NCCAR letter regarding disqualification of MK Haneen Zoabi

Honourable John Baird, P.C., MP
Minister of Foreign Affairs
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6

December 20, 2012

Dear Mr. Baird,

Re: Please help to ensure Arab-Israelis can exercise their democratic rights.

As you probably already know, Israel will be holding general elections on January 22, 2013. Yesterday the Israeli Central Elections Committee disqualified Member of Knesset (MK) Ms. Haneen Zoabi, one of the leading Arab candidates, from competing in the upcoming Israeli elections.

Her case will now be appealed before the Supreme Court where the decision is uncertain. (See Dec. 19th Ha’aretz article)

This is not the first time MK Zoabi has had to fight her disqualification in the months leading up to an election. How fair is it that a candidate must spend his or her time in judicial proceedings instead of campaigning?

In this last session of the Knesset, she was also banned from participating in Knesset committees on the grounds that she supported terrorism, despite the fact that all criminal charges against her were dropped for lack of evidence.Mr. Baird, Canada has based some of its support for Israel on its democratic character. However, in recent years, it has become more and more difficult for Arab-Israelis, who constitute 20% of Israel’s population, to be represented adequately in the Knesset.

Harassment of Arab parliamentarians has become commonplace. Since 2002, there have been repeated calls for disqualifying Arab candidates on the grounds that they do not accept Israel as a Jewish State. In MK Zoabi’s case, her party (Balad) calls for Israel to be a state of all its citizens, (including its Arab citizens) and not one just for its Jewish citizens.

Some Zionist members of Knesset object her position. In Canada, this would be comparable to banning Quebec candidates to Parliament if they claim that Canada should be a country of ‘all its citizens’ and not just for its English speaking citizens.

I urge you to consider recalling our ambassador to Israel to confer with him about these challenges to Israeli democracy, and what Canada can do to ensure that Israel’s Arab minority is adequately and properly represented in the Knesset.Yours sincerely,

Peter Larson
Vice President, National Council on Canada-Arab Relations
Chair, Education Committee on Israel Palestine
email: peter.larson@nccar.ca

cc. Thomas Mulcair (M.P., New Democratic Party), Bob Rae (M.P., Liberal Party) Andre Bellavance (M.P., Bloc Québécois), Elizabeth May (M.P., Green Party), David Sweet (M.P., Conservative Party and Chair of Canada Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group), All MPs and Senators

Contact: nccar@nccar.ca | Peter Larson (cell): 613-262-5260 | NCCAR Office: 613-238-3795 | Website: www.nccar.ca

About NCCAR: The National Council on Canada-Arab Relations (NCCAR) is a charitable organization whose mission is to build ties between Canadians and people of the Arab World in order to develop stronger relations and cooperation between them as well as an appreciation of their common values. NCCAR is a member-driven organization supported by Canadians of diverse backgrounds across Canada.

Le Conseil national des relations canado-arabes (CNRCA) est un organisme caritatif dont la mission est de tisser des liens entre les Canadiens et les peuples du monde arabe pour créer des relations et une collaboration plus étroites entre eux, ainsi que pour mieux apprécier leurs valeurs communes. Le CNRCA est un organisme dirigé par ses membres et appuyé par des Canadiens de diverses origines dans l’ensemble du Canada.

Posted on December 24, 2012