Israel will gain if CANZUK succeeds

This article appears in the Jerusalem Report, dated 26 December 2022 

                                                            The CANZUK symbol

CANZUK is an acronym not yet widely recognized, although it is becoming increasingly familiar in government and diplomatic circles.  It is formed from the initial letters of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom – and it emerged following a bout of vigorous activity by a body founded in Canada in 2014 called the Commonwealth Freedom of Movement Organization (CFMO).

CFMO was formed to expand the historical connections between the citizens of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, by creating a sort of travel-free alliance between them. The big CFMO idea was to use mutual travel agreements and visa-free initiatives as a way of encouraging the British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand governments to strengthen and expand economic, political, trade, investment, military and diplomatic relationships.

In 2015 the CFMO was transformed into CANZUK International by its founder, James Skinner, and when the UK voted in 2016 to leave the European Union, thus freeing itself to enter into new international alliances not previously possible, CANZUK began to achieve greater prominence. 

Eminent British historian Professor Andrew Roberts believes that the CANZUK countries should form "a new federation based upon free trade, free movement of peoples, mutual defense, and a limited but effective confederal political structure.” He points out that were CANZUK to become a union, “it would immediately become one of the global great powers alongside America, the EU and China. It would be easily the largest country on the planet, have a combined population of 129 million, the third biggest economy and the third biggest defence budget.”

In favour of the argument, he points out that the CANZUK countries already have a common head of state in the British monarch, a majority language, legal systems based on Magna Cara and the common law, the Westminster parliamentary tradition, and a long history of working together. What they lack is geographical proximity which, Roberts points out,  is becoming less and less important in the modern world.

In a poll commissioned by a UK think tank in February 2022, people in Britain were asked for their views on 35 countries.  The results are quoted by the CANZUK organization as proof of the sound basis and viability of their campaign.  Australia topped the poll with a 59% favorability rating.  It was closely followed by Canada and New Zealand, which came joint second at 58%.  The British people view these three countries more favorably than any others.

Suppose the third major political force as envisaged by Professor Roberts were indeed to emerge on the world stage, what might its attitude be toward Israel? Judging by Israel’s current relationship with the countries involved, the connection would certainly be considerably warmer than the wary and arms-length association between Israel and the EU, stronger though that has become in recent years.  It would be boosted by thriving Jewish communities in all four CANZUK nations.

Israel’s relationship with Canada is particularly strong. The Canadian-Jewish community, which numbers around 350,000, serves as a bridge between the two nations. Nearly 90,000 Canadians, many with family in Israel, travel to the country every year.  Former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper often reiterated that “Israel has no greater friend than Canada.” It was during his visit to Israel in January 2014, that the Canada-Israeli Strategic Partnership was signed, reaffirming the close and special friendship that underpins Canada-Israel relations.

Israel is an important economic partner for Canada in the Middle East and North Africa. It was in 1997 that the two countries signed the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA).  Since then bilateral trade has more than tripled, totalling more than $1.6 billion in 2020.

On Israel’s Independence Day 2022, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said: “Our two countries have shared more than 70 years as friends, allies, and close partners… We will continue to oppose efforts to isolate Israel in international fora, and we will continue to stand against any attacks on the values we share.  On this day, we celebrate the deep people-to-people ties and shared values that unite our two countries.”

A vibrant Australian-Jewish community, which numbers about 91,000, is an important element of Australia's relationship with Israel, which has been warm and close ever since its founding.  Australia has the distinction of being the first country to vote in favor of the 1947 UN partition resolution. Remaining totally consistent with the terms of that resolution, Australia has been, and remains, a long-standing supporter of a negotiated, two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian issue, as indeed is Canada, New Zealand and the UK.

Meanwhile Australia is deepening bilateral cooperation with Israel. One notable development was when Australia chose Tel Aviv as the site of one of just five designated global Australian "Landing Pads" for innovation entrepreneurship. Two-way trade is flourishing. In 2019-20 it amounted to approximately $1.3 billion.

          The total population of New Zealand is some 5 million. In the 2018 New Zealand Census, 5,274 people identified themselves as of the Jewish religion. However in their "Jewish Lives in New Zealand", published in 2012, authors Leonard Bell and Diana Morrow claim that, including non-practicing Jews, there are more than 20,000 Jewish people in New Zealand.

          Jews played a prominent part in the founding of New Zealand, and in 1873 Julius Vogel was elected prime minister. He was knighted two years later. One hundred and thirty-five years later, in November 2008, John Key, whose mother was a Jewish immigrant from Austria, became New Zealand’s 38th prime minister.

          In between, Jews had risen to eminence in a whole variety of fields. And yet Israel’s relations with New Zealand are not as strong as with the other CANZUK countries. In December 2016 a major diplomatic spat followed New Zealand’s co-sponsorship of UN Security Council Resolution 2334 criticizing Israeli settlements. That has since been resolved, and Israel’s ambassador in Wellington, Ran Yaacoby, has been fostering economic ties between the two countries, including collaborative efforts and joint ventures in the areas of hi-tech, innovation agriculture and medical technology.

Israel’s relations with the UK were particularly close during David Cameron’s premiership, and have grown even stronger since Brexit. Despite some difficult trading conditions, UK-Israel bilateral trade has mushroomed.  In the year ending March 31, 2022 total trade in goods and services between the UK and Israel stood at £5.4 billion ($6.5 billion), an increase on 2021 of 19%.

Israel’s coalition government made special efforts to boost collaboration with the UK.  President Isaac Herzog, prime minister Naftali Bennett, and foreign minister Yair Lapid all visited Britain in 2021 and held the friendliest of exchanges with UK prime minister Boris Johnson, and his new foreign secretary Liz Truss.

"British-Israeli relations have entered a golden era” trumpeted a headline in the UK’s prestigious Jewish Chronicle a week or so after Lapid had left.  The article, by Jake Wallis Simons its editor, went on to claim that British officials and parliamentarians were “falling over each other in their love for the Jewish state.”  The exchanges have resulted in negotiations, currently in full swing, for a new “innovation focused” UK-Israel Free Trade Agreement, aimed at creating new opportunities for tech firms and professional services in both countries. 

            In September 2020, British MP Paul Bristow registered an All-Party Parliamentary Group on CANZUK.  Composed of six Conservative and two Labour MPs, its official purpose is, among other things, “to encourage interest in the political concept of CANZUK [and] promote CANZUK among UK parliamentarians.”

 Speaking on July 19, 2022 in the House of Commons debate on the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement, Bristow declared that the deal with Australia was “just the start”.  He asked the junior trade minister whether he would commit himself to a multilateral trade agreement between all four CANZUK countries as soon as possible.  In a classic parliamentary response the minister agreed that the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement was indeed only a start, rattled off a list of recent UK trade deals with a series of countries, and omitted to commit the government to a multilateral trade agreement with the CANZUK nations.

As Professor Roberts demonstrates, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK conjoined in a formal CANZUK union or federation would be a new, strong entity on the world scene.  It seems clear that if or when it emerges, CANZUK would be very favorably disposed toward Israel, while Israel would be in a position to benefit substantially should it come into being.  There is every reason for Israel to offer support to the individuals and organizations striving to make the CANZUK project a reality.