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March 13, 2009
Nuclear Iran imminent
Ambassador calls for world cooperation.
PAT JOHNSON
In a worst case scenario, Iran will have a nuclear weapon by the end of this year, according to Israel's new ambassador to Canada. More likely, the nightmare scenario of the ultimate weapon in the hands of a government that has promised to wipe Israel from the map will be a reality in 2010 or 2011.
"The timeline is very short," said Ambassador Miriam Ziv, while visiting Vancouver last week. "Even if it is 2010 or 2011, it's very near."
Ziv, whose work in Israel's foreign affairs branch has made her a world expert on Iran's nuclear capability, made the comments before a crowd of several hundred at Vancouver's Temple Sholom on March 3. Ziv, who succeeded Alan Baker as Israel's representative in Canada, presented her credentials in September 2008 but, as she noted in her presentation, international events prevented her from making an introductory tour of the country until now.
Under her leadership, the embassy will move beyond the conventional activities of a diplomatic mission and reach out to provincial and local governments, Jewish communities and potential partners in bilateral projects, she said. She was headed to Victoria to meet with representatives of the provincial government after the Vancouver event and had come from Edmonton, where she met with Alberta officials about Israel's expertise in water management, among other issues.
Ziv expressed gratitude for Canada's reaction to the Gaza war, saying the governing Conservatives, the opposition Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois made statements recognizing Israel's obligation to defend its civilians.
"There was a sensation that it was understood that Israel had to go out and stop Hamas," she said.
Since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, she said, Iran has made an alliance of convenience and is now on Israel's border. This alliance with Hamas gives Shi'ite Iran a foothold in the Sunni world, said Ziv, alarming Egypt and the entire region.
Meanwhile, she explained, Iran is working on the centrifuges it needs to enrich uranium to the level required for nuclear weapons. Ziv, whose previous diplomatic post was on the Iran desk, said Iran has obtained from North Korea the launchers that could send a missile not only to Israel but to most of Europe as well.
"Maybe Portugal will be missed," she said of the missiles' probable range. "Hence, it is so important for the international community to work against this threat."
The international community, in the form of the United Nations Security Council, said Ziv, has applied sanctions against Iran, but they have not been strong enough to deter the determination of the fundamentalist regime from continuing striving for the ultimate weapons of mass destruction.
Further steps should see all connections with the Iranian banking sector halted, that Iran's energy sector be frozen out and that no elements required for nuclear weapons be provided to Iran.
Ziv lamented the near silence worldwide on the Iranian threat, saying that the potentially catastrophic quest for nuclear weapons makes Western newscasts only when an international body issues a statement or passes a resolution. Afterwards, the matter is rapidly forgotten.
"Not much is talked about it here in Canada or in Europe," she said. "It is not part of the consciousness of the public."
The urgency is immediate, she warned. "A regime of this kind cannot be permitted to continue its nuclear program without interruption," she said.
Earlier in the day, Ziv spoke to Hillel students and supporters at the University of British Columbia, commending the Jewish campus group and its students for standing up to "Israel Apartheid Week," which was taking place during Ziv's visit. The week, organized worldwide by anti-Israel extremists, was challenged at UBC by a concerted public response by Jewish students and their allies, who countered the propaganda with facts about the history of apartheid in South Africa and the realities of Israel's pluralist democracy. The ongoing vilification of Israel on campus, the ambassador said, was best addressed on an ongoing basis throughout the year and not merely in response to charges of "apartheid" and she credited Hillel with being on the frontline of balancing the discourse in difficult times, calling the students' commitment "exciting and overwhelming."
"I applaud the students and will be there to assist them and work together with them," Ziv said.
Pat Johnson is, among other things, managing director, programs and communications, for the Vancouver Hillel Foundation.
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