A group of 13 rabbis from across Canada were on Parliament Hill last week to urge the Conservative government and the opposition parties not to forsake the Holy Land.

The Canadian Rabbinic Caucus – a coalition of rabbis representing the interests of the main Jewish religious streams, from Orthodox to Reconstructionist – met with officials and parliamentarians to convey three messages from their communities and congregations.

The first was a proclamation of support for Canada’s withdrawal from “Durban II,” the 2009 followup to the 2001 UN anti-racism conference in Durban, South Africa, which was widely criticized as a forum for anti-Semitism and Israel-bashing.

The second message was to re-assert the Jewish community’s firm position that Arab nations must formally recognize Israel as a Jewish state as a precondition to any Mideast peace talks.

Lastly, the caucus raised the issue of the threat that Iran poses to Israel, as well as to the world at large.

The day-long visit, brokered by the Canada-Israel Committee – which also shepherded the rabbis to their meetings around town – saw the rabbis meet with multiple senators, MPs and with Israeli Ambassador Alan Baker, among others.

Caucus co-chair Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz told The CJN he considered this year’s visit a success.

“One of our most important achievements is having expressed our gratitude  on [Canada’s] withdrawal from the Durban II conference,” he said. “We told [Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity Jason] Kenney that it was a principled and courageous stand… and I think that was something appreciated by the government.”

Rabbi Steinmetz added that it was “critical” for his caucus to re-iterate to federal politicians that despite the recent National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report in the United States – which said Iran had stopped its drive to develop nuclear weapons in 2003 – the Islamic Republic “is an ongoing threat. It is still an exceptionally troublesome nation… and one of the greatest threats to security in the entire region.”

Of particular import to the caucus was a meeting with the Palestinian Authority’s official representative to Ottawa, Amin Abou Hassira.

Rabbi Steinmetz called the meeting with Abou Hassira “historic.”

“I don’t think the chief authority of the Palestinian government [in Canada] has done this before,” he said, adding that the rabbis wanted to make it clear that a “fundamental departure point for peace” with the Palestinians is the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.

“[Abou Hassira] heard us, but felt it was not his place to address that issue,” Rabbi Steinmetz said. “Our conversation was polite. But we did agree to the possibility for future meetings and on the importance of ongoing dialogue.”

Rabbi Reuben Poupko, the caucus’ other co-chair, was less conciliatory about the meeting.

“It was a painful encounter in many ways,” he said. “It’s as if there was no recognition of the past, lessons learned or prior peace agreements. [Abou Hassira] dismissed out of hand the idea of recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.”

Rabbi Poupko continued: “The only reason for [the caucus] to meet with him again would be to to make clear that Jews are skeptical of [the Palestinians’] ability to make peace and… that the continued provocation [against Israel] in the Palestinian media doesn’t augur well for the future.”

The Rabbinic Caucus’ message seemed to be heard on Parliament Hill.

James Lunney, the Conservative MP for Nanaimo, B.C., welcomed the rabbis as guests in the House of Commons last Tuesday. It was the caucus’ second such visit since it was formed in 2006.

“Noting that terrorism is rampant in the world, the rabbis will repeat their call to the leaders of all faith groups to denounce the killing of innocents in the name of God or of religion,” Lunney told the House. “[They carry] the message once more to all Canadians that overseas conflicts and the resultant passionately held views should not be allowed to degenerate into uncivil discourse and antagonisms here at home.”

Anita Neville, Liberal MP for Winnipeg South Centre, also acknowledged the rabbis visit to Ottawa and called on the Conservatives to “take the lead” in the international community by using Canada’s Special Economic Measures Act to impose sanctions on Iran for its ongoing nuclear enrichment program.

The act, as described on the Departments of Foreign Affairs’ website,  allows the government to “impose sanctions measures in relation to a foreign state” if it believes that “a grave breach of international peace and security has occurred that has resulted, or is likely to result in, a serious international crisis.”

The act also gives Ottawa powers to seize the Canadian property of the offending state or the Canadian property of that state’s citizens , as well as to stop the trade of goods and prevent travel to and from that country.

“Iran poses [a threat] to Israel, to Middle East stability and to world security,” Neville said. “The Liberal Party believes that the international community has an obligation to exhaust all appropriate means of solving the Iranian nuclear crisis.”