'Grip and grin' by Israeli Ambassador to Canada at UVic

Israeli Ambassador to Canada, Alan Baker


With no less than seven Israeli agents flanking him, the Israeli Ambassador to Canada, Alan Baker, slithered onto the UVic campus Friday afternoon to talk to members of the Jewish Student’s Association. Equipped with dark leather jackets and coiled earpieces – the talisman of any undercover agent - the bodyguards carefully scanned the room for potential 'threats' (read: Arabs). After ‘ok-ing’ the room, an agent closed the windows and drew the blinds. Such is the requirement for any Israeli diplomat these days. A small bemused crowd of fifteen students quickly ended their noshing as the room abruptly came to a hush. Although his composed demeanor didn’t give it away, Ambassador Baker has been on a whirlwind tour of Canadian University campuses, in an effort to familiarize himself with young Jewish life in Canada.
Everything from the recent elections to the legal legitimacy of Israel’s right of return policy was talked about by the ambassador. Taking a decidedly defensive tone in justifying Israel’s tenuous rectitude, the ambassador claimed the "right of return does not exist;” adding, “Anyone can get Israeli citizenship.” Reluctant to acknowledge the obvious Jewish bias of the controversial issue, the ambassador cited the UN Charter article 194 (p.11) stating that it allows for the “return for refugees to their homeland.”
Complicating the debate over Israel’s legal legitimacy is the multiplicity of legal ‘systems’ endorsed by the state. The condoning of Shaa’ria law for Muslims and tacit approval of various orthodox Jewish laws by the Israeli government, offer no clear holistic legal consensus. It is in this ambiguous and divisive legal framework and questionable moral foundation that Israel enters a round of new talks with the new Palestinian Authority Leader Mahmoud Abbas; which is to say nothing of the challenges existing in the P.L.O.. The skeptic might suggest a change in leadership is the least effectual change in a litany of others that need to take place if peace is ever to reign.