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Israel has always been the litmus test by which to measure the degree of lunacy emanating from Canada’s left-wing.

Back in 2002, when former MP Svend Robinson was the NDP’s critic on the Middle East, he issued a pro-Palestinian manifesto that justified taking sides – “life over death, peace over war, justice over tyranny and dehumanization, the oppressed over the oppressor.”

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“For me, a party leader should be loved like [former leader] Jack Layton and not feared,” wrote Hassainia, who is originally from Tunisia.

“Today, I have the courage to make a significant gesture, to take a weight off my shoulders and stand by my convictions.”

However, NDP sources said Hassainia has never before voiced concern over Mulcair’s position on Israel and accused her of simply looking for an excuse to cover the fact that she rarely shows up for work.

So far this year, Hassainia has the worst voting record of all MPs, showing up for only 8.7% of votes in the House of Commons.

Since winning election in 2011 as part of the so-called “orange wave” that swept Quebec, the 39-year-old has given birth to two children.

A source close to Mulcair said the party bent over backwards trying to accommodate Hassainia’s need to be with her young children, even letting her use the leader’s office to breastfeed. But still the party’s whip, Nycole Turmel, was frustrated in her efforts to get Hassainia to show up for votes and perform other parliamentary duties.