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Israel/Zionism See other Israel/Zionism Articles Title: Harper's Israeli trip 'to raise money for Canada's Cons' No kidding? A politician cozying up to jewish groups to find funding for his party? Who wouldda thought it . . . . And if anyone doubts where Israel gets its financial support for the 120 illegal settlements that 350,000 israelis now occupy on Palestinian lands, then just read this article. PM’s historic Israel trip also aimed at Conservative partisan interests in Canada, pollsters say Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s unprecedented and spectacular visit to Israel with an ‘accompanying party’ dominated by nearly 200 leading members of Canadian Jewish communities and pro-Israel fundraising and lobbying groups is aimed as well at Conservative partisan interests in Canada, leading pollsters say. PARLIAMENT HILL—Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s unprecedented and spectacular visit to Israel with an “accompanying party” dominated by nearly 200 leading members of Canadian Jewish communities and pro-Israel fundraising and lobbying groups is aimed as well at Conservative partisan interests in Canada, leading pollsters say. Ekos pollster Frank Graves said Tuesday he believes the trip is “all about fundraising”—with the entourage including Conservative Senator Irving Gerstein, who heads the party’s fundraising arm—while Nanos Research pollster Nik Nanos told The Hill Times the Israel jaunt and the government’s wider all-out support for Israel is its most high-profile target yet of a specific community of voters in Canada. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ “Through its staunch support of the State of Israel, it effectively signals that it is the friendliest political party to the interests of Israel,” Mr. Nanos told The Hill Times. “The hope for the Harper Conservatives is that if they can stack up traditional Conservative bedrock support with those ridings with strong Jewish communities, it can put into play ridings that might naturally fall to the opposition parties,” he said. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ “The Harper government has been very systematic in its approach with different segments of the electorate,” Mr. Nanos said. “Realistically, it has been part of the winning coalition strategy—to identify and signal to pockets of voters from different cultural backgrounds, this has manifested itself on a range of issues, many trade-related, like freer trade with India or with Asian Pacific countries,” he said. “The Harper government’s policy towards Israel is likely its highest profile signal to a specific community in Canada,” Mr. Nanos said. Mr. Graves also said Mr. Harper’s outspoken support for Israel, refusing at one point in the trip to acknowledge Canada’s official policy against the expansion of Jewish settlements in West Bank Palestinian areas, and the size of the delegation have underlying domestic aims. “I am pretty certain that this is all about fundraising,” said Mr. Graves, who argued much of the voting segment of Canada’s Jewish communities switched to the Conservatives soon after Mr. Harper first won power. “We have done some work on this and the Jewish vote basically moved to Harper in 2006 and has been there pretty solidly since, never before,” he said. “So I don’t think it’s about converting more of that vote. But fundraising is another issue.” It is hard to imagine the federal Conservative Party is in need of money compared to the other major parties, after it raised $5.2-million during the last three months of 2013 and $18-million during the entire year, once again more than the other major parties combined. But, in an email to supporters after the year-end funding drive, Conservative Party president John Walsh avoided referring directly to the number of donors who contributed to the party—after its number of contributors in the second and third quarters of 2013 declined significantly. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Analysts blamed the loss of financial supporters on the Senate expense scandal that virtually paralyzed the government after a new session of Parliament began in October. [THE TARGET RIDINGS]: The official delegation of 31 MPs, Senators, and aides who accompanied Mr. Harper on his government aircraft included Sen. Gerstein, the party's chief fundraiser as chair of the Conservative Fund Canada, and his wife, Gail Gerstein. The Cabinet contingent consisted of Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird (Ottawa West-Nepean, Ont.), Employment and Social Development Minister Jason Kenney (Calgary Southeast, Alta.), International Trade Minister Ed Fast (Abbotsford, B.C.), International Development Minister Christian Paradis (Mégantic-L'Érable, Que.), Industry Minister James Moore (Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, B.C.) and Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver (Eglinton-Lawrence, Ont.), a member of Toronto's Jewish community who won his Commons seat with only 46 per cent of the vote in 2011 and whose riding also includes a significant segment of the Toronto Jewish community. The visit to Israel, with an accompanying party that includes a half-dozen representatives of fundamentalist and evangelical Christian churches as well as 22 rabbis, may shore up Mr. Harper’s image on the religious side of the political spectrum, Mr. Graves said. “The pitch may be more to shore up the religious, evangelical right, which is still a very useful group to have onside,” he said. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ “The best predictor of support for Harper was religiosity, not denomination, so this sort of moralistic mission will have potential resonance with that group, and also may well serve to give him a relatively safe bully pulpit to re-establish himself as a principled leader,” said Mr. Graves, who said Mr. Harper’s image has been “corroded” by ethics issues involved in the Senate scandal. (Page 2 of 2) But a spokesman for Prime Minister Harper rejected the suggestion that reasons behind the PM’s trip also included the generation of financial and political support for the Conservative Party. “The delegation accompanying Prime Minister Harper on his visit to the Middle East consists of business and community leaders from across Canada,” said Stephen Lecce, Mr. Harper’s deputy director of communications. “Their presence will play a valuable role in helping to strengthen Canada’s ties to this very important part of the world,” Mr. Lecce said in an email response to questions. The array of influential business men and women and Jewish community groups included Aaron Bickman, president of the Toronto chapter of the Jewish National Fund, which was founded in 1901 and has become the sole agency for the development and infrastructure of land in Israel. The Jewish National Fund Toronto sponsored creation of a park in Israel that has been named in the Prime Minister’s honour as the Stephen J. Harper Bird Sanctuary and Visitors Centre in Hula Valley. The entourage also included representatives from the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Toronto, which raises millions of dollars annually in direct support for Israel. Poster Comment: Harper's roots come from a party which opposed the antics of Jew Shylocks, but like the NYTs has had to do a 180 to survive. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Tatarewicz, *Humor-Weird News*, *Out There*, *Black Ops - Psyops*, more evidence that this is hell like there wasn't enough already (#0)
oh the shame The Jewish National Fund Toronto sponsored creation of a park in Israel that has been named in the Prime Minister’s honour as the Stephen J. Harper JAIL - Bird Sanctuary and Visitors Centre in Hula Valley. "A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circlue of our felicities. Thomas Jefferson
It seems somewhat similar to a verse in the Bible's Old Testament that describes David as a harper and the king, who was a Benjamite, being relieved of a tormenting spirit by the music.
------- "They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." -- Col. Puller, USMC
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