"Explaining the consensus of the Canadian political establishment in its blind support for Israel, Elmer suggested that, as with Canada’s war in Afghanistan, foreign policy towards Israel was based less on tangible material resources or imperial conquest and more on the abstract idea of gaining “a seat at the table” in international discussions. “You can’t really underestimate a seat at the table,” said Elmer. “When important world decisions are made, if you lay your blood and treasure on the line, particularly in service of American political objectives, you’re going to have a seat at that table and you’re going to be able to participate when contracts are given out or political influence is given out.  And sometimes you don’t get direct political influence over the territory upon which you are intervening. “I think the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most visible, longest-running, most politically-significant conflicts in the world.  Whether that’s just or not is a different story, but it’s a reality, and for Canada to participate in that is seen as strategically important to Canadian interests.” [Read full article at The Kingstonist]

- Tangentially, much of what Elmer described in his talk relates (if not named in the article) to what the Department of National Defence terms 'Operation Proteus,' the small but strategically important CF mission in support of the program led by Lt. General Keith Dayton, the U.S. Security Coordinator for the Israel-Palestinian Authority. Here is a recently released DND PR piece on Op. Proteus: "Operation PROTEUS: Building a Palestinian Security Force."