Video 5 from #elxn43 #Thornhill debate hosted by B’nai Brith Canada. Green Party candidate Josh Rachlis answers: Do I agree the BDS movement against Israel is unfair? I think this was a response after our main answers. I think Gary Gladstone and Peter Kent quoted me in their answers, so I said I agree with myself. I explained that even well-meaning people, like my ex-girlfriend, don't realize the way Israel is unfairly criticized. This was the question: Rejecting Boycotts of Israel: Over the past decade, opponents of the Jewish State of Israel have attempted to isolate it internationally by subjecting it and its citizens to a antisemitic program of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). In 2016, the House of Commons overwhelmingly voted to condemn the BDS Movement as an obstacle to peace. Do you agree that the BDS Movement is beyond the pale as an attempt to resolve the Israeli-Arab conflict? -- These were the 4 questions: 4 B’nai Brith Questions, 2 Minute Responses + 30 Second Replies Each candidate gives 2 minute response, then can ask for one 30 second reply each 1. Combatting Antisemitism in Canada: B’nai Brith’s 2018 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents recorded 2,041 incidents in Canada, representing a 16.5% increase over 2017 and a new and unwelcome national high. Statistics Canada recently confirmed that in 2016, 2017 and 2018, Jews were the most targeted group in Canada for hate crimes. Do you accept the need for a national plan to combat antisemitism, including the key elements of the eight-point plan proposed by B’nai Brith Canada? (see pages 4-5 and 29-30 of the Audit here: http://bnaibrith.ca/audit) 2. Canada, like other free nations, robustly participates in the United Nations to address many global concerns. However, many critics, including B’nai Brith Canada, have advocated against certain institutional unfairness within the United Nations, and its affiliated agencies, including an anti-Israel bias at the UN Human Rights Council and the World Health Agency, and Canadian Development Assistance funding for UNWRA schools that continue to inculcate a sense of hate towards Israel and the Jewish people. Canada may be elected to a future United Nations Security Council. How would you advocate for necessary UN reforms? 3. Rejecting Boycotts of Israel: Over the past decade, opponents of the Jewish State of Israel have attempted to isolate it internationally by subjecting it and its citizens to a antisemitic program of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). In 2016, the House of Commons overwhelmingly voted to condemn the BDS Movement as an obstacle to peace. Do you agree that the BDS Movement is beyond the pale as an attempt to resolve the Israeli-Arab conflict? 4. Supporting Strong Social Services: B’nai Brith Canada is an important provider of affordable, sustainable housing and this country’s Jewish community has long made the provision of social services to the less fortunate a top priority. What will your priority be to ease the burden on lower-income Canadians, especially as the cost of living continues to rise? ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50tzct7ZrEY