Gary Fitleberg, December 2, 2004

Canada followed through on a promise by voting against two anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Canada's votes came after Canadian officials indicated that the country would be altering its usual voting pattern at the United Nations. Jewish and other groups reacted enthusiastically to Canada's U.N. ambassador Allan Rock's announcement that Canada would no longer abstain against anti-Israel resolutions that "are often divisive and lack balance." Rock added: "We believe that the time has come, especially given the renewed hope for the peace process, to evaluate the efforts that all of us make at the United Nations to determine if they could be redirected towards more constructive outcomes."

Canada's previous abstentions "served only to maintain a U.N. system riddled with anti-Israel bias," a B'nai Brith statement said.

Gary Fitleberg is a Political Analyst specializing in International Relations with emphasis on Middle East affairs.

Copyright © 2004 Gary Fitleberg