The governments of Canada and Israel have established a joint industrial research and development program, featuring an initial three-year investment of $6 million to be divided equally between both countries.
The program, meant to increase joint ventures between private businesses of both countries, was announced by Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres on Tuesday at the Canada-Israel Committee’s biannual conference and parliamentary dinner.
Earlier in the day, Peres had initialed a memorandum of understanding establishing the program with External Affairs Minister Barbara McDougall and Michael Wilson, Canada’s minister for industry, science and technology.
News of the new project was warmly received by Canadian Jewish leaders gathered here, who have been critical in the past of Canada’s lack of economic and technological cooperation with Israel.
Peres, the guest speaker at the CIC dinner, was in Canada on a three-day official visit. During the trip, he also met with Canadian political leaders and found himself at times forced to defend Israel’s expulsion last December of 415 Palestinians to Lebanon.
The foreign minister also met separately with outgoing Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the leader of the opposition Liberal party, Jean Chretien.
At the CIC dinner, attended by more than 1,400 Canadian Jewish leaders and politicians, Mulroney publicly expressed his commitment to Israel and Canadian Jews.
He said that his special feelings for the Jewish state date back to the 1967 Six-Day War.
“I remember seeing Israel fighting for its survival, which inspired tremendous respect,” he said. “I’ve remained a steadfast friend of Israel ever since.”
Mulroney also commented on how the Canadian Jewish community “is engaged in the life of this country in a way that’s extraordinary.”
The community, he said, “has a dynamic presence (and has) proven to be the greatest ambassador for two countries separated by enormous distances.”
Peres, in his comments, said the Canadian government has promised to support Israel in its drive to end the Arab-led boycott against Israel.
He also revealed that Mulroney pledged to press the United Nations and other world bodies to permit Israel to become a member of various scientific, cultural, health and economic organizations.
But the foreign minister’s visit was not all rosy.
During his meeting with McDougall, Peres was told that Canada wants Israel to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty as a means of enabling the region to become a nuclear-free zone.
And throughout the visit, the issue of the Palestinian deportees kept cropping up. At one point, Peres told the media that it is not his government’s policy to expel Palestinians.
“Expulsion or deportation was never our policy and is neither our policy today,” he said. “What happened was an exception to the rule, and I hope there will not be any need in the future to repeat it.”
PROTESTS STAGED BY ARAB STUDENTS
Prior to the CIC dinner, Arab students and other youths gathered outside of the conference center to protest Israel’s continuing hold on the administered territories. An Israeli flag was burned, placards were raised and slogans shouted.
Jewish students and adults congregated across the street and responded with pro-Israel chants, signs and songs.
“Why don’t you care about democracy in Arab lands?” Rabbi Reuben Poupko of Montreal shouted into a megaphone.
The demonstration, similar to one held prior to the last such dinner two years ago, was relatively peaceful.
But one young man, later identified as an Israeli, scuffled briefly with the pro-Palestinian protesters.
At another speaking engagement later in Toronto, Peres cited the absence of democracy within Palestinian politics as the greatest obstacle in the peace process.
“When you have an armed minority against an unelected majority, you have trouble,” Peres said.
He called for the Palestinian delegation at the Washington peace talks set to resume in April to make “necessary concessions” to achieve a compromise with Israel.
As for Syria, Peres reiterated Israel’s readiness for “a withdrawal” from the Golan Heights. “The Syrians have said they are ready for peace without embassies, which is like lunch without bread,” he said.
Peres also faced protest at the Toronto event, an address to the Canadian Club, one of the country’s most prestigious corporate fraternities.
The protest even included some Jews who did not share the majority of the community’s enthusiasm to welcome Peres.
A handful of demonstrators from the Jewish Women’s Committee to End the Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza joined a vocal protest staged by the Canadian Arab Federation outside the hotel where the Canadian Club luncheon was held.
(Contributing to this report was JTA correspondent Gil Kezwer in Toronto.)
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
