Canada takes the lead on Hamas

Our neighbors to the north have made a bold step in becoming the first country (after Israel) to formally cut funding to Palestine because of the new Hamas leadership voted in. After some surprising world pressure (except for Russia of course) on Hamas to denounce its terrorist past and commit to recognizing Israel's right to exist, Hamas' response was along the same lines as Scalia's Sicilian gesture. Leaders of Hamas made a trip to meet with the man who states he wants to blow Israel off the map; the Iranian kook (who is not worthy of my making the effort to memorize his long, hard name, Iranian kook will suffice). They then met with Russian president Putin, whose mixed signals were designed to undermine the US while not taking too much international heat. While Putin has some good points (love how he handled that theater terrorist situation), he exemplifies the old adage "never trust a Russian".

So Canada has taken the lead in actually making good on the threat to remove funding from Palestine. With new leadership in Canada some good steps have been made and this is a great one. The US should cultivate that by being second to make this official.

Faraj Nakleh, acting president of the Canadian Arab Federation takes this the wrong way:

After decades of Israeli occupation, Palestinians are now effectively being punished for democratically electing a government they believe can help, he said.

“Suddenly we’re saying: `It’s okay to have a democratic vote, but if we don’t like the result then you can’t have that.’

“I’m not defending any Hamas group. All I’m saying is, they were elected.”

Excuse me, but nobody said Palestine did not have the right to vote in who they want. It should be clear to Nakleh that there is a genuine concern that dollars given to a Hamas led government will more likely go toward the destruction of Israel than more productive areas. Of course, Nakleh follows the same logic I was pointing out from illegal immigrants, "We just want it".

Nakleh also states:

“What is at stake is that there’s a population of about 3.5 million people in the West Bank and Gaza that is starving.”

Then I would suggest that the Hamas led Palestine focus on the economy and growth of their people rather than wiping Israel off the map and other distractions. Not holding my breath.