Canada voted to uphold its Nov. 20 preliminary vote on Tuesday in favor of a U.N. resolution that calls eastern Jerusalem “occupied” territory and condemns Israel’s West Bank security barrier.
The resolution, which North Korea, Zimbabwe, Egypt, the Palestine Liberation Organization and Nicaragua all sponsored, calls eastern Jerusalem “occupied Palestinian territory” and claims that the security barrier “severely impedes the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.”
Canada’s initial vote on the resolution in the U.N. General Assembly came under fire from myriad Canadian Jewish groups; in fact, UN Watch launched a petition for Canada to change its stance for the Dec. 18 vote.
The resolution passed on Tuesday with 167 in favor, five against and 11 abstentions.
Canada’s U.N. Mission Political Coordinator Anthony Hinton told U.N. delegates after the vote that “Canada strongly supports the international consensus on a two-state solution, so that both peoples can have a secure and prosperous future. This is particularly important at a time when the prospects for ‘two states for two peoples’ is increasingly under threat.”
U.N. Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer argued in a tweet that Canada voted for the resolution so the country could secure a seat on the U.N. Security Council in 2020; he called it a “Faustian bargain.”
B’nai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn said in a statement that the vote “stains Canada’s reputation. Just last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assured the Jewish community that Canada would ‘always defend Israel’s right to live in security.’ Voting for this resolution is not in line with that commitment.”
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) similarly tweeted, “We remain angry and deeply disappointed that #Canada voted against #Israel—Canada’s democratic ally—again today at the #UNGA.”
This article was first published by the Jewish Journal.
