Canada Votes for UN Resolution Condemning Israel for ‘Occupying’ East Jerusalem

Canada was among the 164 countries that voted in favor of a United Nations resolution on Nov. 19 condemning Israel for “occupying” Jerusalem, the National Post reports.

North Korea, Zimbabwe, Nicaragua and what the U.N. denotes as “the state of Palestine,” sponsored the resolution calling the right for Palestinian self-determination. The resolution refers to Israel as “the occupying power” and included East Jerusalem as part of the “Occupied Palestinian Territory.” 

It also condemned Israel for building a security barrier in 2004.

UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer tweeted that under the resolution’s text, “Occupied Palestinian Territory” would include “Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem & holiest sites of Judaism.” Additionally, the resolution “ignores hundreds of Palestinian rockets just fired at Israelis.”

Neuer noted in his tweets that Canada had voted against the resolution from 2014-2018; he suggested that the change in vote came from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s desire to have Canada voted into the U.N. Security Council.

“By voting for a resolution co-sponsored by North Korea & Zimbabwe, he has entered a Faustian bargain with dictatorships that does not bode well for a free & democratic society,” Neuer wrote.

SHAME: 🇨🇦 Canada joins the jackals, votes for anti-Israel resolution co-sponsored by North Korea, Zimbabwe & the PLO. Resolution condemns Israel for "occupying" Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem & holiest sites of Judaism. Ignores hundreds of Palestinian rockets just fired at Israelis. pic.twitter.com/Ov672kgZv7

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 19, 2019

The vote change is dramatic. If it wanted to shift, Trudeau's government could have moved from a No, as it voted last year with U.S., to an Abstain, as Australia voted today. Instead, they jumped all the way to a Yes—for the first time in years and breaking bi-partisan tradition. pic.twitter.com/qw3CeX4ViV

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 19, 2019

Trudeau is trading Canada's bedrock principles of fairness & equality for a UN Security Council seat. By voting for a resolution co-sponsored by North Korea & Zimbabwe, he has entered a Faustian bargain with dictatorships that does not bode well for a free & democratic society.

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 19, 2019

In a later tweet, Neuer highlighted a Nov. 4 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) article reporting that the U.N. Security Council was going to scrutinize Canada’s history of votes on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The article states that Canada “regularly votes against or abstains on, the 16 recurrent resolutions on Palestinian issues which go before the General Assembly every year, including resolutions on Palestinian self-determination, sovereignty over natural resources and the illegality of Israeli settlements.”

Why Canada's Trudeau government just voted for a biased resolution targeting Israel that was co-sponsored by North Korea.https://t.co/GWpflJFm2D

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) November 19, 2019

StandWithUs CEO and Co-Founder Roz Rothstein similarly said in a tweet that Canada’s vote was “so disappointing!”

SO DISAPPOINTING!! Canada voted for anti-Israel resolution co-sponsored by N. Korea, Zimbabwe & the PLO. Resolution condemns Israel for “occupying” Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem & holiest sites of Judaism. Ignores hundreds of Palestinian rockets fired at Israelis. Oh, Canada…:(

— Roz Rothstein (@RozRothstein) November 20, 2019

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland spokesman Adam Austen told the National Post, “In keeping with Canada’s long-standing position, it is important at this time to reiterate our commitment to a two-state solution and the equal rights and self-determination of all peoples.” He also said that Canada is firmly against resolutions that they think are unfair to Israel.

UN Watch launched a petition on Nov. 20 calling on Canada to reverse its vote, noting that two more votes will occur on the resolution in December.

“The Trudeau-backed text slammed Israel for its security barrier that has saved countless lives after the bloodbath wrought by the PLO and Hamas suicide bombings during the Second Intifada,” the petition states, later adding that Trudeau should “tear up this Faustian bargain, and to stop trading Canada’s principles of fairness in exchange for the votes of dictatorships in Trudeau’s bid for a U.N. Security Council seat.”