The following letter was sent to Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada, regarding her position on Israeli “democracy.”

You were quoted in the “Jewish Tribune” as saying that “Israel plays as the bulwark of democracy in the Middle East.” It seems to me that you “have not thought through the real politic of life in the Middle East” to quote you. Here are the facts:

Israel has over fifty laws that discriminate against 20% of its Christian and Muslim citizens:
http://adalah.org/eng/Israeli-Discriminatory-Law-Database

See also the Index of Currently Pending Discriminatory Bills in the 19th Israeli Knesset:
http://adalah.org/Public/files/Discriminatory-Laws-Database/Discriminatory-Bills-19th-Knesset-24-06-2013.pdf

Following is the moral and principled position of the Green Party (USA) and the Left Party in France:
Green Party (USA) reiterates support for BDS.
The Left Party in France joins the Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.
http://www.lepartidegauche.fr/actualites/communique/le-parti-gauche-s-engage-dans-les-campagnes-boycott-desinvestissement-sanctions-l-egard-d-israel-25718

I hope that you won’t call their position anti-Israeli, the way you described the “‘anti-Israeli stance’ of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)”. I urge you to not “pander” to the pro Israeli lobby the same way the other leaders of Canadian federal parties do, otherwise Canada and by association the Canadian people’s reputation internationally is doomed. I urge you to rethink your biased and emotional position.

Thanks for your attention

Hanna Kawas
Chairperson, Canada Palestine Association, Vancouver
24 November 2013