Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, who stood up and delivered a strong speech
against the Palestinian bid at the UN on Thursday, told The Jerusalem Post that
“the bottom line is we will not let the Jewish people and the State of Israel
stand alone when the going gets tough.”
Baird, in a phone interview from
New York, said he had “absolutely no hesitation” about taking the podium and
opposing the Palestinian bid, something he knew was not a popular position in
the hall.
Baird spoke to the packed UN hall Thursday night after
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor,
and in between the pro-Palestinian speeches of the Indonesian and Turkish
foreign ministers.
“This resolution will not advance the cause of peace
or spur a return to negotiations.
Will the Palestinian people be better
off as a result? No. On the contrary, this unilateral step will harden positions
and raise unrealistic expectations while doing nothing to improve the lives of
the Palestinian people,” Baird said in his speech.
“Any unilateral
action, from either side, outside of the bilateral framework outlined above is
ultimately unhelpful.”
Baird told the Post he had absolutely “no
hesitation” delivering the speech, even though he was well aware that he was
facing “a tough crowd.”
He said that Canada proactively made the decision
to speak at the session, and that when Abbas tabled this resolution a year ago,
“I felt that we wanted Canada’s voice to be heard, and heard loudly.”
The
Canadian foreign minister criticized Abbas for the hostile tenor of his
address.
“Knowing that he had such overwhelming support, this would have
been an occasion for him to reach out to the government and people of Israel, to
embrace the Jewish state, to talk about his hopes for peace and be magnanimous,”
he said. “Unfortunately it was a rather aggressive speech that will really do
nothing to advance the cause of peace or the peace process.”
Baird said
this would have been the time for Abbas to “embrace a two-state solution, to
embrace mutual respect, tolerance and cooperation – but I think on all those
counts he failed.”
Baird added that he was “disappointed with some
countries in Europe for failing to stand up. I thought the Czech Republic was
courageous to take the position it did and stand alone in the European Union. I
certainly admire their leadership.”
The Czech Republic was the only EU
country to vote against the Palestinian resolution, and – along with Israel and
Canada – made up a group of nine countries that opposed the bid.
Asked if
Canada does, or is expecting, to pay a price in the world for its unabashed
support of Israel, Baird said, “It is the price of leadership. It is the price
of courage.”
He said his government’s policy was about “doing what is
right, standing up for Canadian values even when it is not popular to do
so.”
He also did not sound overly concerned about paying a domestic price
for this position.
“There is no doubt that Israel has its detractors in
Canada, particularly among a good number of elites, but I think few are going to
be surprised by our position,” he said. “People know where we stand, and there
is certainly a lot of support of Israel as well.”