by Yaakov Ahimeir
Just recently, the
Qatari prime minister stood in Washington, D.C. and declared that the
Arab world is ready for land swaps between the Palestinians and Israel
when a peace deal is reached. Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al
Thani made the declaration while flanked by foreign ministers from Arab
countries.
His words have been
praised to high heaven by opinion makers. He has become the darling of
MKs from Israel's opposition parties, who view this declaration as an
unprecedented historical step.
This is the public face
of Qatar. But behind the scenes, in tandem with these declarations on
territory swaps and border adjustments, Qatar is waging a campaign
against Canada, whose Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Foreign Minister
John Baird are exceptionally friendly toward Israel.
The diplomatic duo of
Harper and Baird are the most pro-Israel there is. Both publicly express
their support for Israel, and they don't hide their positions on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But in the eyes of the Arab League, this
Canadian position is unacceptable and must be eliminated. Qatar has been
given the job of spearheading the Arab League's revenge campaign
against Canada.
Qatar is trying to
exact punishment for this "Israel-Canadian conspiracy" by requesting
that the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) be moved to Doha. At present, the headquarters are seated in
Montreal. In this way, Canada will pay for the "sin" of its supporting
Israel.
This is no small
matter. ICAO, a specialized agency of the United Nations, has enormous
international clout because it sets the routes for international civil
aviation. If Qatar's ruse is successful, the transfer of the
headquarters to Doha will do much to detract from Canada's international
prestige. Qatar's efforts are unrelenting and at present it is busy
recruiting the necessary 115 votes in the U.N. General Assembly for the
move to Doha.
Qatar is furious over
another matter as well. Not long ago, Canada's foreign minister met with
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni in her office, which as everyone knows is
located in east Jerusalem. In other words, it is on the other side of
the Green Line. Minister Livni's Canadian guest did not make an effort
to excuse the visit to critics, nor did he apologize for the location of
his meeting with Livni.
The vengeance campaign
that Qatar is conducting against Canada has already set off. Canada's
influential Globe and Mail newspaper, which has devoted detailed
reporting to Qatar's moves, claims that the emirate is hinting to other
countries that if they dare show signs of support for Israel, there will
be a punishment campaign against them just like the one being waged
against Canada. Fortunately, the U.S. is taking Canada's side.
There is a lesson to be
learned from this international diplomatic incident. It's always wise
and a good idea to give credit where credit is due. To praise and
glorify Qatar, but only on the condition that it does not conduct a
two-faced policy toward Israel: on the one hand making declarations
concerning land swaps and on the other punishing countries like Canada
whose leaders are not ashamed of their friendship with Israel.
Harper has already clarified that
even if he has to pay a political price, he will not shy away from his
government's policies toward Israel. This uncompromising stance
certainly makes him worthy of an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv
University, which should await the day when he arrives in Israel and can
don the academic regalia of the institution.
Yaakov Ahimeir
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=4365
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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