Following Libby Davies' notoriously ill-informed performance in a YouTube video which Voltaire's Ghost helped bring to the attention of the national media, the the Canada-Israel Committee extended an invitation to Davies and NDP leader Jack Layton to visit Israel.
Davies' comments, which implied that Israel's existence was illegitimate, did tremendous harm to the credibility of the NDP during the closing days of the last parliamentary session. In order to get the facts from the other side, of which Ms Davies appears painfully ignorant and to rehabilitate the NDP's national standing, it would seem like a no-brainer to accept.
But even a no-brainer could be more than Layton and the NDP are capable of handling correctly. So far Layton and Davies have not indicated whether they would accept the offer.
And there is a reason Davies, who will be attending a World AIDS Conference in Vienna in mid-July, may want to avoid the Israel matter as long as she can. While she offered a dubious apology on her website where she wrote,"I have always supported a two-state solution to the on-going Israeli-Palestinian conflict and have never questioned Israel's right to exist," one question remains unanswered.
In the video, she said she supported sanctions and a boycott against Canada's democratic ally in the Mid-East; a position that not only conflicts with Canadian foreign policy, but her own party's official position. At some point during an Israel trip, she would have to clarify her position on a boycott and sanctions of Israel and she has reasons to avoid wanting to do that.
Either that, or perhaps her non-response to the Canada-Israel Committee's offer is part of her boycott efforts already underway.
And on a less serious note, does the chubby cartoon character in this commercial who says, "It's Libby the Kid!" remind you of anyone?
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