Canada's Foreign Minister declares 'delegitimization of Israel is 'the new anti-Semitism"

Canada's FM John Baird at the 2012 Policy Conference in Herzliya

(Israel National News) Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, visitng Israel this week, stressed his country's strong support of Israel.

“Israel has no greater friend in the world than Canada,” Baird said at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial on Monday.

Speaking at the 12th annual Herzliya Conference later that evening, Baird called the delegitimization and demonization of Israel the "new anti-Semitism."



MP Baird declares to Israelis at the annual IDC Policy Conference in Herzliya:

"I can assure you, Canada will stand with you . . . Canada will stand beside you- shoulder to shoulder."

Reaffirming the independence of the democratic, Jewish state of Israel

Israel's 63 Independence Day was celebrated with a pageant on television - which featured an IDF choreographed marching team which conveyed concepts and icons of cultural significance. 


(Video courtesy Gechch2007 on YouTube)

At Israel's Herzliya Policy Conference '09, economist Daniel Doron spoke with us to convey the history of the establishment of the modern states of the Middle East, both Arab and Jewish, with details of Israel's legitimate founding and legal rights of the territory on which Jews reside.




Daniel Doron explains his concern for the safety of Jews in Judea and Samaria, and for the threat which a Palestinian state would pose at this time to the safety of Israel's citizens.

Finally, the orthodox Jewish movement, Aish, produced this music video of Zionist pride, "Israel, Wave Your Flag!" (Video courtesy of WeJew)

Shlomo Avineri gives pessimistic assessments of democracy for Egypt and a final-status solution with Palestinians

In a presentation at the 2011 Herzliya Policy Conference, Israel's former Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Shlomo Avineri, a Socialism-scholar, opines why democracy is unlikely in Egypt. He also argues for Israel to cease the blockade around Gaza, and to build institutions within Palestine.

Watch Herzliya Policy Conference live from Israel Feb 6 - 9

“The Herzliya Conference is the grand summit on Israel’s national security and Middle East affairs; the Davos of the Middle East”
Mortimer Zuckerman, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, U.S. News and World Report
Video from: The Herzliya Debate: "Can the World Live with a Nuclear Iran?"

Speakers: Mr. Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center of American Progress; Ms. Danielle Pletka, Vice Persident, Foreign and Defence Policy studies, American Enterprise Institute; Brig. Gen (res.) Dr. Ephraim Sneh, Former Deputy Minister of Defence, Chair S. Daniel Abraham Center for Stategic Dialogue, Netanya Academic College.
THE HERZLIYA CENTER STAGE: A GLOBAL POLICY AND MEDIA EVENT
Program Schedule    Watch live video from the Conference
The Herzliya Conference is a center stage for policy assessment and analysis on Israeli, Middle Eastern and global affairs, and a catalyst for policy implementation.
The 11th Annual Herzliya Conference is held on February 6-9, 2011 during Tel Aviv business hours 10:00-21:00 (GMT-2, EST 3am-2pm, PST 12am-11am). Includes strategic directions of the key regional actors, the Middle East Peace Process, the future of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, domestic political stability in the Middle East, energy and natural resource security and geopolitics, regional and global economic governance, as well as new forms of cyber and missile warfare and the attempts to curb nuclear proliferation. Shaping regional and international policy debates, the deliberations at Herzliya will also address Israeli responses to these challenges and strategies to pro-actively confront the "soft war" launched against the legitimacy of Israel's right to self-defense, its inherent obligation to vigorously pursue its national interests, and even its very existence as a Jewish state.
The Conference provides an opportunity for leaders to launch initiatives and to deliver major public statements on the evolving policy approaches to global, regional and national affairs.

Ma'ariv newspaper editorialist, and university lecturer Ben-Dror Yemini speaks with DemoCast about what he terms "the industry of lies" perpetrated by the mainstream media vis a vis Palestine vs. Israel.

Americans Amb. John Bolton, Thom Friedman, and James Woolsey among expert global affairs analysts at IDC Herzliya's Policy Conference

The Herzliya Conference - Israel‘s primary global policy annual gathering, drew together Israeli and international participants from the highest levels of government, business, and academia to present and debate national, regional and world strategic issues.

(Pictured from right to left, Amb. John Bolton; Chair of UN Watch - Amb. Alfred Moses; Hudson Institute President, Professor Herb London; James Woolsey, former Director, Central Intelligence Agency; American Jewish Congress' President Richard Gordon. Photo: Yotam From).

US former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and former CIA Director, James Woolsey are among the luminaries joining Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak and Tzipi Livni in this policy gathering.

Watch videos of proceedings here on the Herzliya Conference website.

Watch Video: Herzliya Policy Conference on Israel's National Policy - Featuring Bolton & Podhoretz

The Herzliya Conference, hosted by the Interdisciplinary Center at Herzliya, has become Israel's center stage for the articulation of national policy by its most prominent leaders.

To watch the 2008 Herzliya Conference live and online click here
To browse the conference schedule click here
To read transcripts of the speeches click here
To view bios of the conference speakers click here (Hat tip: Israel eNews.com)

Regarding the Israel Air Force's Syrian nuclear weapons raid, US Ambassador John Bolton said: "The daring and successful Israeli military strike… has obvious significance for the potential of a military strike against Iran's nuclear program. I think, given the debacle caused by our National Intelligence Estimate, that it's close to zero likelihood that President Bush will authorize use of military force against Iran's program before he leaves office, absent some dramatic new development."

He concluded: "Certainly in Teheran you can bet that they took careful notice of what the Israeli Defence Force did. Penetrating Russian supplied radars very similar to the air defenses that Teheran has; using techniques that could be very useful for a long range strike against Iran; this is the kind of operation that the Iranians needIran may be leading in points but the final whistle is still far ahead. to continue to worry about. Because I think with the collapse of American policy, the Israeli strike against the Syrian / North Korea facility is the harbinger of what may be – absent regime change in Teheran – the last resort… Unless you are prepared to see Iran proceed unmolested toward a nuclear weapons capability, which this NIE has given them free rein to do in my judgment, you are coming very close to a decision point in this country of whether you will use military force to stop Iran."

He believes that North Korea is assisting 2 members of the US' list of State Sponsors of Terrorism in nuclear weapons development, Iran and Syria, which the US State Department wishes to keep hidden to protect the failure of their treaty agreement which removed North Korea from the Terror Sponsors list.

Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz hinted Tuesday that the probability of an Israeli military strike against Iran has increased given "the deterioration of efforts to stop Iran diplomatically."

"The diplomatic timetable is running short and thus the next two years are critical for stopping Iran through diplomatic means."

Mofaz, who also served as defense minister as well as chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, was quoted in Ha'Aretz newspaper as saying, "Reality is complex but the picture is very clear: Iran may be leading in points but the final whistle is still far ahead… It is clear that the current trend must be reversed; and all the means are justified. This is a historical time… This time, no leader will be able to say 'we didn't know, we didn't understand the importance of this time.' The world must do everything that is necessary in order to assure a future of peace and prosperity for the next generations as well."