Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Shikli from the Likud party, who will visit Canada for two days next week, received severe criticism from coalition members in the Canadian parliament because the purpose of his visit is to hold meetings with far-right evangelical groups.

Members of parliament said that the minister and his Israeli government are interested in developing relations with the far right, but after the intervention of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Shikli changed his schedule and will meet with the majority leaders.

Political correspondent Tal Schneider quoted Canadian parliament members on the “Times of Israel” site saying that they communicated their anger to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs envoys in Canada about Minister Shikli’s agenda, as it prioritizes meetings with the far right in Canada, and they protested that his visit does not comply with protocol, without an official invitation from the responsible minister, especially since Canadian politics has leaned towards the liberal side of the political map in recent years, and the right-wing Conservative Party led by Pierre Poilievre is far from returning to power.

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He added that “the Israeli government, especially the Likud party, is always looking for links with the Christian nationalist right in Western countries. In Canada, the government is in the hands of the liberal left, and no change is expected in this regard. Nevertheless, Minister Shikli recently received an invitation from a Canadian Christian organization called ‘Friends of Israel United,’ which is linked to a global network called the ‘Israeli Allies Foundation,’ represented in the Canadian parliament by Lysane Lewis, a member of the Conservative Party, who is regarded as a far-right symbol.”

He pointed out that “Lewis recently received widespread public criticism after meeting with European Parliament member Christian Andersson of the German Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. She was criticized by Jewish organizations and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; even Conservative leader Poilievre issued a statement condemning her contacts with Andersson.”

He explained that “Shikli’s trip to Canada on May 30-31 included invitations to participate in two events with Christian organizations: the first with the Friends of Israel bloc intending to hold a conference in Ottawa, and the second a meeting at the Evangelical College in Toronto, which had previously been visited by the Israeli occupation’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan. However, the Israeli embassy in Canada does not maintain any relations with it, as it is viewed as a far-right institution. Despite that, Shikli intends to appear before it, which prompted Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly’s advisor to criticize him in front of Israeli diplomats in Canada.”

He indicated that “Shikli’s visit program should have included working with Jewish organizations in the diaspora, and only 10% with those Christian organizations. Due to his program, the Israeli embassy in Canada received an updated schedule for Shikli that included a warning about the difficulties caused by his meetings with these right-wing organizations, which led the Israeli embassy in Ottawa to acknowledge that the minister made a mistake because such a visit should pass through official state bodies from the start.”

This Canadian anger over the Israeli minister’s visit coincides with concerns about the arrival of the global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement in Canada, and what has been witnessed in recent years of a campaign to raise legal lawsuits and judicial proceedings against media showing sympathy for the occupation, after North America was once a stronghold for it and pro-occupation lobby groups. This has sparked much concern about the changing balance of political power in favor of the Palestinians and against the occupation.