Carney's biggest foreign policy failure: he doesn't care - but he should

One year ago, Mark Carney recognized Palestine.

Remember that? He said that the Palestinians had agreed to:

• Stop their program that pays their citizens to kill Jews. 

• Reform the way they govern themselves, and have elections. 

• De-militarize Palestine, and stop things like promoting Jew hatred in schools. 

A year later, not one of Carney's conditions has been met. None. 

Mark Carney went ahead and recognized Palestine anyway. And, in the intervening year, he hasn't withdrawn his "recognition," either. 

That, despite the fact that Palestine is still run by dictatorships. Despite the fact that elections still haven't happened. Despite the fact that Hamas has caches of AK-47s, anti-tank weapons, rockets and missiles, drones - and lots and lots of ammunition. That, despite the fact that Palestine's dictators still giddily promote antisemitism. Despite the fact that there is something horrible called the “Palestinian Authority Martyrs’ Fund” - wherein terrorists get monthly government stipends for murdering Jews.

Despite all that, Mark Carney’s government hasn’t sanctioned Palestine’s governments. Instead, he has sanctioned Israel’s. On Tuesday, Carney’s hapless Global Affairs Minister announced Canada would ban Israeli goods coming from the West Bank. That will only help re-elect Benjamin Netanyahu, however, who will use the ban as proof that he alone can stand up to an increasingly antisemitic West.

Mark Carney may shrug about that. Far-right politicians, he might say - in his private moments - make him look good. Donald Trump, for example, has made Mark Carney a very popular Prime Minister. Nearly 70 per cent of Canadians approve of his performance, including on foreign policy. But on Israel, on Palestine, Carney has made error after error.  He has treated Israel like Trump treats Canada.

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