Richard Marceau is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 politician.

A lawyer in both Québec and Ontario, Marceau was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 in the Canadian federal election, 1997

Canadian federal election, 1997

The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government...

 for the Bloc Québécois

Bloc Québécois

The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

 in the riding of Charlesbourg at the age of 26. He was re-elected in the Canadian federal election, 2000

Canadian federal election, 2000

The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada....

 in the riding of Charlesbourg—Jacques-Cartier

Charlesbourg—Jacques-Cartier

Charlesbourg—Jacques-Cartier was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 2004.This riding was created in 1976 from parts of Montmorency riding....

 and again in the Canadian federal election, 2004

Canadian federal election, 2004

The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...

 in the riding of Charlesbourg. He has served as the Bloc's critic to the Solicitor General, International Trade, Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Privy Council. He was their critic to the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness until his defeat on January 23, 2006.

Marceau converted to Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

 in 2004, 10 years after his marriage to Lori Beckerman. He had co-chaired the Canada-Israel Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group and sponsored a bill establishing a national Holocaust remembrance day. He described himself as a "pro-Palestinian Zionist

Zionism

Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...

" in an op-ed piece he wrote for the Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa Citizen

The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...

.