MaritStiles
President, New Democratic Party

CC: JagmeetSingh
Leader, New Democratic Party

Wednesday January 17, 2018

Dear Ms. Stiles,

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centerfor Holocaust Studies has many friends within the federal NDP, and a number ofNDP MPs have attended our events in recent months, including the Spirit of Hopeheld every May, and the Rosh Hashanah Jewish New Year reception we hosted onParliament Hill in September.  We respect and appreciate the NDP and countmany of our community members among the party affiliates.

I write this letter regardingthe proposed “Palestine Resolution” to be presented at the upcoming NDPconvention February 16-18, 2018, which has been brought to my attention. Thetroubling resolution, which is posted online at www.palestineresolution.com,seeks to demonize and delegitimize Israel while offering a decidedlyone-sided portrayal of the complex Israel-Palestine issue. 

The resolution begins byquoting statistics from a study which has been criticized as misleading itsaudience.  There are other studies which in fact display the oppositeresults, that the majority of Canadians do not support sanctions againstIsrael.

It is also important tonote that this resolution is in direct contravention of the anti-BDS motionpassed in federal parliament in 2016.  Even though the NDP opposed themotion at the time, the overwhelming vote in favour of the motion signals thatthe citizens of Canada, through their elected representatives, oppose the BDS movementand recognize the inherent antisemitism it promotes.

The proposed resolution paintsIsrael as an instigator and villain, while failing to mentionPalestinian perpetrated violence and terrorism againstinnocent people including constant rocket attacks. Italso fails to mention the corrupt Palestinian Authority which has been reportedto have paid hundreds of millions of dollars in rewards to criminals for killingIsraelis last year. While the resolution states that it urges all parties toabandon violence, it only demands that Israel take action. It is importantto note that according to the definition of antisemitism adopted by theInternational Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, of which Canada is a member,applying double standards to Israel is a contemporary example of antisemitism.

I urge you todisallow this divisive and one-sided resolution to be included in theconvention’s agenda.  This resolution does not positively affect theIsrael-Palestine issue in any way, and only goes to further misinform anddivide the two sides of this complex matter.  It is troubling that afaction in a political party would set its sights on delegitimizing the Jewishstate of Israel, a thriving democracy with strong ties to Canada bothdiplomatically and economically. 

Additionally, Israel is prohibitingaccess of organizations who wish to visit the country, yet undermine the nationthrough the BDS movement. This is another matter to consider when handling thisresolution; a policy supporting a boycott of Israel may prohibit the leadershipof your party from entering the country in the future.

Whereas the current NDPpolicy on Palestine promotes peace for both Israelis and Palestinians, statesviable coexistence as a goal, and advocates against violence targetingcivilians; the proposed new resolution is decidedly one-sided and introduces aboycott policy. In the end, this is an illegitimate exercise which co-opts theimportant work that lies ahead of the NDP by providing a false perspective onthe Middle East.

Thank you in advance foryour consideration of my concerns.

Sincerely,

AviBenlolo
President & CEO
Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies