By Michael Regenstreif
It was quite the interesting experience covering the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Ottawa from March 2 to 4.
Actually, the only day I was really able to do some coverage was March 2, a Friday, when Netanyahu was on Parliament Hill for talks with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Saturday, Shabbat, was a private day and the press, including the Jewish press, was barred from Netanyahu’s briefing with leaders of Canada’s Jewish community organized by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) at the Rideau Club. More on that later.
Security on Parliament Hill was the tightest I’ve ever seen it when I arrived on Friday morning. The general public was not being allowed on to the Hill that morning. You had to have a pass just to get on to the Hill.
Partway up was another checkpoint where my pass was checked again. From there, a Mountie escorted me up to the Centre Block and another Mountie took me to the East Block entrance where they were screening all visitors that morning. He told me it was the tightest security he’d seen on Parliament Hill since U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit three years ago.
I went through the security screening at the entrance to the East Block and was escorted to my destination, the Confederation Hall Rotunda in Centre Block where Netanyahu would sign the House of Commons and Senate guest books about an hour later.
At the Rotunda, I was greeted by Terry Guillon, chief of the Press Gallery, who gave me the option of either being outside for Netanyahu’s arrival on the Hill or inside to witness and photograph him signing the guest books. I opted for the latter.
Guillon also showed me the room where the press conference would be and told me that only two questions would be allowed, one from the Israeli media and one from the Canadian media (which went to the Globe and Mail).
Then it was the first waiting game, standing around the Rotunda for about an hour chatting with various media personnel and Hill, PMO and Embassy of Israel staffers until Netanyahu and Harper arrived.
After the ceremony, the two prime ministers retreated to Harper’s office for the first of their meetings and we spent another hour or so waiting for the press conference.
The press conference was all of 15 minutes. Each leader spoke briefly, first Harper, then Netanyahu, and the two questions were asked and answered.
And that was pretty much it.
As mentioned, the press was barred from the meeting CIJA organized for Netanyahu with invited leaders from Canada’s Jewish community. Earlier in the week, CIJA CEO Shimon Fogel apologetically told me the decision to bar even the Jewish media came directly from the Israeli PMO, that he himself wished it wasn’t so.
On Parliament Hill, I chatted with veteran Jerusalem Post reporter Herb Keinon, part of the Israeli media contingent travelling with Netanyahu. He said he’d been quite surprised to find out the media was not being allowed to attend the event with Jewish community leaders. In his experience covering Netanyahu, the media has generally been welcome at similar events when he meets with Jewish community leadership on his travels.
Netanyahu’s decision to bar even the Jewish media was certainly not in keeping with what’s happened during recent visits to Ottawa by other senior ministers in his government.
Six months ago, when Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was here, there was a similar meeting organized by CIJA, which I covered. Lieberman was open and approachable at that meeting.
And, in October 2010, when Moshe Ya’alon, Israel’s vice-prime minister and minister of strategic affairs, was in Ottawa, he sat down with me for an exclusive 45-minute interview.
From what I’ve gathered, Netanyahu did not say anything at the meeting that he hasn’t said elsewhere on the record. So, it defies logic that he wouldn’t want a Jewish newspaper reporting on the meeting to the Jewish community.
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