No to Appointing Bob Rae as Foreign Affairs Critic

In October of 2007, Liberal Party Leader Stéphane Dion appointed Bob Rae as the party's foreign affairs critic. Bob Rae had also been appointed earlier as the co-writer of the Liberal Party platform. However, in addition to holding no federal electoral office, Bob Rae is a committee member of the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The JNF is responsible for funding many projects in Israel including the illegal construction of Canada Park, lying within the internationally recognized 1967 borders of the West Bank. Canada Park is built upon the remains of three destroyed Palestinian villages: Beit Nuba, Imwas and Yalu, whose residents had been forcefully expelled out of their homes, according to the testimony of Amos Keenan, one of the Israeli soldiers involved [1].

According to the Liberals' speech as recently as September 20, 2007, the Liberal foreign policy goals are well known and include "preserving peace through non-violent conflict resolution and full compliance with international law", "promoting human rights", and "active participation in international organizations that contribute to peace and economic cooperation." [2].

However, during the summer of 2006, Rae failed to recognize the deliberate targeting of Lebanese Civilians by the Israeli Army [3]. This was despite reports from international NGO's, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch proving otherwise [4]. Bob Rae's stance appears to be in clear contradiction with the principles of Liberal foreign policy.

We as Canadians believe that the position of a party's foreign affairs critic should be served by an elected government official with no history of bias towards either side, be it Israeli or Palestinian. It is essential for the Liberal Party to form a balanced foreign policy devoid of bias especially in an area as volatile as the Middle East.


[1] Fifth Estate Report: Canada Park. CBC, 1991.

[2] http://www.liberal.ca/story_13150_e.aspx

[3] http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=f86a16b5-4d11-410e-8b92-748a2b9d830b&k=77425

[4] http://www.amnesty.org/en/alfresco_asset/dec1f01d-a46b-11dc-bac9-0158df32ab50/mde020182006en.html