The Moral Compass

"Canadians hail from every corner of the world and are proud of being Canadian but also proud of their links to home and right now, Canadians of Muslim, Arab and particularly Palestinian origin, are extremely worried as are Canadians of the Jewish faith, Canadians with ties to Israel."

"Canadians of all backgrounds who are represented in Parliament are reflecting the very real fears and concerns that everyone has."

"Our jobs as parliamentarians, is, yes, to speak for our community, speak for our constituents, speak for Canadians and make sure everyone's fears are being heard and reflected upon and acted on. But our job is also ... to reassure everyone that this is Canada and, here, our differences must and will remain a source of strength."

"So yes, there are lots of different perspectives. But there are shared fears and concerns amongst all parliamentarians and a commitment every single day to keep everyone safe here in Canada, and everywhere around the world."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

"We may not entirely agree on events in the Middle East but we do agree that all communities must and deserve to feel safe in Canada and we will work together to do this."

Montreal MP Anthony Housefather, chair, Canada-Israel Friendship Group

"Families don't always agree on everything [but they met] to reaffirm [their] commitment to being there for one another in the most difficult times, just as families do."

Vancouver MP Taleeb Noormohamed

“In Gaza, as elsewhere, international law, including humanitarian law, must be upheld by all. Even wars have rules,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, lecturing Israel in the House of Commons. Photo by Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press

It is becoming increasingly evident even to Justin Trudeau -- perhaps particularly to Trudeau -- that there is growing dissent in Parliament over the way he has handled Canada's reaction to the spectacularly brutal attack by Gazan terrorist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, not to mention the freelance Palestinians who took advantage of a horribly gruesome invasion on Israeli border villages and kibbutzim to exercise the most barbaric atrocities against Israelis imaginable. 

Thousands of good Canadian citizens -- Palestinians, their Arab/Muslim colleagues and sympathetic others have gone out repeatedly in a surprising force of numbers to actually cheer on the deaths of over 1,400 Israelis, most of them citizens that included the elderly, infants and children, women, the disabled, along with soldiers. And the violent abduction of hundreds; children and elderly people, along with women who had been raped to hold them hostage. An explosion of celebration and congratulations greeted the sight of frightened children and fearful women as they were paraded through Gaza.

And the celebratory news of the horrific event in Israel on October 7 by the Hamas incursion meant to take Israel's security apparatus by surprise, and succeeding to an unfathomable degree has been seen on the streets of Canadian cities in wild congratulations to Hamas and Islamic Jihad by Canadian citizens of Middle Eastern descent. While the prime minister has condemned the parades of gleeful joy expressed by Canadians, he has done nothing whatever about them, despite that Hamas is listed as a terrorist group, and the crowds, holding Hamas flags aloft, have been chanting gentle phrases like "gas the Jews!" and "Death to the Jews!"

 

It is the ensuing casualty and death rate among Palestinians in Gaza as Israel responds, that consume the attention of much of legacy media, the public, Canadian unions and academia which have glossed over the abominations that Israelis have suffered. And that too was promoted by Justin Trudeau when the Hamas Health Authority -- which serves Hamas's interests -- claimed that Israel was responsible for an explosion that took place at a Gaza hospital and Canada's prime minister chose to take the word of a terrorist group against Israel's denial of responsibility -- which days later was authoritatively affirmed. 

 

Liberal Members of Parliament of Jewish origin are not entirely pleased with the performance of this prime minister for obvious reasons. Opposition Conservatives and Jewish groups in Canada have taken to criticizing the prime minister for his refusal in taking a clear position on the responsibility for the Gaza hospital explosion which was not an Israeli missile strike but in fact a failed rocket launch from Gaza itself which went awry as their rockets often do, striking the hospital parking lot where people were gathered. An immediate death toll of 500 was announced, later considerably diminished in numbers by the hospital authority.

Trudeau's statement, oblique yet obviously pointing to Israel, that this was an illegal strike according to the "rules around wars", culminated with his informing reporters he planned to take the "necessary time" to examine the evidence prior to drawing conclusions. His choice to give credence to accusations levelled by a terrorist group, rather than depending on the forthright statement issued by the Israeli government spoke volumes about his reliability as an ally to a fellow democracy heavily involved in defending itself from unspeakably lethal violence inflicted on its population.

 

In stark contrast, the U.S. president, relying on an immediate investigation result left no doubt whom he gave his support to, as did the British Prime Minister: "We don't treat what comes out of the Kremlin as the gospel truth, we should not do the same with Hamas", commented Rishi Sunak. Canada's own ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, informed an Ottawa gathering that Canadians should offer support to Israel in an existential fight, drawing a direct line with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, condemned unequivocally by Canada.

 

"It is not only a fight for Israel and the Jewish people. It's a fight for all people to be able to live with security and with recognition of who they are", stated Ambassador Rae.

"Canadians have the right to feel safe to practise their faith and express their beliefs. There is no place for supporting terrorism or advocating for violence in Canada", read a joint statement from federal, provincial and territorial ministers urging "unity and respect in the face of calls for protests".

Two rallies were held in Halifax on Thanksgiving Monday — one in support of Israel, the other in support of Palestinians (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)