Canadian Jewish leaders held what was described as a frank meeting last Friday with External Affairs Minister Joe Clark to discuss Canada’s new high-level talks with the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Leaders of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Canadian Zionist Federation, B’nai Brith Canada and the Montreal Jewish community met under the umbrella of the Canada-Israel Committee, the sole body authorized to speak and act for Canada’s 350,000 Jews on Canadian-Israeli affairs.
The meeting was held in Clark’s chambers in the Parliament building in Ottawa. It was prompted by Clark’s decision eight days earlier to lift restrictions on high-level Canadian contacts with the PLO, a move that follows the U.S. government’s decision in December to start a dialogue with the PLO.
The Canadian move has angered and worried the organized Jewish community here, segments of which have mounted at least two demonstrations against Clark since he announced the decision.
During the discussions, the delegation urged Clark to pursue policies that would demonstrate a genuine commitment to Israel’s security and make a positive contribution toward peace in the Middle East.
LIST OF DEMANDS
The group presented a statement that, among other things, the Canadian government should insist that the PLO and its various factions:
Renounce all acts of terror.
Renounce those elements of its covenant that call for the destruction of Israel and repudiate the “strategy of stages,” in which a Palestinian state in the West Bank would be used as a launching point aimed at the “liberation” of all of Palestine.
Work actively to encourage Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq and the other Arab countries to recognize Israel’s right to exist in peace and security.
Support the Israeli government’s proposal for elections in the territories in order to prepare the way for a negotiated peace settlement.
Work more actively at the United Nations and elsewhere to promote the development of a peace process based on direct negotiations without preconditions.
According to Sidney Spivak, who chairs the committee, the meeting was “frank, open and cordial,” with Clark reaffirming the government’s commitment to Israel’s security and to expanding bilateral relations with Israel.
Clark agreed that there should be high-level ongoing dialogue with the Canada-Israel Committee on constructive initiatives that the Canadian government should consider undertaking in these areas and in the promotion of peace in the Middle East.
Present at the meeting were Dorothy Reitman, president of the CJC; David Azrieli, president of the CZF; Frank Dimant, executive vice president of B’nai Brith Canada; and Charles Bronfman, representing the Montreal Jewish community.
Also present was Thomas Hecht, president of the Quebec section of the Canada-Israel Committee; and Spivak, who is an attorney from Winnipeg.
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