Toronto lawyer Vivian Bercovici, who studied in Israel in the 1980s, is the first non-diplomat sent to Israel by Harper's government and a known detractor of the Palestinian leadership • "Israel has no greater friend in the world than Canada," she says.
A Toronto lawyer who has written freelance columns about the Middle East is Canada's new ambassador to Israel.
The announcement of Vivian Bercovici comes ahead of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's trip to Israel and the Middle East later this month.
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Go Canada!
A new round of kudos goes to the government of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper for its steadfast support for Israel. In what has come to be characteristic of its stubbornness in remaining on the right side of history, Ottowa has done it again.
On Wednesday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced the appointment of Vivian Bercovici as ambassador to Israel, effective immediately. As a result, Bercovici -- a lawyer with a monthly column in The Toronto Star -- is likely to accompany Harper to Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority towards the end of the month.
It is genuinely great news. But Bercovici's appointment is causing controversy at home and abroad. This is not merely because she was selected from outside foreign service ranks. Nor is it solely due to her being a Jew who spent two years at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem during the early 1980s. Several ambassadors to Israel who fit this description have been praised by the very people who are suspicious of Bercovici.
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