Article content continued

The Liberal government cranked the volume on its white-noise machine Thursday as it tried calling back to those unspecified Canadian values to justify its last-minute decision to sit out the vote at the United Nations meant to censure the United States. This, over Washington’s decision to finally make good on its promise, made by Congress 22 years ago, to move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem. “Canada’s longstanding position is that the status of Jerusalem can be resolved only as part of a general settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute,” said Adam Austin, a spokesman for Global Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. But the vote wasn’t about Canada’s position on the status of Jerusalem; it was about Canada’s position on whether the U.S. had a right to have its own position, which happens to align with Israel’s position, on the status of Jerusalem. The Liberal government couldn’t find any meaningful values to express on that.

The text of the resolution, brought before the UN General Assembly on Thursday in an emergency session, explicitly expresses “deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem,” referring to the Trump administration’s decision, declares that any such decisions “are null and void and must be rescinded,” and “Demands that all States comply” with the resolution. Freeland’s spokesman was at least willing to say the resolution was completely out of line: “We are disappointed that this resolution is one-sided and does not advance prospects for peace to which we aspire”— we just weren’t willing to say so in front of the UN — “which is why we have abstained on today’s vote.” So the Liberals properly recognized an unjust resolution that works against peace … and they took no stand.