- The National Post reports that a Muslim relief group allegedly linked to #Hamas has launched a legal challenge in Federal Court in an attempt to be taken off the Canadian government’s list of “terrorist entities.”The International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy Canada has asked to be removed from the terrorist list and also wants the entire listing process struck down as unconstitutional.
- IPolitics covered former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper’s AIPAC address yesterday where he said that his government’s unwavering support of Israel in the wake of international criticism converted Canadians converted most Canadians to his way of thinking and bound his successors, to be pro-Israel. Harper, according to IPolitics, attacked the BDS movement and the ‘hero worship’ of Palestinian Authority.
- In the Toronto Star, columnist Rabbi Dow Marmur says: “One of the explanations why Jewish-Muslim co-operation and mutual affirmation are so difficult in our time is because the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in the way, however futile it may be for Jews and Muslims in North America to fight the battles of the Middle East.”
- Lawrence Solomon at the National Post argues that with an Arab NATO and a contained Iran, Trump is changing the Middle East. Says Solomon: “Donald Trump’s Middle East policy is emerging. Apart from supporting Israel, he wants to eradicate ISIL and other Islamic jihadists, he wants to deter Iran and its dream of hegemony over the entire Middle East, and he wants the Arab countries to bear the burden of their own defence.”
- News 1130 via AP reports that “With an eye toward Washington, leaders of a fractured and conflict-ridden Arab world hold their annual summit this week, seeking common positions and possible leverage as President Donald Trump weighs his approach toward the region.”
- Metro News via AP reports that “The number of Israeli settlers living in the West Bank has soared by nearly one-quarter over the past five years to over 420,000 people, a prominent settler leader said Sunday, presenting new population figures that he said put to rest the internationally backed idea of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.”
