Michael Dougall Bell

Michael Dougall Bell (born September 10, 1943) is a former Canadian Foreign Service Officer with 36 years experience in the Department of Foreign Affairs, mostly focused on the Middle East. He was Canada's Ambassador to Jordan (1987–90), Egypt (1994–98), and Israel (1990–92 and 1999–2003). Also former Chair of the Donor Committee of the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq. In his public pronouncements, he is known as an Arabist who is hostile to Israel, and opposed the Harper's government's cooperation with the Jewish state.

Early life

Bell was born on September 10, 1943 in Windsor, Ontario. He attended Assumption College School from 1958–1962, and later attended the University of Windsor. At Windsor he received his B.A. Hons (1966) and M.A. (1967) in Political Science and Economic Studies.

Foreign Service

After completing his M.A. he joined the Canadian Foreign Service, holding early positions in Kingston, Jamaica (1968–1970), Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (1970–1972), and Rome, Italy (1981–1983). He Also Served as the Senior Political Officer in Tel Aviv, Israel from 1975 to 1978. He was Executive Assistant for Middle East Affairs to the Honourable Robert Stanfield (1978–1979), and Director of the Middle East Relations Division (1983–1987), Director General for Central and Eastern Europe (1992–1994). He served as Canadian Ambassador to Egypt, Jordan and Israel (twice), as well as High Commissioner to Cyprus. He was also an Arms Inspector for UNSCOM for a short period.

After the Foreign Service

Bell served as the Fellow at the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs at Harvard University (1998–99) and from 2003-2005 he was Senior Scholar on Diplomacy at the Munk Centre for International Studies, at the University of Toronto.

Bell has been a contributor to the Globe and Mail. He has also published in the Literary Review of Canada, the Behind the Headlines series of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs, Idea&s: the Arts and Science Review of the University of Toronto, the International Journal, and the Journal of International Law and International Relations.

Current work

Michael Bell is currently the Paul Martin (Sr.) Senior Scholar on International Diplomacy at the University of Windsor, where he teaches on the law and politics of the modern Middle East. He is also engaged in a major study on the future governance of Jerusalem’s Old City. The project is designed to stimulate thinking amongst decision makers, respecting options for the future governance of the old city for possible use by negotiators, in the event of renewed negotiations for a comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Critics note that this activity was detached from regional realities, "misguided" and unhelpful. The funding originally provided by the Canadian government was ended.

Political activity

Bell joined a Justin Trudeau initiative "to help him persuade voters he has the foreign policy chops to be prime minister in 2015", which was unveiled on 16 December 2014 in the lead-up to the 2015 Canadian election. The group of 14 experts included several candidates for office, a Calgary-based lawyer who advocates for Chinese state-owned enterprises, and another lawyer who wrote "lamenting the lack of diversity and women in positions of power in corporate Canada". In the months between the two events, he was interviewed on the P5+1 Iran deal and said:

and he has written in The Globe and Mail pieces such as:

• "To respond to terror, we must distinguish its three varieties", 13 January 2015
• "Why a weakened IS gives Harper a political boost", 12 February 2015
• "Israel will pay a price for Netanyahu’s Iran obsession", 5 March 2015
• "Another round of Netanyahu – for Israelis and the world", 18 March 2015
• "Lost in the headlines: Another tragedy looms in Lebanon", 14 April 2015
• "Jordan needs more than muscle", 30 April 2015

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• uwindsor.ca: "Jerusalem Old City Initiative / About Us / Who We Are"
• CJN, The (2008-09-11). "A letter to Bob Rae - The Canadian Jewish News". Retrieved 2016-09-15. 
• "Slander: Former Canadian Ambassador Says Jews, Not Arabs, Stoned Leftist (UPDATE)". Algemeiner.com. Retrieved 2016-09-15. 
• Ben-Dat, Mordechai (2009-01-08). "Free, but unhelpful advice - The Canadian Jewish News". Retrieved 2016-09-15. 
• globeandmail.com: "Trudeau unveils foreign policy team of ex-military officers, ambassadors", 16 Dec 2014
• theglobeandmail.com: "Leaked files show Mossad, Netanyahu differed on timetable for Iran nuclear program", 23 Feb 2015