“You could fit it between Toronto and Montreal..."
Benjamin Netanyahu was sitting across from me in his tiny, somewhat cramped, and overheated office where he conducted business as Israel’s foreign minister. It was April of 2002. I’d interviewed him before when he was prime minister in the nineties, and I’d interviewed him a few more times when he became prime minister once again in 2009. He’s still PM today. His position is precarious as a result of the past few weeks, but he’s still PM.
He wasn’t in a great mood on that day in 2002, frustrated by some members of the foreign media. Like me. “You guys just don’t get it and you don’t tell it like it is,” I seem to recall him saying. “Israel is a very small country,” he continued. “You could fit it between Toronto and Montreal. We are incredibly vulnerable, surrounded by our adversaries.”
His country was certainly feeling vulnerable in those days as suicide bomber after suicide bomber was blowing up in buses, hotels, restaurants and taking the lives of dozens of innocent bystanders with them. The suicides were an act of desperation in the Palestinian fight for a homeland.
I’d been at one such scene, the day before my meeting with Netanyahu, arriving minutes after the explosion and body parts were everywhere. In another case, just days earlier, bombers only had to travel a few kilometers, literally minutes, to get from their homes in the West Bank into Israel and then blow themselves up in the fancy lobby of the Park Hotel in Netanya on the Mediterranean coast, killing dozens more.
That’s what Netanyahu meant – short distances and a vulnerable population caught in a vicious cycle of death and retaliation. So, he was pleased to hear that my Jerusalem-based producer, Ian Kalushner, had arranged with the Israeli Defence Force (the IDF) to take me around the country on a Blackhawk Helicopter. We skirted the West Bank, to the scene of the Netanya hotel bombing, up to Haifa, across the Golan Heights with Syria in the distance, down towards Gaza ... all in no more than a couple of hours.
Netanyahu swore he’d never let his guard down. But now he has, and here we are again. This time on a much different, far greater scale - in a war where not dozens, but thousands have died in just two weeks.
Welcome to episode one of The Buzz, where I’ll guide you to some of the stories, columns, and thought-provoking pieces that I’ve seen this week. So, let's start with the Middle East:
The Israeli-Palestinian issue is not black and white - there is grey in there as well.
One of the best background pieces I’ve seen in the last few days that underlines that greyness comes from Geoffrey York in the Globe and Mail:
For Arabs in Israeli town of Abu Ghosh, a life ‘caught in the middle’ of the religious divide
How are you feeling about democracy these days?
Remember not that many years ago when that question turned into a slam dunk answer of warm and fuzzies? Well, not so much anymore. Take a look at this.
Large portion of Americans doubt democracy and view violence as acceptable, poll finds
Can you talk and bite an apple at the same time?
Well, by now you certainly know who can.Pierre Poilievre has become the darling of the BC apple growers community because there he stood in a BC orchard chomping on his apple and blasting some poor reporter with everything but the seeds. So, was it good politics? Pick a side by reading these two pieces, both really good. One by Fred Delorey and one by Max Fawcett.
Biting into politics: Poilievre’s orchard moment captivates Canada
Petulance is the point for Pierre Poilievre
Will it really be Joe Biden versus Donald Trump next year?
Pollsters say it’s a depressing thought for most Americans, but so far everything points to the 81-year-old versus the 77-year-old for the White House. However, things can happen, so it’s okay to have some back-pocket choices. My favourite for the Democrats has always been the California Governor Gavin Newsom. He says he is not interested, but of course he would say that, wouldn’t he? Sophie Austin from AP/CP has a good look at what makes the guy tick.
In big year for labor, California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivers both wins and surprises
When I arrived on Parliament Hill as a correspondent in 1976, one of my first assignments was to cover what was then an annual report from the Auditor General.
It turned out to be a classic page turner that year and had the Pierre Trudeau government on its heels – “lost control of the public purse” was the headline. Things have only changed by degree in the decades since and this week’s AG report was an example. Wonder why governments don’t get things done? Look no further, as Ian Campbell in The Hill Times reported.
Lack of ‘government effectiveness’ the unifying focus of AG reports, says one expert
An early election? It’s apparently that time again...
Seems to happen every few months, when we start wondering whether there could be one as the NDP is huffs and puffs about pulling the plug on their deal to keep the Liberals in power. The issue this time is the NDP’s desire to get a real Pharmacare program in place and the Liberal’s anxiety over just how much that would cost. Canadian Press had this to say about that.
NDP to campaign on pharmacare if it backs out of Liberal deal: national director
That’s a wrap on our first edition of The Buzz.
It is a work in progress and I’m sure it will adapt over time. If you have thoughts and comments don’t be shy. Drop us a line. In the meantime, have a great weekend: who knows what next week will bring. I used to think you could safely predict what would be happening “next week” but as the last few months have shown, every week brings us something we had no idea was coming. And that my friends, is the news.
- PM
My podcast, Good Talk, this weekend focuses on Canada’s position on the Israel-Gaza story, the strange tale of the Speaker versus Pierre Poilievre, and whether the NDP just might bring the government down. Chantal Hebert and Rob Russo (sitting in for Bruce Anderson) have their take. You can find the link for the YouTube version on National Newswatch.
The Buzz is a weekly publication from National Newswatch that shares insights and commentary on the week’s developments in politics, news and current affairs.