Ya’ara Saks explains the photo with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas—and her ‘yes’ vote

Embattled cabinet minister Ya’ara Saks says it was her “choice” to meet with the leader of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas last week in Ramallah, and that includes posing for photos that show him holding her arm and hand. The Liberal MP for a heavily Jewish Toronto riding, the Canadian-Israeli has been heavily criticized by community members since those photos were posted March 14 on the official social media account of Canada’s foreign minister Mélanie Joly. (They were not posted on any of the accounts belonging to Saks herself.) Saks says she “was asked to go” with Joly on a diplomatic swing through Israel and the West Bank, and is adamant that despite the optics, it was “important for me to be in that room.” Ya’ara Saks joins The CJN Daily to explain the background to THAT photo, what she told Abbas and why she voted “yes” to a controversial NDP motion passed Monday in the House of Commons that many say rewarded Hamas terrorists. What we talked about: Read Ya’ara Saks statement on her Facebook page or on her Twitter(X). Ya’ara Saks on protests in Toronto since Oct. 7 in The CJN, and read Josh Lieblein’s opinion column, in The CJN. Learn more about the World Wide reciting of the Shema prayer set for Thursday 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Credits: The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.