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Canadian Legislator Faces Ouster over Anti-Israel Remarks

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Canadian Legislator Faces Ouster over Anti-Israel Remarks

by Hana Levi Julian
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Canadians are demanding the ouster of a parliamentarian who has denied the legitimacy of the State of Israel.

The brouhaha started with a response by deputy leader Libby Davies of the New Democratic party to a question during a video interview at a rally in Vancouver earlier this month.

Asked whether “the occupation in Israel started in '48 or '67,” Davies replied, “1948, the year Israel became a State.” She also voiced support for an international campaign to persuade countries and businesses to divest, boycott or sanction Israel.

Liberal MP Bob Rae, outraged, told The Canadian Press, “The only conclusion you can draw from what she said is that there is no legitimacy to Israel's existence since 1948. Someone who would say such a thing and who would mouth these words and says these things should not have a serious political office in a major political party.”

Both Tories and Liberals have called for Davies' ouster, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who compared her with anti-Semitic Washington journalist Helen Thomas. The long-time reporter was forced to retire recently after leering into a rabbi's video camera and saying the “Jews should leave Israel and go back to Poland or Germany.”

Days after the interview and the fallout became clear, Davies posted an apology on her website, calling her response a “serious and completely inadvertent error.”

But her party leader, Jack Layton, is not nearly as repentant, and has dismissed suggestions that the MP should be reprimanded for the faux pas. (IsraelNationalNews.com)
 
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