Angry in the Great White North

First things first -- go read the material at Taylor's blog.

Now let's get down to brass tacks:

"WHEREAS there can be no lasting peace in Palestine/Israel, or the surrounding region, without social justice,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the NDP supports the Right of Return for all refugees, an end to the Israeli settlements and Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, a halt to the armed aggression, the bulldozing of homes, destruction of olive groves and farms, and the assassination of political leaders and activists by the Israeli state, and the NDP demands the removal of the barrier, still under construction across the West Bank; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NDP calls for restoration of aid to the Palestinian Authority, demands a halt to military aid and economic trade with Israel until all the above demands are met, and that the NDP campaign for an end to the rule of apartheid laws that make Palestinians and Israeli Arabs second and third class citizens under occupation;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NDP calls for restoration of aid to the Palestinian Authority, demands a halt to military aid and economic trade with Israel until all the above demands are met, and that the NDP campaign for an end to the rule of apartheid laws that make Palestinians and Israeli Arabs second and third class citizens under occupation;"

Trinity-Spadina NDP

There is so much wrong here that I'm not going to bother going through it. But I will pause on the last point -- funding for the Palestinian Authority instead of Israel.

Recall that the Palestinian Authority is in fact Hamas, defender of suicide bombers:

The Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for Monday's attack in a Tel Aviv cafe, which killed nine civilians in addition to the bomber. After the attack Sami Abu Zuhri, a long-time official spokesman for Hamas, was widely quoted as saying that "the operation is a natural reaction to continued Israeli crimes against our people," and that "the Palestinian people are in a state of self defense and have every right to use all means to defend themselves."

So we give money to these people, and choke off Israel. Doesn't that put us on the same side as countries like Iran?

Again, not so much surprising for the NDP. But to come out of the Trinity-Spadina riding association? Is Olivia Chow planning to support these resolutions from her riding? Is Jack Layton going to stand against them?

Update: Now that the link works, I see that there is a reference to suicide bombers in the full text of the resolution:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NDP make it clear its opposition to the use of suicide bombings against civilian targets

Consider this for a moment. Olivia Chow's riding association of Trinity-Spadina wants the NDP to work towards restoring all funding to Hamas. But at the same time make it "clear" that the NDP is "opposed" to suicide bombings.

"Clear" is their word, not mine. So is "opposition".

There is no clarity when you scold with one hand and offer support with the other. Just what carrot or stick is the NDP planning to use if they are going to restore all funding? Clearly, NDP funding is not dependent on Hamas support for suicide bombers. The resolution makes no linkage between the two.

A second, more disturbing point. The bombing of "civilian" targets is all that Olivia Chow's riding is worried about. Presumably, the bombing of military targets by terrorists dressed as civilians is fine. Put aside the ease with which the NDP dismisses the deaths of soldiers, as if no civilians are affected when their sons and daughters are blown up. Consider instead these two points:

1. How does a suicide bomber get close to a military target? If a lone civilian makes a run for a checkpoint across an otherwise empty street, the soldiers will cut him down in an instant. No, a suicide bomber depends on civilian cover to get close to soldiers who are not willing to slaughter civilians wholesale. That is why with most reports of suicide bomb attacks against military targets, there are one or two soldiers killed or wounded for every 10 or 20 civilians.
2. As we've heard, many Palestinians see all Israelis as valid military targets. To them, there are no Israeli civilians.

That NDP funding will help pay for bomb belts and benefits for the widows of bombers.