Anti-BDS motion backed by Liberals, Tories

Paul Lungen, cjnews.com

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Excerpt:

Whether the Trudeau government was baited into supporting what Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion called a “divisive” opposition resolution, the Liberals in the end backed a Tory motion that condemns the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. ...

Jewish groups applauded the motion, which is expected to pass next week with the support of the Liberals and Tories, but not the NDP and Green party. ...

The motion comes as a number of jurisdictions in North America and Europe have taken steps to oppose BDS. In the United States, state legislatures in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Indiana passed anti-BDS resolutions, while the British parliament also announced a plan to enact legislation outlawing BDS. France passed such laws in 2003.

Canada’s parliamentary motion comes a little more than a year after former foreign affairs minister John Baird signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel that pledged the two countries will “work together to oppose efforts to single out or isolate Israel by developing a co-ordinated public diplomacy initiative to oppose boycotts of Israel, to oppose those who call into question the Jewish state’s right to exist and to work to counter the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.” ...