Dear Neighbours,
Many people have reached out to me about the horrible situation in the Middle East. I want to thank everyone for all their heartfelt messages and below is the statement I sent out in response.
While a war is raging thousands of kilometres away from our homes, the impact is being felt strongly right here in our community. I have talked with many community members about your concerns, hopes and ideas about a resolution to this war.
I want to start with the points of agreement in our community, because we agree on the most important values and principles to guide our response. We agree that the immediate priority must be on protecting the lives of Israeli and Palestinian civilians. We agree that the Palestinian people in Gaza need more aid. We agree that the Israeli hostages held by Hamas must be freed immediately. And we agree that the next steps must be based on basic humanitarian principles, prioritizing the safety and wellbeing of all innocent civilians. I wholly support all of these actions.
Yesterday, our Prime Minster made a statement that reflects these shared principles:
Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization — they’ve committed unspeakable atrocities — our priority throughout this needs to be the protection of innocent civilians, the liberation of the hostages. That’s why we’re engaged closely with our allies and trying to build humanitarian corridors, get aid in, get civilians, foreign nationals out of Gaza. There’s a lot of conversations going on right now about the need [for] humanitarian pauses and that is something that Canada supports.
I do want to caution against what I have seen in social media and elsewhere in passing comments that points to an easy solution to the war and the violence. I don’t believe that there are any easy solutions to this war and there is no simple statement that will assuage the anxiety and pain we feel as we watch what is happening in Israel and Gaza.
I studied Middle East Studies at McGill which included Islamic studies, political science, Jewish studies, and economics. I also come at this issue as a person who believes deeply in social justice and values human rights. And I come to this as a Jewish woman, which not only touches my own thinking but also how people interpret my words and actions.
All of this brings me to considerations for the next steps now that we find ourselves with this war in Israel and Gaza. We have to consider humanitarian principles, preventing the war from escalating to other parts of the region, and setting conditions where we may once and for all see a long-term peace which can truly assure the safety of Palestinian and Israeli people. I believe that a two-state solution is not only possible but preferable, and I will continue to support the urgent and thoughtful discussion as to the role Canada, as a middle power, can play in achieving this goal.
I hear a lot of pain and vulnerability felt by Jewish and Muslim neighbours. I hear a lot of well-intentioned feedback from allies. All of those feelings are valid. My deepest concern now is that we find a way to navigate these tricky political and emotional issues in a respectful way that allows all of us to feel safe here at home. While the issues in Israel and Gaza may feel very personal to many of us, we cannot allow the violence from that region to spill over to our community. There is an opportunity for us to show how we can come together in difficult times.
Let me end by encouraging you to read Barack Obama’s statement which I found to be helpful in the tone for the region and for here at home. I include a quote that made an impact on me:
Perhaps most of all, it means we should choose not to always assume the worst in those with whom we disagree. In an age of constant rancor, trolling and misinformation on social media, at a time when so many politicians and attention seekers see an advantage in shedding heat rather than light, it may be unrealistic to expect respectful dialogue on any issue — much less on an issue with such high stakes and after so much blood has been spilled. But if we care about keeping open the possibility of peace, security and dignity for future generations of Israeli and Palestinian children — as well as for our own children — then it falls upon all of us to at least make the effort to model, in our own words and actions, the kind of world we want them to inherit.
Yours truly,
Julie
