Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird had very different welcomes to the Middle East today.
After his car was pelted with eggs and shoes in Ramallah in the morning, Baird arrived in Jerusalem, Israel, in the afternoon.
Israeli President Rivlin went to the end of long red carpet to greet Baird at his car and walk Baird into the official residence.
As with all official state visitors, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada was asked to sign the state guest book.
“A real pleasure to be among friends,” he wrote.
And no surprise, the official car was pristine clean in his welcome to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper got a special welcome last year and his response to recent attacks was strong. Now Foreign Minister Baird’s
reply to Rivlin’s comments on the ICC inquest being a “blasphemy of international law.”
Same values has made our relationship so rock solid. I can tell you…Terrorism is the great struggle of our generation…We stand not behind you, we stand shoulder to shoulder and beside you and with you and the Jewish people. In Canada, if we had 5500-10,000 rockets fired at its civilian populations, the Canadian people would have one single expectation from their government-to make it stop!”
