Free Republic

During a press conference with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, an Israeli reporter asked visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, "Is Canada paying a price for being so supportive of Israel? Is it possible to support Israel and still have ties to the Arab world?" This question goes to the heart of what is generally perceived as Israel's greatest weakness. The Arab boycott of Israel and of companies doing business with Israel has served as one of the most potent weapons in the anti-Israel arsenal for over a generation. Indeed, since the OPEC oil embargo in 1974, it has...

Thank you to our good neighbors led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper for their exemplary support of our friend Israel. As significant and dangerous progress is made by Iran no doubt wanting nukes, and with the continued threats against Israel by radicals in the region, Canada's steadfastness is praiseworthy. Friends, THIS issue, along with innumerable domestic failures of government, should warrant more concern and focus than things like, oh, say, how a Seattle Seahawk verbally ramped up after intense competition and hard fought victory. Hold the media accountable as its priorities in coverage perhaps distract from REAL issues that...

Like US President Barack Obama’s keynote address during his visit here in March, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s speech to the Knesset on Monday paid tribute to Israel’s values of freedom and democracy. Like French President Francois Hollande, who addressed the Knesset in November, Harper also hailed Israel’s spirit and resilience. What distinguished Harper’s comments was that the “honey” of his praise was not then tempered by the “vinegar” of his criticism. In Obama and Hollande’s addresses, the listener knew that all the favorable comments made about Israel in the first parts of their speeches would be followed by some...

“Thank you very much. “Thank you Mr. Speaker, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Chief Justice, Ministers and Members of the Knesset, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. “Shalom. “And thank you for inviting me to visit this remarkable country, and especially for the opportunity to address the Knesset. “It truly is a great honour. “And I also thank you for the honour of the key to the Knesset. “So now I feel I can come and go whenever I choose. “And if I may, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my wife Laureen and the entire Canadian delegation, let me just...

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas told Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday that there will be no official Israeli presence in the future Palestinian state, reported the Ma’an news agency. "We want an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital that includes all the lands that were occupied in 1967 and that lives side by side with Israel in security and stability," Abbas said in a joint press conference with Harper in Ramallah. "Anything else said or interpreted on our behalf matters only to those who interpret it," he added, according to Ma’an, dismissing rumors that he...

A former Canadian minister who visited the Temple Mount on Sunday was shocked to learn of the discrimination shown by Israeli police officers towards Jews. Stockwell Day, who served as Canada’s Minister of Public Safety between 2006 and 2008, visited the Temple Mount following a coincidental meeting with a resident of Jerusalem, Yosef Rabin, who regularly visits the Temple Mount compound. […] “[The former Canadian minister] was shocked over how Jewish police can do these things to Jews. He did not understand how one can talk about the reunification of Jerusalem while at the same time Jews are not allowed...

A particularly nasty debate broke out Monday evening between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Arab MK Ahmed Tibi – as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was visiting the Knesset, looked on. Tibi screamed at Netanyahu, who spoke in praise of Israeli democracy, and later walked out when Harper himself did the same when he spoke to MKs. Speaking in Harper's presence, Netanyahu said he hoped the Arab world, including Syria, “would be able to have real parliaments, like that in Israel. In our parliament, anyone can say anything they want,” Netanyahu said. In Israel, MKs are free to scream...

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper continues to pick up the slack left by an absent American president who has abandoned freedom across the world. Nothing makes Obama look so small as a real leader. "[W]hen Israel, the only country in the world whose very existence is under attack, is consistently and conspicuously singled out for condemnation, I believe we are morally obligated to take a stand," Harper said last year. The Canadian prime minister further affirmed that "as long as I am prime minister… Canada will take not that stand, whatever the cost." "Canadian PM Personally Intervened to Stop PA...