07) PALESTINE: GOOD NEWS AND BAD

People's Voice Editorial

     First the good news, as they say. Recent weeks have seen important victories for the Palestinian people, starting with their heroic resistance against the Israeli aggression which killed some 140 residents of Gaza. The threat of an IDF ground invasion was blocked, thanks to the courage of the people of Gaza, and powerful protests across the world, even inside Israel. This was followed by the historic vote of the United Nations General Assembly to grant Palestine "observer state" status, a major step towards full international recognition and self‑determination of the Palestinian people. This was more than a symbolic decision, since it gives the Palestinians access to new legal and diplomatic tools to help achieve their goal of full statehood.

     For Canadians, the bad news is that our Tory government has again shown its vicious hatred of the Palestinians. Canada, the U.S., the Czech Republic and Israel were isolated in voting against the General Assembly resolution. (Ironically they were joined by a handful of Pacific Islands which will eventually be swamped by rising oceans if global warming is not checked. Perhaps Harper's climate change deniers will offer these islanders refuge in Canada?)

     Foreign Minister John Baird was greeted with silence when he urged the General Assembly to vote against Palestine. But that matters little compared to the praise of Benjamin Netanyahu, who immediately thanked Stephen Harper for backing the apartheid occupation of Palestinian territories. This "special relationship" was seen again when Canada failed to criticise the latest illegal expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

     The day is coming when Palestine will be free. The best solidarity Canadians can provide is to demand that the Harper Tories and all parties in Parliament join the rest of the world in recognizing the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

(The above article is from the December 1-31, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)