Chris Selley: Marvel at the politicians’ performative idiocy on Israel

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Or sign-in if you have an account.Naheed Nenshi speaks with attendees at the Gathering for Treaty and Unity Rally hosted by the Siksikaitsitapi Ohkin'niinaiks (Blackfoot Confederacy Chiefs) Society at the Confluence in Calgary on Sunday, June 14, 2026. Photo by Brent Calver/PostmediaThe substance of Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi’s grovelling apology for the “harm he caused” by casually having his photo taken at the Calgary Stampede with Israel’s ambassador to Canada is somewhat difficult to nail down (perhaps because it wasn’t intended to be).THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERSEnjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. 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Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountIn a statement on social media last week, Nenshi spoke of “immense hurt that has been caused to a lot of folks” — to whom? How? It wasn’t clear — then reiterated his party’s objections to Israel’s recent actions in Gaza. Although, I notice, he eschews deploying the loaded term “genocide.”Recommended VideosNenshi then portentously mentioned untold levels of “hatred, anger, anti-Palestinian racism and anti-Semitism.” If Nenshi shaking hands with the Israeli ambassador has something to do with antisemitism, that surely sounds a lot more like a “Nenshi problem” and an “NDP problem” than an “Alberta problem.” Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi with Iddo Moed, Israeli Ambassador to Canada, at the Calgary Stampede. (Photo credit: Embassy of Israel photo/via Facebook)The National Post newsletter that doesn’t hold back, giving readers the unvarnished truth on media, politics and culture.By signing up, you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Right? will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againOne interesting thing about Nenshi’s statement: He didn’t say what he wished he’d have done better, or what he proposes to do differently next time. That’s a bit of a problem in an aspiring Canadian first minister, especially one expected to show face every year at Stampede or any comparable event.This would seem to go without saying, but when you audition for a job like premier of Alberta, you need a plan to deal with foreign dignitaries whose governments you don’t like. Serious people need to see that you have such a plan. You can’t just pretend only to see a disembodied cowboy hat. (“Wha? Who said that? What sorcery is this?”)Never mind Israel for the moment; Israel-Albertan relations aren’t exactly top of the international agenda right now. Nenshi is asking Albertans to allow him to take over in the last year of Donald Trump’s presidency. He might have U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra to deal with, for heaven’s sake. Is he going to apologize for shaking his hand at Stampede? Inquiring minds want to know.One thing Nenshi could have done, I suppose, was promise to have Benjamin Netanyahu arrested and shipped off to The Hague in irons should he ever set foot in Alberta when Nenshi is premier — perhaps having first created a provincial police force, or a sort of counter-Mossad special forces unit, to accomplish this ridiculously improbable task.I’m only half-kidding. Netanyahu isn’t going to set foot in any jurisdiction where he faces any realistic prospect of detention. But that hasn’t stopped New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani from deciding this is very much municipal police business, and that something should happen if and when Netanyahu arrives in New York for the UN General Assembly in September.The New York Times reports the mayor feels “unclear (as to whether) he has the legal authority to order the Police Department, which he oversees, to detain a foreign leader.”Mamdani told the Times he “was in ‘an active conversation’ with the city’s Law Department about the matter.”I happened to see a taped interview between Mamdani and the Times, published over the weekend. Considering the gravity of the subject, Mamdani was remarkably smiley. Smilier than I would be, certainly, if I were rattling my chain of office against a powerful foreign state.“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said. And then he smiled.“I believe there’s an importance in following the law as a leader who presides over our city, and that’s something I plan to do,” he said, smiling, looking as if he were announcing free Halloween candy.This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. If Mamdani (pictured) is picking a fight, and Nenshi is squirming to avoid one, then over in Ottawa I think we have landed at the worst of all worlds. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesIt was quite off-putting. But then, it struck me at least as honest: I think it really would warm Mamdani’s cockles to be the guy who locked up Bibi.If Mamdani is picking a fight, and Nenshi is squirming to avoid one, then over in Ottawa I think we have landed at the worst of all worlds. The idea that Canada would arrest Netanyahu were he mysteriously to land on Canadian soil remains one of the least believable things that Mark Carney has said as prime minister.“Justin Trudeau said that Canada would honour the International Criminal Court arrest warrants, i.e., Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he came to Canada,” British journalist Mishal Husain asked Carney last October. Asked if Carney would be “prepared to do that,” the PM — said that he would. (Clearly no one in Ottawa has ever lost a wink of sleep over being held to account for the “genocides” against Indigenous Peoples that Trudeau said Canada had committed, and said we were still committing in 2019.)Within weeks and months of Carney’s pronouncement, Netanyahu’s plane had passed over Canadian airspace at least twice — despite having avoided Slovenian and Spanish airspace, two countries that Israel clearly considered, if not threats, then at least not the flimsiest of paper tigers.Israel is one of those issues where, despite Carney’s “European sensibility,” I find it hard to believe he really cares. I suspect he’s doing what he was told was easiest. Trudeau didn’t care on a more fundamental level: He didn’t care about anything. It’s a bloody good thing Canada, at least, has nothing to do with fixing the Middle East.National Post cselley@postmedia.comNotice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.