Canada’s Green Party voted earlier this week to add the BDS movement, which is short for ‘boycott, divestment and sanctions’ to their official party policy, yet the party remains deeply divided over the issue. According to Canadian media reports, the resolution passed despite much contention within the party and the objection of its leader, Elizabeth May, who said she would rather support “action that can work,” as she put it. May also told a workshop meeting about the policy, that she would rather not lead a party that had endorsed the BDS movement.
In response to the Green Party’s vote, a Foreign Ministry official in Jerusalem told TV7 that Israel does not attribute any weight to the decision by the Green party that is a small and insignificant part of Canada’s political spectrum, yet praised its leader for standing her ground in the face of anti-Israeli sentiments. In February, the Canadian parliament endorsed a motion condemning any groups or individuals supporting BDS. While the motion was proposed by the Conservative Party, it received significant support from the Liberals as well. The BDS movement is a global campaign attempting to increase economic and political pressure on Israel to comply with the stated goals of the movement, using tactics of boycotting, divesting and imposing sanctions on the Jewish state worldwide.