Trudeau assumes all Arab States oppose Israel, could cost Canada UN Seat

For the last few years, Justin Trudeau has pushed very hard for a seat on the UN’s Security Council. He made it a focus of his Africa trip, has increased funding to the UN substantially and is now trying his newest strategy, throwing Israel under the bus.

In the last month, the Liberals have shifted away from Canada’s historic Israel and have started to equate them to totalitarian regimes like China. Justin Trudeau’s play here is rather transparent. He figures that he can win more votes from the Arab block by bashing Israel. Trudeau’s plan relies on two presuppositions. There are more Muslim majority countries than Jewish ones, and those Arab countries are motivated by their hatred of Israel.

The first is true, but the second does not fit with the current makeup of the Middle East.

Trudeau’s assumptions about the Arab block reflexive antipathy towards Israel is not entirely baseless, merely outdated by nearly 45 years. In October 1973, Egypt and Syria conducted a surprise attack on Israel during the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. Israel would win the ensuing war, but the events were the catalyst of the “OPEC Oil Crisis.”

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, a group of mostly Arab Muslim countries, led by Saudi Arabia, were furious with the US and Western decision to support Israel in the war that they shut down oil sails to the West.

America and Israel had technically been allies before then but had never offered any overt support or military aid until 1973, not even in the pivotal 1967 Six-Day War.

However, the relationship between Israel and the Arab states has changed dramatically since then. Primarily by the work of the Obama administration, although through that was not his intention.

When Obama presented the world with the JCPOA or the “Iran Deal,” the international Left cheered, but the Middle East was terrified. I have written about the various flaws of the JCPOA extensively.  The Iran Deal can probably be most charitably described as extremely foolish.

Among other bad ideas, the Iran Deal paves the pathway for the Islamic Republic of Iran to get nuclear weapons, and that terrified Iran’s arch-enemy, not Israel, but Saudi Arabia and the Arab states. This has inspired a new “enemy of my enemy is my friend” relationship between Israel and the Gulf States.

The Gulf States have acknowledged Israel’s right to exist, called out Palestinian terrorism and have even started opening up travel between countries. In other words, the Arab states are not governed by rabid Jew-hatred.

However, Justin Trudeau and the Liberals have not gotten the message. While they push for the UN Security Council seat, they expose their lack of geopolitical knowledge and savvy.

The Liberals are focusing on Israel, even making the asinine claim that the annexation of the Golan Heights is against “International law” while failing to articulate how or what law is being violated. I point this out because the Golan heights have nothing to do with Israel and Palestine. It was taken from Syria in 1967 after Syria took it from Israel decades earlier.

So, if Trudeau is attacking Israel, first, it is not the right image to be seen as someone who betrays their allies, but they are not the most anti-Israel candidate out there.  Canada’s main competition for the UN seat is Norway, which has maintained some neutrality, and Ireland, which is so anti-Israel that they are considering Federal BDS legislation.

If the Arab States were going to vote for the most antisemitic candidate, Trudeau has a lot to do to catch up to the Irish.  Ironically, if Trudeau wanted to steal some Arab votes, he should take a hard stance against Iranian proxy terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.  I wouldn’t count on it, though.