It isn’t the first time I say this, and it probably won’t be the last, but Canada’s Jewish community, our country’s most at-risk minority group, has been all but abandoned since October 7, 2023. Often by our federal, provincial, and municipal governments, university leadership, unions, police forces, and political pundits, but also, increasingly, by the State of Israel.
In his autobiography, Bibi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu often refers to the wisdom imparted to him by his father, Benzion Netanyahu. To paraphrase one of the lessons that stuck with me: When communicating with leaders, appeal to their interests. When dealing with the public, focus on justice. For all his political savvy, Netanyahu has failed to apply this golden rule of communications.
In my view, it has always been in Canada’s interest to support Israel’s position: Hamas lays down its weapons and releases the remaining Israeli hostages (or their bodies) in exchange for safe passage to a third country and a cessation of hostilities. Unfortunately, the Israeli government and Canada’s pro-Israel community, me included, have failed to convey this clear message to the leaders of our country.
Consider, for instance, that shortly after being sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anita Anand claimed that Jerusalem was waging a war of “aggression” against “Palestinians in Palestine.” As a lawyer and professor of law, our top diplomat should know better than to make such a frivolous claim – so allow me to correct the record.
Canada’s official position is the following: Israel is a state. Hamas is a terrorist group and a non-state actor. By definition, wars of aggression are waged by one state against another. As it stands, Canada does not recognize a State of Palestine. To us, there are only Palestinian factions. When these organizations aren’t waging war against Israel, they are usually busy fighting each other.
On October 7, 2023, a collection of terrorist groups led by Hamas invaded Israel, massacred more than 1200 Israelis, and kidnapped 251 innocent people back to the Gaza Strip. That is how the so-called war of “aggression” being waged by Israel against Palestinians began. Recognizing a State of Palestine, as Prime Minister Mark Carney recently suggested, would, in fact, reward Hamas’ terrorism.
Instead of criticizing Jerusalem from the comfort of Canada, wouldn’t it be more productive for both Minister Anand and Prime Minister Carney to fly to Tel Aviv, meet the people who survived October 7 and the families of the hostages still languishing in Gaza, and re-establish a positive working relationship with Israel – still the only liberal and democratic country in the Middle East?
With that in mind, several things can still be true at once. So, while the Israeli government and the pro-Israel community have failed to persuade Canada’s leaders that they share the same interests, we have also failed to convince the wider public that Jerusalem’s cause is just. This is at least partly why Israel has lost the informational component of its war in Gaza.
Sure, Jerusalem rescued or recovered the bodies of some three quarters of the hostages, celebrated tactical victories, and improved its strategic position vis à vis its enemies in the Middle East. Yahyah Sinwar, Mohammed Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Hassan Nasrallah are dead. Hamas and Hezbollah are both shells of their former selves. Iran is in survival mode. Bashar al-Assad, the butcher of Syria, has retired to a life of luxury in Russia.
However, nearly two years in, with tens of thousands of people killed, more than a million displaced, and a big part of the Strip reduced to rubble, Israel has yet to win the war in Gaza. Hamas and the rest of the terrorist groups have not been disarmed, let alone dismantled. In fact, they are still recruiting. Meanwhile, at least 58 Israelis, or their bodies, remain captive in Gaza.
How many more people must be killed to remove Hamas from power, disarm the Gaza-based terrorist groups, and either rescue or bring the bodies of the remaining hostages home? Would Jerusalem’s interests be better served by pausing, or ending, the conventional military campaign in the Strip and sending Mossad, Yamam, Shin Bet, or Aman to finish the mission discreetly? These are questions worth asking.
With every passing day, it seems as if Israel is trading minimal gains on the battlefield in exchange for little more than reputational damage that will likely take years to rehabilitate. This is also accompanied by an explosion of antisemitism that makes the world a more dangerous place for the Jewish diaspora – usually people who have nothing to do with the war in Gaza.
Whether the Jew-hatred prevalent in Canada and elsewhere is overt or hidden, or driven by fact or fiction, is irrelevant because the antisemitism is real, and it’s growing. The State of Israel, as the protector of both Israeli citizens and the Jewish people, has an important role to play in mitigating this development instead of exacerbating it.
George Monastiriakos is a part-time professor at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law.