OTTAWA -- Michael Ignatieff's plan to travel to Israel to counter the controversy stemming from his assertion that the country committed a war crime in Lebanon has been cancelled by the group organizing the trip, over fears the mission will be overshadowed by leadership politicking.
The Canada-Israel Committee said yesterday that it cancelled the three-day trip for MPs after Liberal leadership candidate Mr. Ignatieff decided to go because they were concerned its purpose of educating parliamentarians would be derailed by a "highly-charged political environment."
The move means the leadership front-runner's gesture to demonstrate his ties to Israel is called off -- but it spares him from a risky plan that worried key supporters, including several MPs who feared it would only rehash the controversy.
"We're going to wait until this round of politics dies down," said CIC chair Marc Gold. "These trips are educational in nature. It's a chance for parliamentarians to be exposed to a range of issues. And that purpose would be compromised, or wouldn't be served, to the extent that it would be focused on who's saying what."
Mr. Ignatieff issued a statement yesterday saying he was "disappointed" that the trip was postponed. He said he will go when it is re-scheduled after the leadership convention.
"I look forward to representing Canada, along with other Canadian leaders, in discussions with Israeli and Palestinian leadership about Canada's role in the region and long-term solutions for peace," he said in the statement. More than a dozen MPs were expected to go on the trip in mid-November, only two weeks before Liberal delegates pick the new leader of their party on Dec. 2.
Go ahead and call me bitter for having the ICC rain on my idea of a good time but just why would the Israel Canada Committee feel it necessary to cancel the trip for everyone just because Iggy’s a little too hot to handle right now? Why not just tell Iggy to catch the first flight out of next time?
h/t Daimnation
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