Mr. Day is the embattled leader of Canada's parliamentary opposition. He is under attack for a whole variety of issues, one of which is his speech last week to Canadian Jewish Congress. In that speech, on Monday, Mr. Day accused Palestinian groups of "premeditated acts of terrorism" against "innocent Israelis." Arab-Canadian groups have been so angered by the speech that several are planning to sue him for causing hatred against an identifiable group.
Of course, hatred against Jews is quite alright to these people, as proven by the increase in attacks against Jews throughout North America in the past 8 months and by their undying support for the "premeditated acts of terrorism against innocent Israelis" that are being carried out by their brethren in Israel on a daily basis. But let one politician open his mouth and courageously state the truth, and immediately lawsuits are threatened, backroom maneuvers are plotted, and the political future of this man is in jeopardy.
It's enough to make you think you were in Israel, and not Canada.
Which brings me to another point: At the same time as Stockwell Day was making his statements to the Canadian Jewish Congress, a group of Meretz members of Knesset were meeting with Yasser Arafat in Ramallah in a further move aimed at undermining Israel's positions. Israel's opposition leader, Yossi Sarid, was going on record supporting the Mitchell Commission's call for linking the cessation of violence emanating from Arab areas to a cessation of construction in Jewish neighbourhoods in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
In an interview aimed at clarifying Sarid's position, is spokeswoman claimed that both the murder of Jewish children and the construction of homes in these neighbourhoods could be classified as violence, and that therefore, the Mitchell Report was justified in its linkage. She barely made any effort to avoid equating murder with home construction.
Sarid's position is one that would make the worst anti-Semites in history proud. In fact, the pilgrimage made a few days later by his party's members to Yasser Arafat was proof enough that Sarid's statement was not made in a vacuum, but that anti-Semitic racism is part and parcel of Meretz's platform, and that they are happier associating with the murderers of Jewish children than they are with the builders of Jewish homes in Israel.
The anti-Semitic racism of Sarid's position, equating the murder of Jewish children with the construction of homes for young Jewish families is an embarrassment to the State of Israel - a State meant to be the only haven in the world where Jews could escape this type of hatred.
Stockwell Day, on the other hand, is a breath of fresh air. It is, unfortunately, a rare thing these days to hear a non-Jewish, non-Israeli politician take a position so firmly pro-Israel and so clearly pro-truth.
What Day's statement does is show that as long as Israel must suffer the likes of Sarid and the other Israeli anti-Semites who follow in the same path, Israel will not fulfill its mandate as the Jewish haven from oppression. On the contrary, with men like Sarid around, Jews are oppressed here more than in many other lands.
It is truly unfortunate that Yossi Sarid and his Meretz comrades must be compared unfavourably to a non-Jew in their support of Israel. Israel's opposition leader would rather have Jews return to the darkness of oppression under the thumb of anti-Semitic rulers the world over. Canada's opposition leader, however, shows that there might just be some hope. Perhaps the light of Day will soon shine over Israel as well.
Copyright 2001. Yehuda Poch is a writer living in Israel. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.
