Former Canadian PM Stephen Harper inaugurates Hula Valley bird sanctuary
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night lauded former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper as a staunch friend of Israel.
Netanyahu was speaking at a dinner in Harper’s honor at the Jerusalem Waldorf Astoria hotel, hosted by Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund world chairman Daniel Atar.
Harper is currently in Israel for the inauguration of the Stephen Harper Visitor Center, Bird Sanctuary and Education Center in the Hula Valley, which took place on Wednesday. He contributed to the cost of the project, in which the auditorium is named for his wife, Laureen, in recognition of her service to Canada, friendship to Israel and dedication to the preservation of nature and wildlife.
While in office, Harper consistently maintained a pro-Israel policy, and since leaving office has visited Israel on several occasions.
He is currently president of the Awz venture capital advisory committee, specializing in investments in Israeli security.
This is not his first visit to Israel this year, nor his first meeting this year with Netanyahu. Harper has a long, personal friendship with the prime minister, and speaks to him by phone from time to time.
During a visit in February, he met with both Netanyahu and US Ambassador David Friedman.
Netanyahu said it was fitting to name the center and bird sanctuary after Harper because “Israel has no better friend.”
Relating to the latest Iranian developments, Netanyahu reiterated the pledge that Israel will never allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons.
“Iran expands its aggression. It seeks to envelop Israel. It seeks to threaten Israel. It seeks to destroy Israel. We fight back,” he declared, adding that, “given Iran’s efforts to expand its nuclear weapons program [and] expand its enrichment of uranium for making atomic bombs, I repeat here once again: We will never let Iran develop nuclear weapons. This is not only for our security and our future; it’s for the future of the Middle East and the world.”
Netanyahu praised Harper for standing up for Israel in many international forums, particularly the United Nations, and characterized the address that Harper as prime minister had given to the Knesset as “one of the greatest Zionist speeches of all time.”
Listing similarities between Canada and Israel, Netanyahu said that both believe in a free society, a free economy and free people.
“Stephen Harper is a champion of freedom and a champion of Israel,” he said.
RELATING TO the project that will link Harper’s name in perpetuity with the State of Israel, Netanyahu said that Israel is a hub on many levels, including bird migration from Europe to
Africa and back. He sees the center as an important facility for ornithological research, combining beauty and science.
In a reference to the many friendships that Israel has developed over the years with the leaders of different countries, Netanyahu said that “the best friendship is based on an alliance of values. Stephen has stood up for these values time and again.”
Harper, acknowledging that he is not supposed to be partisan in another country, recalled that he had first come across Netanyahu in the 1980s and had seen him on television when he had “virtually exploded off the screen.” He had predicted at the time that Netanyahu would one day become prime minister.
Not only did that happen, he said, but Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, and has transformed the country and its image on the world stage.
Harper described Netanyahu as “the most consequential figure in the history of the State of Israel.”
Familiar for several years with the work of the JNF, Harper noted that it is “a unique organization,” which had been building up the country long before the establishment of the state, and had in fact been founded while the country was still under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.
Harper declined to take sole credit for his friendship with the Jewish people of Canada and the State of Israel.
“The support I gave was not only mine, but of every member of my caucus.” All were dedicated to protecting and defending Israel at every level, he said.
Today’s Israel was built from virtually nothing to become one of the most successful countries in the world, he noted. Harking back to Israel’s raison d’etre, aside from its biblical heritage, Harper said that it is to provide safety for Jews against the scourge of antisemitism. He regrets that such hatred is again pervading the world.
As for the bird sanctuary in the Hula Valley, “it will enable me to be associated with the State of Israel forever,” he said.
Earlier in the evening, Atar had made it clear that the project is a curtain-raiser for the 120th anniversary of the JNF, which was founded in 1901 with the original intention of purchasing land in what was then Palestine. The organization has since initiated and been involved in countless development projects all over the country. Its particular focus toward 2040 is the development of the Negev and the Galilee.
Many of the donors to the bird sanctuary came specially from Canada to participate in Harper events, and gave both him and Netanyahu enthusiastic standing ovations and cheers.
Netanyahu may be having a tough time in retaining his foothold in Israeli politics, but as far as the Jewish Diaspora is concerned, he’s still Israel’s No. 1 politician.