Blog : Ragazou

By ANDY LEVY-AJZENKOPF, Staff Reporter (CJN)

 

It might be an offer he can't refuse. Late last week, NDP Leader Jack Layton held discussions with Canada-Israel Committee CEO'Shimon Fogel on the possibility of visiting Israel on a CIC-facilitated trip for the NDP's caucus and various party members.

 

Jack Layton  

 

It would be Layton's first visit to'Israel.

 

The talk between the two men came after comments by deputy NDP'leader Libby Davies at a June 5 anti-Israel rally in Vancouver, in which she said Israel's occupation of Palestine began in 1948.

 

Davies' remarks led to ongoing calls on Layton during question period in the House of Commons to either kick her out of the NDP'caucus or replace her as deputy leader.

 

The situation has also created some discord within the party, with the NDP'MP for Outremont, Thomas Mulcair, criticizing his colleague for ?grossly unacceptable' remarks.

 

Fogel told The CJN late last week that he was ?very encouraged' by Layton's response to the trip proposal, which would allow the party leader to assemble a delegation of his choosing.

 

An invitation was also extended to Davies through Layton, Fogel added.

 

?It would be a dedicated NDP'trip that would provide them with exposure to, and engagement of, the multiple stakeholders in the questions of the day,??Fogel said.

 

There's no set date for the trip, and the invitation is open-ended.

 

Fogel said he's now waiting to hear back from Layton, who indicated that he needed to give ?logistical considerations' to the trip.

 

More importantly, Layton told Fogel that as long as he could ?remain faithful' to his medical regimen while in Israel ??Layton was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February ? chances are good the trip will happen.

 

?We're pretty optimistic we will be able to help facilitate for [Layton] and his party a trip that will give them a more fulsome appreciation of the challenges facing Israel and the complexity of the issues that draw everybody's attention there,??Fogel said. ?My sense is we'll find a window in the current calendar year for him to go and benefit from that direct [Israel] experience.?

 

With Parliament now shut down for the summer months, freeing up parliamentarians' time, Fogel guessed the trip could happen sooner rather than later.

 

In an e-mail response to queries about the trip proposal, Karl Bélanger, the NDP's senior press secretary, wrote that Layton ?appreciates' the invitation, but the NDP won't comment on the subject until an actual trip is planned.

 

He added: ?Many New Democrats have been to the Middle East over the years, some of them at the initiative of the Canada-Israel Committee.?