Palestine; Bad Faith and the Destruction of Palestine) In this light, Harper’s recent exclamations regarding Israel’s right to defend itself make him yet another politician merely using Israel for his or her own political interests. In the process, such public figures serve only to distort the public perception concerning the truth of matters. You cannot pretend aggression is defence without repercussions. Not in the long term. You certainly cannot make this pretence to the victims of the aggression

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