The pro-Israel Canadian government may be planning to include boycotts of Israel as a hate crime, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) reported Monday.

It said that such a move would target organizations such as the United Church of Canada, Canadian Quakers, campus protest groups and labor unions. It also would raise legal questions under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Canadian Prime Stephen Harper is unarguably the most pro-Israel head of any government in the world. He sounded like an echo of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during his visit to Israel last year.

Recently-retired Foreign Minister John Baird in January signed an agreement with Israel to fight the Boycott Israel movement, and government ministers have said they will show “zero tolerable” towards groups that are part of Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS). He described the Boycott Israel movement as “the new face of anti-Semitism.”

Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney recently said that boycotts of Israel cannot be separated from anti-Semitic hate speech and the recent terrorist attacks against Jews in France.

CBC asked the government to explain the meaning of “zero tolerance,” and Blaney replied that Canada has “one of the most comprehensive sets of [hate] laws anywhere in the world.”

Last year, Canada changed its definition of hate speech to include statements made against “national origin” and not just race and religion.

That has raised fears among civil libertarians that anti-Israel remarks could be classified as statements against Jews.

The concept of associating Israel with Jews goes at the very heart of the liberal Jewish community, as well as Jews who have no interest in Judaism in Israel. Whether they like it or not, hatred of Israel and Jews increasingly makes them identified with Israel by the fact that they are Jews.

They can like it or not, but inevitably, “Jew” cannot be separated from “Israel.” They can like it not, but the “People of Israel” means Jews – everywhere.

The question is whether that definition has a legal standing.

CBC reported that the Canadian Quakers wrote a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson in March “expressing concern” about describing boycotts as acts of anti-Semitism.

Blaney’s office did not specifically say that would be the case but noted that it is illegal to promote hatred against an “identifiable group.”

However, BDS protests in other parts of the world have been anything but violent, with frequent clashes with police such as in France.

In Israel, it is against the law to boycott the country

In France, hate speech as a crime includes statements aimed at people’s “national origin,” and BDS activists sometimes have been charged with violating the law.

Belgium is considering a similar law.

On paper, it would seem that prohibiting a group from promoting a boycott of a country – and Israel is the only nation that is targeted – because of its political polices is a violation of freedom of speech.

In reality, such protests are often like the Palestinian Authority term “resistance,” a code word to encourage terrorists to kill Jews.

A Canadian man who was known to authorities as someone who had been “radicalized,” drove his car into two Canadian soldiers in a strip mall parking lot on Monday, Oct. 20, in what at least some authorities are hypothesizing was an act of terrorism.

The 25 year old man, Martin Rouleau, rammed his car into Canadian soldiers in his home province of Saint-Jean-sur-Rechelieu, which is approximately 24 miles southeast of Montreal.

The strip mall at which the soldiers were attacked contains a Department of National Defence office, according to CJAD Montreal.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were aware of Rouleau, and aware that he had been “radicalized,” according to the RCMP and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Neighbors stated that Rouleau had converted to Islam a year ago, the CBC reported.

After ramming his car into the soldiers, Canadian authorities pursued Rouleau in what turned into a high-speed chase. That pursuit ended after Rouleau’s car flipped over and, as he sought to escape, officers shot him. Rouleau died of his injuries after he was transported to a hospital.

The two soldiers who were hit by Rouleau’s car were injured, one critically. Their names have not been released.

PRIME MINISTER ACKNOWLEDGES ATTACK MAY HAVE BEEN ACT OF TERRORISM

Later in the day of the attack the incident was raised by a member of the House of Commons. Conservative MP Randy Hoback questioned the prime minister about “unconfirmed reports of a possible terror attack” targeting members of the Canadian military.

In response to the question, the prime minister, reading from a piece of paper, merely said that he was “aware of the reports” and that they were troubling.

However, the Prime Minister’s Office later issued a statement in which it was explained that Harper had been briefed on the possible terrorist incident Monday afternoon by the commissioner of the RCMP, the Chief of Defense Staff and the national security adviser.

The statement by the Canadian prime minister acknowledged that authorities were aware that the individual had been “radicalized,” and stated that Canadians “should remain vigilant.”

According to CJAD800 in Montreal, Rouleau identified himself on social media as Ahmad Rouleau. He had many posts over the past year glorifying Islam and claiming to point out the falsity of Christianity.

On the Facebook page allegedly belonging to Rouleau, there appears a post with a quote from a U.S. soldier who served in Iraq, Michael Prysner. Prysner is the founder of the organization March Forward! Prysner and his organization advise current active duty service personnel to resist deployment. The quote from Prysner on Rouleau’s Facebook wall is: “We were told we were fighting terrorists, the real terrorist is me and the real terrorism is this occupation.”

Rouleau also posted many pictures of public figures such as U.S. President Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Clintons, the Pope, former U.S. President George W. Bush, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy with Jews.

As a Canadian, pro-Israel blogger and Social Media person, to say that I was proud of Stephen Harper’s visit to Israel would be an understatement. After watching Secretary of State Kerry insist on a peace deal while defying all logic to do so, and even while the country was grieving during Ariel Sharon’s funeral, Vice President Biden didn’t let up on us unwavering badgering of the tiny state to give up land to those who intend to annihilate her citizenry, as stated in the PLO Charter, that has never been amended. While the push for “peace” was going on, the Shin Bet has since discovered an Al Qaeda linked plot to actually blow up the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. The links for the terror cell ironically originate in Judea and Samaria, or the territory otherwise known as the West Bank.

On the heels of all this comes our Prime Minister. A man who from first blush, almost embodies a typical boring Canadian persona with his reserved and humble delivery. He came to tell Israel that he supported them and their right to exist and defend their homeland. He came to show them the goodwill of all Canadians who agree with his stance. He came to bring the healing balm of friendship. He also came to unequivocally stand up against the rising tide of antisemitism in the world that is disguised in other ways within the ruling intelligentsia.

In his historic speech at the Knesset Prime Minister Harper highlighted these very important points that go against the moral relativism that seeks to delegitimize the State of Israel.

Harper stated:

“First, Canada finds it deplorable that some in the international community still question the legitimacy of the existence of the state of Israel.

Our view on Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state is absolute and non-negotiable.

Second, Canada believes that Israel should be able to exercise its full rights as a UN member-state and to enjoy the full measure of its sovereignty.

For this reason, Canada has spoken on numerous occasions in support of Israel’s engagement and equal treatment in multilateral fora.

And, in this regard, I should mention that we welcome Israel’s induction this month into the western, democratic group of states at the United Nations.

Third, we refuse to single out Israel for criticism on the international stage.”

Mr. Harper believes that by not supporting the only democracy in the Middle East, we diminish our own ability to maintain our freedom and democracy in the West.

Stephen Harper also spoke out against Israel as an apartheid state and in that instant, to prove his point, two Arab Members of Knesset heckled him and walked out of his speech. Showing the world that indeed Israel has Arabs in their Government and they have the right to free speech just as any other citizen does.

When Harper was asked later on why he did not criticize Israel publicly as most all other visiting dignitaries do he explained that when he is in the Palestinian Territory holding meetings with leaders there, he is never asked to criticize the governance or practises of the Government there.

The trip also included a visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum; a trip to Northern Israel where Mr. & Mrs. Harper visited the bird sanctuary in the Hula Valley named after him; he received an Honorary Doctorate from Tel Aviv University and he also prayed at The Western Wall in The Old City of Jerusalem. His popularity followed him there where his presence brought on a round of applause from the people on The Kotel Plaza.

A Canadian Jewish legislator lost out on an attempt for a “million dollar shot” with Prime Minister Stephen Harper during a visit to the Western Wall (Kotel), Canadian media reported.

Jewish Conservative Member of Parliament Mark Adler is looking ahead to next year’s election in his district where nearly 20 percent of the residents are Jewish.

Adler, rebuffed by one of Harper’s staff for a photograph of his standing with the prime minister at the Kotel, tried again. “This, it’s the re-election. This is the million-dollar shot,” Adler said.

The staffer replied, “I’m sorry, listen, you and 300 other people.”

After his remarks were reported, Adler insisted he was joking and said, “You guys don’t get a joke, huh? It’s all said tongue-in-cheek.”

Failing to use the Western Wall pilot to win possible votes, Adler settled for a Twitter photo showing entourage leaving the area and a tweet stating,  “Leaving the Kotel in Jerusalem with @pmharper and the Canadian delegation.”

Harper wrapped up his maiden visit to Israel and moved on to Jordan, where he offered $150 million in aid  to help the kingdom take care of Syrian refugees and respond to the threat of chemical weapons.

In his visit to the Palestinian Authority earlier this week,. Harper announced $66 million in aid for the Abbas government.

Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper exposed anti-Israel media bias Tuesday by noting that no reporter asked him in Ramallah about human rights in the Palestinian Authority but peppered him with questions on Jewish settlements when he was in Jerusalem.

At a joint press conference with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Tuesday, Harper was asked several times to make a statement on settlements. He kept repeating what he has said he arrived on Sunday – that the purpose of his visit is not to “single out Israel” for criticism.

When a reported pressed him again on the issue, Harper replied, “Once again, let me emphasize it: I am not here to single out Israel for criticism. I find it, you know, interesting – let me just make it as an observation – that, you know, yesterday in the Palestinian Authority, no one asked me there, no one asked me there to single out the Palestinian Authority for any criticism in terms of governance or human rights or anything else.

“I’m asked to single out Israel. When I’m in Israel,  I’m asked to single out Israel; when I’m in the Palestinian Authority, I’m asked to single out Israel; and in half the other places around the world you ask me to single out Israel.”

Harper in a single swipe described the international mindset against Israel more clearly than any Israeli official has ever done.

Netanyahu picked up the beat and stated, “Now, there are two things that I want to puncture, two prevailing myths. Well, one is no longer with us. The first one, which was repeated ad nauseum – you can check if you are a repeater – but until recently, everybody who knew anything about the Middle East explained that the core of the conflict, always in the singular, conflict; the core of the conflict in the Middle East was the Palestinian problem. You remember that?

“Now, today you’d be laughed out of most places…, including the leading campuses in the West – even there – if you argued this, what was accepted as a common, obvious truth…

“The core of the many conflicts of the Middle East is not the Palestinian conflict. But what is the core of the Palestinian conflict itself? And here you have another great myth, and the myth is that the core is basically the settlements. Okay, now mind you the settlements issue, on which Canada has a different position from Israel – I guarantee you, that’s the case, okay? But the core, the settlement issue has to be resolved and will be resolved in a context of peace negotiations. But it is not the core of the conflict. We know that because this conflict raged for half a century before there was a single Israeli settlement, before there was a single Israeli soldier in Judea, Samaria or Gaza.

“This conflict began in 1920, 1921, with the attack on the Jewish immigration depot – murderous attack – in Jaffa. In Jaffa! And it raged on in the attack on the ancient Jewish community of Hebron; it’s been there since, practically unbroken since the time of Abraham – almost 4,000 years.

“And continued in the great attacks by the Palestinians on the Jews here in 1936 to 1939; there were no settlements there. It continued in the rejection of the partition resolution in 1947 that called for a Palestinian state next to – an Arab state actually – next to the Jewish state. There were no settlements. And it continued right up to 1967 when the West Bank, Judea, Samaria, and Gaza were firmly in Arab hands and it was meant to… to do what? To liberate the lands that were already in their hands?…

Two members of the delegation travelling with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper were shocked to see provocative and insulting behavior of Muslims and complacency of Israeli police during their visit to the Temple Mount Monday.

Stockwell Day, former Minister of Public Safety, accompanied Aharon Blumenfeld, a religious Jewish lawyer from Toronto was joined Harper’s entourage on Sunday after a private visit on the Sabbath with former Canadian businessman Mark Belzberg.

After the subject of the Temple Mount came up during the day and Blumenfeld said he wanted to ascend the Temple Mount, Day insisted that go along and even immerse in the mikveh (ritual poll) before, as required of Jews but not non-Jews.

If you’re going to experience something like a Jew, go all the way.

When the time tame to ascend the Temple Mount, Day and Blumenfeld discovered what Israelis go through every day, at least those who are allowed by police to visit.

First of all, the police inspected them and went through their pockets to make sure they were not carrying forbidden items, such as machine guns, bombs and a piece of Kleenex with a prayer scribbled on it.

They were warned not to pray and not to pick up any holy dirt from the holy site, which seems like a bit of a strange request. The Palestinian Authority has picked up a tons of holy dirt, along with artifacts that are evidence of the Holy Temples, in an effort to prevent exposure of proof beyond the Biblical account, which of course is part of a Zionist conspiracy to deny the Muslim claim that Jesus was a Palestinian and that the Zionist lobby made up all that other stuff.

After getting clearance, Temple Mount activists Rabbi Yehuda Glick  and Yoel Elitzur escorted Blumenfeld and Day to the Temple Mount for a visit of slightly more than an hour.

Towards the end, the action started, as seen in the video below.

Muslim men and women started screaming and yelling at the intruders. Glick, who has had his run-ins with police, complimented them on their handling of the situation. He told The Jewish Press that the law enforcement officers did a good job of separating the outraged Muslims from the visitors and preventing things from getting out of hand.

Day, who as minister dealt with police conduct, was not so impressed.

“If anyone in my country yelled at police like that, he would be arrested immediately,” he was quoted by Glick as saying.

Welcome to Israel.

Stockwell, by the way, is also active in the Canadian Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

In 2004, after the death of Yasser Arafat, Day was one of the few sane people who did not offer his condolences.

There’s no doubt that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made a lot of fans during his official state visit to Israel, Monday. Israeli Canadians went absolutely gaga over him, lining up the streets (well, one street) to welcome his procession.

It’s so rare that someone out there should be on our side these days, that we go nuts (especially, like I said, the Canadians among us).

One woman was not celebrating: Zehava Gal-On, chair of the leftist Meretz party reacted to Harper’s loving speech in the Knesset by saying: “He sounds like a spokesman for the Foreign Office.”

She meant the Israeli Foreign office. She meant it was inconceivable that a high official outside Israel would say nice things about us. It really made her angry.

And, of course, the Arab MKs left the assembly in anger.

So, not entirely a bad day…

Photo credit: Meital Cohen/Flash 90