A Canadian helped design the 'two-state solution.' This Canadian says it remains the only answer in Israel
Former Canadian diplomat Norman Spector doesn't have a reputation for wishful thinking. So when he proposes we talk about how the issues around terrorism, atrocities and hostages are being framed in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks in Israel, I know I'm in for a stiff shot of realpolitik.
Article content
'By chance, I had the good fortune of being Canada's first representative to the Palestinian Authority shortly after I landed in Israel as ambassador in 1992,' Norman says, setting the context for our virtual conversation.
Article content
Article content
'I have some fond as well as some scary memories of walking around Gaza back then,' he continues, 'but these days, I mostly wonder how Israeli-Palestinian relations would have unfolded in the wake of the Oslo accords had Yitzhak Rabin not been assassinated.'
Article content
Article content
Appointed by then-prime minister Brian Mulroney as Canada's ambassador in 1992, the year before the Oslo accords were signed, Norman had the good fortune of living in the Middle East during a period of peace.
Article content
Reflecting back, Norman says he's not sure the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, envisioned in the Oslo accords, ever had a chance after the Rabin assassination. Rabin, the prime minister of Israel, was assassinated in 1995 by an Israeli extremist opposed to his peace efforts.
Article content
'I think Rabin came to the conclusion that there was no alternative — and he had the credibility that allowed him to take a chance with Arafat whom Israelis did not trust,' Norman says. 'After October 7,' he muses, 'there is even less trust of Palestinians and there's no Rabin in sight.'
Article content
Article content
There is a faint hint of wistfulness in Norman's tone; his assessment of the current situation is deeply unsettling.
Article content
Article content
From October 7 on, we've seen growing division and polarization and hatred in our own country. Progressives have made Gaza their cause (no one more than Alberta's own NDP MP, Heather McPherson) and conservatives hold loyal to Israel. Media outlets pick a lane and stick with it.
Article content
Talking about Israel and the Palestinians has become so prickly, many refuse to wade into the conversation for fear of being attacked. The rhetoric is all part of the conflict, Norman accurately points out, 'Folks chanting or spray painting 'genocide' are generally not in favour of two states, one Jewish, one Palestinian, between the river and the sea.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Could Canadian LNG cut global emissions? Experts say its complicated
Article content Canada's first liquefied natural gas cargoes will soon arrive on Asian shores, a milestone touted — and doubted — as a boon for global emissions-cutting efforts. Article content 'Cleaner energy around the world is what I think about when I think about LNG,' Shell Canada country chair Stastia West said in an onstage interview at the Global Energy Show in Calgary earlier this month. Article content Shell and four Asian companies are partners in LNG Canada in Kitimat, B.C., the first facility to export Canadian gas across the Pacific in an ultra-chilled liquid state using specialized tankers. A handful of other projects are either under construction or in development on the B.C. coast. Article content Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told the energy show that Canadian oil and gas exports can be an 'antidote' to the current geopolitical chaos. Article content 'And it comes with an added benefit: lower global emissions. By moving more natural gas, we can also help countries transition away from higher-emitting fuels, such as coal.' Article content Smith cited a recent Fraser Institute study that suggested if Canada were to double its natural gas production, export the additional supply to Asia and displace coal there, it would lead to an annual emissions cut of up to 630 million tonnes annually. Article content Article content The authors of the Fraser Institute study, released in May, argued that Canada's ability to reduce emissions elsewhere should be factored into its climate policy. Article content 'It is important to recognize that GHG emissions are global and are not confined by borders,' wrote Elmira Aliakbari and Julio Mejia. Article content 'Instead of focusing on reducing domestic GHG emissions in Canada by implementing various policies that hinder economic growth, governments must shift their focus toward global GHG reductions and help the country cut emissions worldwide by expanding its LNG exports.' Article content Some experts see a murkier picture. Article content Most credible estimates suggest that if liquefied natural gas were to indeed displace coal abroad, there would be some emissions reductions, said Kent Fellows, assistant professor of economics with the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy. Article content But the magnitude is debatable. Article content 'Will all of our natural gas exports be displacing coal? Absolutely not. Will a portion of them be displacing coal? Probably, and it's really hard to know exactly what that number is,' he said. Article content Fellows said there's a good chance Canadian supplies would supplant other sources of gas from Russia, Eurasia and the Middle East, perhaps making it a wash emissions-wise. He said the Canadian gas could actually be worse from an emissions standpoint, depending on how the competing supply moves. LNG is more energy-intensive than pipeline shipment because the gas needs to be liquefied and moved on a ship. Article content Article content In China, every type of energy is in demand. So instead of displacing coal, LNG would likely just be added to the mix, Fellows added. Article content 'Anyone who's thinking about this as one or the other is thinking about it wrong,' Fellows said. Article content A senior analyst with Investors for Paris Compliance, which aims to hold Canadian publicly traded companies to their net-zero promises, said he doubts a country like India would see the economic case for replacing domestically produced coal with imported Canadian gas. Article content 'Even at the lowest price of gas, it's still multiple times the price,' said Michael Sambasivam. 'You'd need some massive system to provide subsidies to developing countries to be replacing their coal with a fuel that isn't even really proven to be much greener.' Article content And even in that case, 'it's not as if they can just flip a switch and take it in,' he added. Article content 'There's a lot of infrastructure that needs to be built to take in LNG as well as to use it. You have to build import terminals. You have to refit your power terminals.' Article content Article content What LNG would be competing head-to-head with, Sambasivam said, is renewable energy. Article content If there were any emissions reductions abroad as a result of the coal-to-gas switch, Sambasivam said he doesn't see why a Canadian company should get the credit. Article content 'Both parties are going to want to claim the emissions savings and you can't claim those double savings,' he said. Article content There's also a 'jarring' double-standard at play, he said, as industry players have long railed against environmental reviews that factor in emissions from the production and combustion of the oil and gas a pipeline carries, saying only the negligible emissions from running the infrastructure itself should be considered. Article content Devyani Singh, an investigative researcher at who ran for the Greens in last year's B.C. election, said arguments that LNG is a green fuel are undermined by the climate impacts of producing, liquefying and shipping it. Article content A major component of natural gas is methane, a greenhouse gas about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Methane that leaks from tanks, pipelines and wells has been a major issue that industry, government and environmental groups have been working to tackle. Article content 'Have we actually accounted for all the leakage along the whole pipeline? Have we accounted for the actual under-reporting of methane emissions happening in B.C. and Canada?' asked Singh. Article content Even if LNG does have an edge over coal, thinking about it as a 'transition' or 'bridge' fuel at this juncture is a problem, she said. Article content
Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
How Zohran Mamdani, a critic of Israel, excelled among Democrats in America's most Jewish city
In choosing Zohran Mamdani as their candidate for mayor, Democrats in America's most Jewish city have nominated an outspoken critic of Israel, alarming some in New York's Jewish community and signalling a sea change in the priorities of one of the party's most loyal voting groups. The 33-year-old democratic socialist's surprisingly strong performance against former governor Andrew Cuomo makes clear that taking a stance against Israel is no longer disqualifying in a Democratic primary. The state Assembly member has declined to support the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, refused to denounce the term 'global intifada' and supports an organized effort to put economic pressure on Israel through boycotts and other tactics. Yet he excelled in the city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, and with the support of many Jewish voters. A house divided: Mamdani win, Iran response show Trump's reshaping of U.S. politics Mamdani's success reflects the ideological realignment of many American Jews since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel that led to Israel's invasion of Gaza. Many Democratic voters, including Jews, have grown dismayed by Israel's conduct in the war and are deeply critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That is especially true among younger, more progressive voters, many of whom have rejected the once-broadly accepted notion that anti-Israel sentiment is inherently antisemitic. For others, Mamdani's showing has spurred new fears about safety and the waning influence of Jewish voters in a city where anti-Jewish hate crime has surged. Last year, Jews were the target of more than half of the hate crimes in the city. 'Definitely people are concerned,' said Rabbi Shimon Hecht, of Congregation B'nai Jacob in Brooklyn, who said he has heard from congregants in recent days who hope Mamdani will be beaten in the November general election, where he will face Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, Republican Curtis Sliwa, and possibly Cuomo, if he stays in the race. 'I think like every upsetting election, it's a wake-up call for people,' Hecht said. 'I strongly believe that he will not be elected as our next mayor, but it's going to take a lot of uniting among the Jewish people and others who are concerned about these issues. We have to unify.' Veteran New York Democratic political strategist Hank Sheinkopf put it more bluntly, predicting a hasty exodus of religious Jews from the city and a decline in long-standing Jewish influence that would be replicated elsewhere. 'It's the end of Jewish New York as we know it,' he said, adding: 'New York is a petri dish for national Democratic politics. And what happened here is what will likely happen in cities across the country.' Mamdani's top Democratic rival, the former governor, had called antisemitism and support for Israel 'the most important issue' of the campaign. Mamdani's backers repeatedly accused Cuomo of trying to weaponize the issue. Many drew parallels to the way Republican President Donald Trump has cast any criticism of Israel's actions as antisemitic, claiming Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their own religion. For some Mamdani supporters, the election results signaled a rejection by voters of one of Cuomo's arguments: that an upstart socialist with pro-Palestinian views posed a threat to New York's Jewish community. Many were focused on issues such as affordability in a notoriously expensive city, or flat-out opposed to Cuomo, who was forced to resign in disgrace amid sexual harassment allegations. Aiyana Leong Knauer, a 35-year-old Brooklyn bartender who is Jewish and backed Mamdani, said the vote represented 'New Yorkers, many of them Jewish, saying we care more about having an affordable city than sowing division.' 'Many of us take really deep offence to our history being weaponized against us,' she said. 'Jewish people all over the world have well-founded fears for their safety, but Jews in New York are safe overall.' Others agreed with Mamdani's views on Israel. Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, an anti-Zionist, progressive group that worked on Mamdani's behalf, said Mamdani 'was actually pretty popular among a lot of Jewish voters.' 'That is not in spite of his support for Palestinian rights. That is because of his support for Palestinian rights,' she said. 'There has been a massive rupture within the Jewish community and more and more Jews of all generations, but especially younger generations,' she said, now refuse to be tied to what they see as a rogue government committing atrocities against civilians. Polls show support for Israel has declined since the war began. Overall, a slight majority of Americans now express a 'somewhat' or 'very' unfavourable opinion of Israel, according to a March Pew Research Center poll, compared with 42 per cent in 2022. Democrats' views are particularly negative, with nearly 70 per cent holding an unfavorable opinion versus less than 40 per cent of Republicans. Mamdani's wasn't the only race where Israel was on voters' minds. In Brooklyn, City Councilwoman Shahana Hanif, who represents Park Slope and surrounding areas, drew criticism for her Palestinian advocacy. Some said she had failed to respond forcefully to antisemitic incidents in the district. Yet Hanif, the first Muslim woman elected to the City Council, easily beat her top challenger, Maya Kornberg, who is Jewish, despite an influx of money from wealthy, pro-Israel groups and donors. That outcome dismayed Ramon Maislen, a developer who launched Brooklyn BridgeBuilders to oppose Hanif's re-election and said antisemitism did not seem to resonate with voters. 'We were very disappointed with our neighbours' response,' he said. While campaigning against Hanif, he said he was routinely screamed at by residents and accused of supporting genocide. 'I think that those of us in the Jewish community that are attuned to that are cognizant that there's been some kind of cultural sea change that's occurring,' he said. 'What we're seeing is a legitimatization of hatred that isn't happening in any other liberal or progressive space.' Mamdani has repeatedly pledged to fight antisemitism, including during an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where he was grilled on his stance. He was joined on the show by city comptroller and fellow candidate Brad Lander, the city's highest-ranking Jewish official, who had cross-endorsed him. He has also said he would increase funding for anti-hate crime programming by 800 per cent. But many of his comments have angered Jewish groups and officials, most notably his refusal to disavow the phrase 'globalize the intifada,' which has been used as a slogan in recent protests. Many Jews see it as a call to violence against Israeli civilians. In a podcast interview, Mamdani said the phrase captured a 'a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.' Who is Zohran Mamdani, the state lawmaker seeking to become New York's first Muslim mayor? Mamdani also supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which aims to pressure governments, schools and other institutions to boycott Israeli products, divest from companies that support the country, and impose sanctions. The Anti-Defamation League calls it antisemitic and part of a broader campaign to 'delegitimize and isolate the State of Israel.' Mamdani has also said that, as mayor, he would arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli leader tried to enter the city. The ADL in a statement Thursday warned candidates and their supporters not to use 'language playing into dangerous antisemitic canards that time and time again have been used to incite hatred and violence against Jews.' In his victory speech, Mamdani alluded to the criticism he'd received and said he would not abandon his beliefs. But he also said he would 'reach further to understand the perspectives of those with whom I disagree and to wrestle deeply with those disagreements.' With files from Jake Offenhartz
Vancouver Sun
2 hours ago
- Vancouver Sun
Former Hamas hostage condemns anti-Israel protest blocking Canadian speaking event
A Hamas captivity survivor on a speaking tour in Canada this month said she won't 'let terror sympathizers control the narrative' after anti-Israel demonstrators allegedly blocked the exit of her venue last week. Noa Argamani, 27, was in Windsor, Ont., as part of a Jewish National Fund (JNF) fundraising event at the University of Windsor, which reportedly attracted members of the school's Palestinian Solidarity Group. On Saturday, Argamani shared an X post from FactsMatter describing the activists surrounding the building, 'blocking the only entrance and shouting at the Jewish attendees. In a brief video clip attached, a voice is heard shouting, 'Hamas is coming.' Hamas came. Hamas kidnapped me. Hamas murdered my friends. But I won; I survived. Now, I speak for those who can't. I'll keep exposing Hamas' crimes and fighting for the hostages' release—including my partner, Avinatan. I refuse to let terror sympathizers control the narrative. The logo and username in the clip indicate it was a live broadcast from an account operated by the PSG. National Post is attempting to independently verify the source. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'Hamas came. Hamas kidnapped me. Hamas murdered my friends. But I won; I survived,' wrote Argamani, who spent 245 days in captivity after being abducted from the Nova music festival during the terrorist organization's Oct. 7, 2023, insurgency. The university student's abduction and that of her partner, Or Avinatan, were captured on video and released by Hamas on social media. Argamani was also seen in subsequent propaganda videos. She was rescued in June 2024 , but Avinatan remains in captivity. He is listed in a medical report detailing the condition of living hostages released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in June, per The Times of Israel, and described as suffering from weight loss and mental struggles. 'I'll keep exposing Hamas' crimes and fighting for the hostages' release—including my partner, Avinatan,' wrote Argamani, who's been a prominent advocate for her fellow captives since finding freedom. Argamani was speaking at a Negev Event, named for the large desert region in southern Israel, where the goal was to raise money for the Ashdod Rehabilitation & Therapy Centre, 'a vital project that will serve trauma victims, children with disabilities, and pediatric cancer patients in southern Israel,' according to JNF . Idit Shamir, Consul General of Israel in Toronto and Western Canada, also shared the clip on X , calling it 'psychological warfare against trauma survivors.' 'When Canadian campuses become no-go zones for Jews, when terror victims can't share their stories without facing mob intimidation, you're witnessing the normalisation of antisemitism,' she wrote. Speaking to The J, event chair Miriam Kaplan condemned the attempted intimidation and said the University should, too. 'These students crossed the line from free speech into aggression,' she said. The outlet also confirmed via the Windsor Police Service, who 'monitored the situation and ensured public safety,' that it was treated as a protest and no arrests were made. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
