Undiplomatic

Under the Harper government, Canada's foreign policy has veered away from its traditions of moderation and consensus-finding, to what seems like an almost deranged desire to pick fights.  Consider: in recent years Canada has become an international pariah by snubbing all international efforts at seeking agreement on climate change; it is launching a provocative attempt to claim ownership of the North Pole, even though the government's own technical advisers have warned that the claim has no merit; it has cut back on overseas aid while telling all its foreign missions that their main purpose is to boost trade and investment; and it has expressed extreme scepticism about the steps toward detente with Iran, implicitly criticising allies such as the US and UK that actually have skin in that particular game.

The government's stance on Iran is part of its vocal and unstinting support of Israel, a stance so obsequious that Foreign Minister John Baird, visiting Jerusalem a couple of years ago, was told by his Israeli counterpart that "it seems as if you like us more than we like ourselves"!  Prime Minister Harper is about to pay his first visit to Israel, where he will no doubt be lionized, and to set the stage for his visit, he has just announced a jaw-droppingly inappropriate nominee for the post of Canada's ambassador to Tel Aviv:  Toronto lawyer Vivian Bercovici.

In recent years Ms Bercovici has penned a monthly column for the Toronto Star, which she has mainly used to hurl immoderate abuse at anyone who so much as dares to suggest that Israel is anything less than a bastion of virtue. This recent column will give you the flavour of her work. I had always assumed that she must be on the payroll of the government of Israel, yet now we find that she is about to pitch up there, supposedly to represent the interests of the people of Canada.

The selection of Ms Bercovici, in preference to a career diplomat who might have been overjoyed to receive such a prestigious posting, shows that the Harper government has no real concept of what the role of diplomacy is.  Between friendly nations like Canada and Israel -- especially between friendly nations, in fact --  it's important to have ambassadors who can have a quiet word with their host governments when the interests of the two countries appear to differ, as they always must from time to time.  Sadly, there's no reason at all to think that Ms Bercovici will be anything other than a noisy cheerleader for the Netanyahu government.  This may suit Messrs Harper and Baird right now, but in truth, it's not in the best interests of either Canada or Israel.

It's hard to think of a more unsuitable ambassadorial choice, unless Barack Obama is about to make Dennis Rodman his official legate in Pyongyang.