Date: 2010/01/21

Byline: Neil Horner

MP ‘pushes reset button’ in Israel

Nanaimo-Alberni MP James Lunney returned to Canada last Thursday from a five-day journey to the Middle East.

The Conservative MP, who made the overseas trip as chair of the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group, called the whirlwind tour a low-key visit.

“I had a couple of official contacts with Canadian Ambassador John Allen and some Knesset contacts,” he said.

“I also met with Rabbi Benni Allon, a very respected voice over there, and the executive director of the Knesset Christian allies caucus.”

Lunney was reluctant to discuss exactly what was said at these meetings, describing the trip not so much as a fact-finding mission, but more like, “pushing the reset button.”

Besides the official contacts, Lunney said he stayed with some Canadian friends by Galilee, another friend in the Negev and stayed one night in Haifa.

He said his impression was of busy, bustling and thriving communities.

“It was peaceful. Wherever I went there was building going on and people were busy. There was a sense of normalcy. There was a tremendous sense of peace wherever we went. They live with tensions, but the people weren’t anxious or stressed, other than when they were looking for a parking space.”

That normalcy, he said, continued during a brief visit to a community in the West Bank.

“I ended up in a West Bank town after taking a wrong turn and ending up on the wrong side of the security fence. When we went through the heart of Abu Dis we drove right through town and people were busy and working. There was bustling activity.”

Lunney said he didn’t speak to anyone in Abu Dis before returning to Jerusalem as dusk fell.

Despite the relative calm, he said there were signs that indicated the area was a hotbed of unrest.

“In spite of the scenes of peace, there are national exercises going on periodically and there was a security drill going on at the airport,” he said. “Just as we were pulling in they advised that if we heard shooting we shouldn’t be alarmed, because it’s just an exercise.”

Lunney stressed this trip was not paid for by taxpayers, with the bill coming out of his own pocket.

“This is something I am doing on my own,” he said.