Envoy under heat for chummy meeting
CIJA ‘deeply troubled’ by ‘poor judgment’
OTTAWA • Canada’s representative to the Palestinian Authority is being criticized for seemingly praising Palestinian official and convicted criminal Jibril Rajoub in a tweet that has since been deleted.
On Thursday, Robin Wettlaufer’s office sent out a tweet following a recent meeting with Rajoub. Both of them were seen sitting on chairs with a Palestinian flag in between them and a wide picture of a young Yasser Arafat, the former leader of the Palestinian Authority, in the background.
The text accompanying the picture described a “fascinating discussion” about regional politics and went on to describe Rajoub as a “great friend of Canada.”
The tweet has since been deleted, but several screenshots of it have been circulating on social media. Neither Global Affairs nor Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly was immediately available to explain the context around the publication of the tweet and why it was taken down.
Liberal MPS Ya’ara Saks and Anthony Housefather, both of Jewish faith, posted a statement saying they “vehemently object” to Rajoub being described as a friend to Canada.
“He has been charged with glorifying terrorism, and is guilty of inciting hatred and violence against Israelis by politicizing sport. He does not share our values as Canadians,” they wrote on Twitter.
Rajoub, chairman of the Palestine Olympic Committee and former head of the Palestinian Preventive Security Force, has a well-documented history of inciting violence toward Israel.
He was sentenced to life in prison in 1970 after being convicted of throwing a grenade at Israel Defense Forces, but was freed 15 years later in a prisoner exchange. He was later arrested a few times for militant activities before becoming a national security adviser to Arafat.
In 2013, Rajoub told Hezbollah-affiliated television network Al Mayadeen that the Palestinian Authority would use nuclear weapons against Israel if it possessed them.
He said, according to a translation provided by Palestinian Media Watch, “I swear that if we had a nuke, we’d have used it this very morning.”
In 2018, he was suspended and fined by the FIFA disciplinary board for inciting hate and violence by calling on soccer fans to burn jerseys and pictures of Argentinian soccer player Lionel Messi ahead of his national team’s expected match in a stadium in Jerusalem.
“Jibril Rajoub’s record speaks for itself, and he is certainly no friend to Canada,” said Shimon Koffler Fogel, president and CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).
That sentiment was echoed by Marvin Rotrand, national director of B’nai Brith Canada’s League for Human Rights, who said he assumes that the quick deletion of the tweet “indicates that someone spotted it and alerted (Robin Wettlaufer) to Mr. Rajoub’s history.”
Canada’s representative in Palestine is an experienced diplomat and has many years in the region.
Wettlaufer has previously served as Canada’s special representative and head of political affairs for Syria from 2014-2019. Before then, she worked as desk officer for Iraq, conflict prevention adviser for the G8 foreign ministers’ process and was a senior adviser to the Darfur peace process in Sudan.
She is currently ending her second posting in Ramallah, having served there in 2005 to 2008.
Rotrand said Wettlaufer’s meeting with Rajoub was a “lapse of judgment for a Canadian representative who has a very, very good record and a very solid history.”
“She’s no rookie, she’s got 24 years of experience in foreign affairs, and she’s had tough assignments,” he stressed.
CIJA added it was “deeply troubled” by Wettlaufer’s “poor judgment” in agreeing to meet with Rajoub.
It is not the first time Canada’s representative met with the controversial figure.
Wettlaufer also met with Rajoub in early July, according to a tweet that was still available on Friday, and that was shared by Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman.
Earlier this week, Mohammad Shtayyeh, prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, bid her farewell in a tweet and said she has “exerted strenuous efforts” to enhance cooperation and strengthen bilateral relations.
(RAJOUB) DOES NOT SHARE OUR VALUES AS CANADIANS.