

OTTAWA — The fight over which federal political party best defends the interests of the Jewish community got nasty Friday when Conservatives slammed Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau for comments falsely attributed to him.

Conservative MP Joyce Bateman criticized Trudeau in a press release for attacking Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s defence of Israel. Bateman cited a recent interview that Trudeau gave to the Iranian community newspaper Salam Toronto.

“Trudeau argued that Canada should take a more ‘balanced line’ regarding the Middle East, signifying a shift away from support for Israel,” Bateman’s news release said.

“Justin Trudeau is proclaiming his desire to befriend a radical regime that is determined to destroy the state of Israel,” she added, referring to Iran.

An unedited video of Trudeau’s interview with Salam Toronto, however, backs his office’s assertion that the Liberal leader never made those comments.

In the video, Trudeau accused Harper of developing foreign policy positions based on whether they will help the Tories’ electoral prospects in Canada.

The Liberal leader also professed concern that the Conservatives could not differentiate between the citizens of Iran and the Iranian government.

In a discussion about the closing of Canada’s embassy in Tehran, Trudeau said he believes “it’s especially important to talk to regimes that you disagree with and that disagree with you, to make sure there is [a] means of communication.”

A Toronto Hebrew blog picked up on the interview, and an Israeli news site subsequently reported on it. The news site, Arutz Sheva, wrote that Trudeau accused Harper of “pandering” to Jewish voters and suggested Trudeau wanted closer ties with Iran.

Conservative MPs Scott Armstrong, John Weston and Heritage Minister Shelly Glover repeated the Israeli site’s interpretation of the interview in the Commons on Friday. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird accused Trudeau of pandering for votes with the Farsi media.

Watch video of Armstrong's comments above and Glover's statement below.