>> “Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a great friend of the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “He has come out strongly against attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel and has taken a praiseworthy moral stand against these attempts. I welcome his arrival together with his wife and the members of his delegation. We will work together to further enhance the important relations between our two countries.” Harper, an evangelical Christian and one of Israel’s most unabashedly staunch allies, announced the upcoming trip at a Jewish National Fund dinner in December, calling Israel “a light of freedom and democracy in what is otherwise a region of darkness” and pledged that the Jewish state “will always have Canada as a friend.” Since his election in 2006, the Conservative prime minister has been a full-throated, unapologetic supporter of Israel. Harper was the first Western leader to cut aid to the Palestinian Authority following Hamas’s seizure that year of power in Gaza, and the first to withdraw from the second UN World Conference Against Racism, known as Durban II, saying the event would “scapegoat the Jewish people.” Canada has sided openly with Israel in every one of its military operations since 2006. Netanyahu calls him Stephen, and the two speak regularly. Earlier this month, Harper appointed Vivian Bercovici, a Toronto lawyer and an outspoken Israel supporter, as Canada’s ambassador to Israel. Read more: Canadas PM urges Abbas to negotiate with Jewish State of Israel | The Times of Israel timesofisrael/canada-prime-minister-to-receive-warm-welcome-in-israel/#ixzz2qu5YcNLv
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 02:58:40 +0000
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