HALIFAX — Joel Lion wanted to be sure Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter was prepared.
The newly appointed consul general of Israel to Quebec and the Atlantic provinces met with Nova Scotia’s top politician Oct. 18, a day before the latter left for a one-week trade mission to Israel.
“I thought it would be a good thing for me to sit with him and talk of his aims for the mission,” Lion said at a brief social gathering with Halifax Jewish community leaders before flying back to Montreal at the end of a one-day visit.
“He’s meeting with [Israeli President] Shimon Peres, and ministers in infrastructure, science and technology and business, as well as making a trip to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian business interests,” Lion said.
“My office helped plan the mission, so talking with him face to face was important. I told Mr. Dexter this is only the beginning [of trade relations between Nova Scotia and Israel]. We want to show Israel in the light of business, education, technology and even culture, food and wine.”
He added that Dexter’s side trip to Ramallah is “a good sign. Anyone we can have there to help their economy takes the emphasis away from terror. It’s a stage to having two countries, which we know will happen some day.”
The mission includes various Nova Scotia business interests, including representatives of Dalhousie University, its medical school’s brain injury department, members of the Halifax Port Commission, a real estate developer, and two leaders of Nova Scotia Business Inc.
Lion, who assumed his new post in early September and is fluent in six languages, did an English radio talk show interview and an interview on CBC French television during the whirlwind trip. He also met with Atlantic Jewish Council president Shulamith Medjuck and AJC executive director Jon Goldberg.
In a lighter moment, he made a deal with Medjuck to come back to see Camp Kadimah next summer, when the weather is better and camp is in session, as she boasted about one of the AJC’s jewels.
Earlier in the day, he watched with interest the swap of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
“While I can’t comment directly on what I think of the swap, because I’m just a civil servant, I see it as so interesting that we’re celebrating life [with the return of Schalit] and [the Palestinians are] celebrating death [with their celebration of the return of convicted terrorists],” said Lion.
“It was courageous for our prime minister to make the decision [to make the prisoner swap]. Now 80 per cent of Israelis are behind him. Perhaps this shows we’re ready to make other deals, that we want our neighbours to recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish nation. When we’re recognized as having a right to be there, perhaps that will be the end of the claims and the end of conflicts.”
