Pro-Israel groups in Canada criticize plans to restrict imports of settlement goods
In Canada, pro-Israel organizations condemned the government's intention to restrict imports of goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank. As The Jerusalem Post reports, the plans were announced following a joint statement by Prime Minister Mark Carney and the leaders of a number of European states.
The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden joined the statement. The participants stressed that a two-state solution is critically important for peace, stability and security in the Middle East.
The statement says that the systematic expansion of settlements in the West Bank and the sharp rise in settler violence pose a direct threat to this prospect for peace. Canada, France and the United Kingdom said they would take steps to ban imports of settlement goods and apply targeted measures against settlements, individuals who support them or profit from them.
Reaction of Canadian organizations
HonestReporting Canada called on the media to demand that the Carney government explain how its policy toward Israel, in the organization's assessment, serves the interests of Canadians. The organization also said that the government is applying punitive measures against Israel without demanding specific concessions from the Palestinian side.
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The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, CIJA, also condemned the government announcement. The organization's chief executive officer, Noah Shack, said that these measures would not contribute to peace or security for Israelis and Palestinians, would complicate diplomacy and would not pressure the Palestinian Authority to fulfill its obligations.
Shack also argued that the restrictions could affect Israel's election campaign, as they were announced several weeks before the vote. He referred to warnings by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Position of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative
In an open letter to Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, the Abraham Global Peace Initiative criticized the trade restrictions. The organization's founder, chair and chief executive officer, Avi Abraham Benlolo, said that the move, in AGPI's view, resembles the approaches of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which the organization called antisemitic.
AGPI also referred to the working definition of antisemitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance adopted by Canada in 2019. The organization said that the new trade measure is difficult to reconcile with this commitment and called for restraint during Israel's election campaign.
