"MPs should avoid unethical, all-expenses-paid tours with pro-Israel advocacy organizations like CIJA. If an MP decides to go anyway, they should at the very least insist on setting up additional meetings with Palestinian and Israeli human rights defenders and devote equal time and resources to this part of the itinerary. Finally, MPs must make sure to push for access to the Gaza Strip and other areas restricted by the Israeli government."
June 19, 2023
Re: “Incoming sponsored travel rules for lobbyists will limit ‘educational opportunity’ for MPs and Senators, say CIJA and Results Canada,” June 12, 2023
CIJA’s claim that its “fact-finding missions” to Israel are “not a lobbying exercise” is laughable. While their trips are pitched as an “educational opportunity,” it is obvious that such trips are highly curated and designed to produce a specific perspective.
Indeed, such trips were very common during South Africa’s late apartheid years, exactly because they had the effect of building sympathy abroad. In 1986, 64 Canadians (including several MPs) went to South Africa on a highly publicized fact-finding mission, which abruptly cancelled the promised itinerary to the Black township of Soweto. As one participant complained, “If we don’t see Soweto, we’re being whitewashed.” And sure enough, at the conclusion of the tour, most participants went away with overwhelmingly positive views of the country. As the Globe and Mail reported, “The South African government will be pleased with the reports they take home.”
Then as now, it is impossible to ignore the ethical implications of touring an apartheid state on behalf of its supporters, while giving minimal attention to the perspectives and experiences of its victims. Such tours cannot help MPs see the “whole view,” but only reinforce the power dynamics that already exist on the ground. Regardless of what ultimately happens to these trips because of changes to the Lobbyists’ Code of Conduct, MPs should seriously reconsider whether it is possible to understand the realities of military occupation from the perspective of the occupier.
For these reasons, MPs should avoid unethical, all-expenses-paid tours with pro-Israel advocacy organizations like CIJA. If an MP decides to go anyway, they should at the very least insist on setting up additional meetings with Palestinian and Israeli human rights defenders and devote equal time and resources to this part of the itinerary. Finally, MPs must make sure to push for access to the Gaza Strip and other areas restricted by the Israeli government.
Michael Bueckert, PhD
Vice President, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
Montreal