Baird and Netanyahu
Baird and NetanyahuKobi Gideon, GPO

John Baird, Canada's foreign minister, who is considered a staunch ally of Israel, met early Monday afternoon with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu welcomed Baird and lauded him as “a great fighter for peace and security, and a great warrior for truth.”

"You have always showed a willingness to fight for what is right, and oppose what is wrong,” Netanyahu lauded his guest. "We are all waging a difficult struggle against the terrorists of radical Islam,” he added. “Israel has been under continuous attack by this evil, and so has Canada, lately. In fact, large parts of the world are suffering from this violent onslaught.”

The Canadians, said Netanyahu, “know who the aggressor is and who is defending himself. You know that Israel is defending itself in a legitimate way against the war crimes of Hamas and other terror organizations.”

Baird told Netanyahu that he is aware that Netanyahu's father had a great influence on his personal and public life. “My grandfather left Canada in 1943 in order to fight in Europe,” he added. “He remained in the Canadian armed forces for 25 years after the war. The great struggles of his generation were the fight against fascism and then the war against communism, during the Cold War era.”

"Well, our generation's great struggle is against terror, and too often, the state of Israel and the Jews worldwide stand at the front lines of this struggle. As I have said in the past – Canada does not stand behind Israel – it stands shoulder to shoulder with Israel.”