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Nov. 25, 2005
Envoys meet in B.C.
Vancouver confab watched by Jerusalem.
PAT JOHNSON
The words they said may not have been as significant as the fact
that they said them at all. The ambassadors to Canada from Israel
and Jordan were a travelling duo early this week, making joint appearances
to academics, students and, on Monday evening, to a packed house
of about 1,000 Jews, Muslims and others at a heavily secured Temple
Sholom.
The visit by the ambassadors, who exhibit a friendship rare between
Israeli diplomats and those of almost any other country, were engaged
in a process called Partners in Peace: Jordanian and Israeli Dialogue.
The event was being watched from afar. In addition to letters of
congratulations and welcome from British Columbia Premier Gordon
Campbell and Prime Minister Paul Martin, Jordanian ambassador to
Canada Nabil Barto read greetings from Jordan’s King Abdullah.
“Jordan counts on all our Canadian friends and considers them
partners in peace as well,” the king said.
Earlier, Israeli President Moshe Katsav had released his own statement.
“I am very happy to congratulate the participants in the joint
events taking place in Vancouver, British Columbia, in order to
promote and emphasize the good relations between Israel and the
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” wrote Katsav. “Our two countries
are building a solid relationship in the economic, cultural and
political fields. This is serving as an example to the international
community that peace in the Middle East between peoples and countries
indeed is possible.”
The event, which was sponsored by the B.C. Jewish Political Action
Committee and co-sponsored by Vancouver Hillel and the B.C. Campus
Action Coalition, represented a very public statement of friendship
between the two countries, which have had a peace agreement for
more than a decade. But, as Israeli Ambassador Alan Baker noted,
a peace agreement merely ends the decades of a state of war. Much
more is necessary to build genuine neighborly relations.
Being an Israeli diplomat is not easy, Baker said. Even in Ottawa,
he noted, there are ambassadors who ignore his existence or are
outwardly hostile to him as the representative of the Jewish state.
The relationship he has had with Barto, since the Jordanian arrived
in Canada’s capital several months ago, has been warm, neighborly
and friendly, said Baker. This exemplifies the growing friendship
between the two countries, he added.
The lesson of the day’s events, he said, was to show Canadians
and the world that, despite what’s seen in the media, there
is a corner of the Middle East where there exists a “warm voisinage
(neighborly feeling).”
“For us, this is something new,” Baker said. “We’ve
never been able to visit a neighboring country.”
For Barto, the path to the future is clear.
“The failure to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict is simply not
an option,” said the Jordanian ambassador, adding that poverty
feeds terrorism and therefore economic co-operation and development
are the surest paths to sustained peace. Enhanced trade opportunities,
productivity and job opportunities will increase regional stability,
he said.
“Peace cannot be maintained without development,” he said.
This month’s terror attack on Jordan will not alter the course
of that country’s support for the peace process, said Barto,
who pledged to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict and to fight terrorism and its infrastructure in Jordan
and abroad.
“Nothing justifies taking innocent lives,” he said. “We
do not forgive any extremists or terrorists taking the lives of
innocent people.”
Temple Sholom was abuzz with the sense of historical import and
as the Israeli ambassador scanned the packed crowd of about 1,000
in the expanded sanctuary of Temple Sholom, he quipped, “Quite
a minyan.”
Rabbis sat alongside imams, and former politicians Mike Harcourt,
Grace McCarthy and Philip Owen greeted old friends.
Stephen Owen, the federal minister of western economic diversification
and sport and the member of Parliament for Vancouver-Quadra moderated
the event.
“Something very special and profound has happened in Vancouver
today,” said Owen. “The spotlight is on this city.”
In light of the terror attack in Amman earlier this month, Owen
noted that the road to peace can be difficult, because a growing
consensus toward coexistence can enflame extremist provocations.
Canada, he said, can play a role in the region and elsewhere because
this country is immensely blessed with unique attributes as a middle
power.
Temple Sholom’s Rabbi Philip Bregman welcomed the diplomats
and the crowd.
“You have come to a synagogue that has the name ‘shalom’,”
the rabbi said, noting that the event was taking place during the
week when the Torah portion tells of Isaac and Ishmael coming together
to bury their patriarch.
Questions from the floor, while polite, did not shy away from key
issues. Asked when Israel will abide by international demands to
end settlement expansions in parts of the West Bank, Baker responded
that this was an issue set for discussion when Palestinians and
Israelis return to the negotiating table.
“This will be resolved by Israelis and Palestinians,”
said Baker. “Not by any other means but negotiation.”
Responding to a question about the future, should Hamas win the
Palestinian elections in January, Baker said the perfect example
of such a scenario was exhibited that day, when Hezbollah terrorists
on the Lebanese border with Israel attempted to kidnap Israeli soldiers,
an incident that ended in a deadly gunfight. Noting that Hezbollah
is a Lebanese political party that is participating in the electoral
process, Baker condemned the idea that a terrorist group could engage
in democracy, as Hamas is doing, but keep their arms at hand in
case they disagree with the majority decision.
“This is exactly what Hamas wants to do and we believe should
not be allowed to do,” Baker said. “It’s the antithesis
of any democracy.”
The ambassadors also addressed audiences at the University of British
Columbia, Simon Fraser University and were scheduled to jointly
address the national convention of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO. ¯
Pat Johnson is editor of MVOX Multicultural Digest, www.mvox.ca.
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