Let me thank our guest from Hungary, Ms. Bublil Waldman, and also thank Shimon Fogel for being here.
I hope nobody misunderstands this question. Mr. Fogel's presentation talked a lot about how Canadian diplomats were, of course, aware of the terrible discrimination that existed in a number of capitals and cities where Jews had been present for thousands of years and were leaving the country, and that until Mr. Martin made his statement, there was no formal statement from Canada about the refugee situation affecting Jewish refugees from the Maghreb and from other countries in the Middle East.
I have to say that in my meetings with Israeli leaders going back to 1979, I never heard from a single Israeli leader of any political stripe asking that the issue of Jewish refugees from Arab countries be included in the discussions about what the ultimate solutions would be. It didn't seem to be part of the Oslo discussion—unless I'm wrong—it wasn't part of the Madrid conference in 1993.
I'm not being argumentative. I'm just asking as to.... We have to recognize that this is a relatively recent issue to be placed on the political table not only in Canada but virtually everywhere.
I'm asking for guidance here. At what point historically did it seem necessary and appropriate to make this part of what would be a comprehensive or a political resolution of the situation in the Middle East?
Am I wrong? Have I missed something?