THE GAZA CRISIS AND WHAT IT MAY MEAN FOR CANADIAN POLITICS .
By Paul Merkley.
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Shortly before he spoke to the Economic Club in New York on May 17, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau learned that a Canadian citizen, Dr. Tarek Loubani, had been shot and wounded during two days of Palestinian mob activity in Gaza that had already resulted in the deaths of 62 Palestinians (50 of whom, according to a senior Hamas spokesman, were Hamas operatives. Afterwards, Dr. Loubani opined: “It’s very hard to believe that I wasn’t specifically targeted.”
The Doctor fell, said Trudeau “along with so many unarmed people, including civilians, members of the media, first responders, and children.” Trudeau said that his government was “engaging with Israeli officials to get to the bottom of these events.” What was already clear to him was that the “reported use of excessive force and live ammunition is inexcusable … Canada calls for an immediate independent investigation to thoroughly examine the facts on the ground — including any incitement, violence, and the excessive use of force.”
When he said these words, Trudeau must have known that the Hamas leadership was boasting that the mobs were indeed armed and intent on carrying a massive human wave into Israel’s territory. The evident purpose behind sending these poor souls to their deaths was to create conditions under which Israel, acting in self-protection, would be held responsible for large –scale carnage. In characterising the Arab rioters as “unarmed” Trudeau is taking no account of the lethal missiles that are shot from Arab sling-shots. And more significantly he was contradicting the testimony of Hamas leader, Mahmoud al-Zahar who insists consistently that all the talk about the confrontations at the Gaza fence being part of nonviolent and peaceful protests was “a lie”. A few days ago, this same Hamas leader bragged about the large quantities of major weapons in the hands of Hamas, and re-iterated: “This is not a peaceful resistance.”
As further proof of the intention of Hamas, the organization MEMRI has produced videos showing Hamas’ leaders stirring up children to offer themselves as “sacrifice for the sake of Jerusalem.” In an interview one Hamas leader says:
When we decided to embark on these marches, we decided to turn that which is most dear to us – the bodies of our women and children – into a dam … to prevent the racing of many Arabs towards the normalization of ties with the plundering entity, which occupies our Jerusalem, plunders our land, defiles our holy places, and oppresses our people day and night. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5YHo2oep_4
Pushing children to the forefront of a mob intent on drawing the firepower of Israel stands as an example of what Islam imagines is the best use of “that which is most dear to us.”
As for Doctor Loubani, we all understand the principle that medical professionals must give aid to any and all persons whom they may encounter along life’s way. But the Hippocratic oath surely does not cover the case of a doctor who imbeds himself inside a mob that is aggressively seeking martyrdom. Instead, such a person –medical doctor or plumber – has made himself accessory to violent death.
When he made the statement quoted above, Mr. Trudeau knew that only an investigation under UN auspices would appease public opinion on such a matter; and he knew that in the aftermath of all encounters between Israel and its demented neighbours the outcome of such an enquiry is always the same – a document, replicated in whole or in part and read aloud by every news agency in the world, whose principle theme is that Israel is a vicious and dangerous outlaw. And, of course, that is exactly what the UN quickly issued. [https://www.unwatch.org/full-text-un-draft-resolution-gaza-omits-hamas
Co-incidentally, the Gaza Crisis has brought on a little-noticed mini-crisis in the long-standing love-relationship between the Jewish groups here in Canada and the Liberal Party. In the early days of the Trudeau government, Shimon Fogel, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) chided those of us who regretted out loud the defeat of the Harper government and who expressed reservations about the prospects for Israel under the aegis of Mr. Trudeau. Now, Mr. Fogel tells us that Trudeau’s stance “contradicts the government’s long-stated position that, as a close ally and fellow liberal democracy, Israel can count on Canada’s support when its security is threatened. It also contradicts the government’s long-stated position that, as a close ally and fellow liberal democracy, Israel can count on Canada’s support when its security is threatened.”
Mr. Fogel is a humane individual, and so he does not take satisfaction in seeing Israel having, once again, to answer with violence the mindless Palestinian assault on Israel’s peace. ” As Jews,” says Fogel, ” we believe every human being is infinitely valuable and of equal worth. The situation in Gaza is grim and cannot be ignored. On the other hand, we know that Hamas’ goal is not to improve life in Gaza, but to make life more miserable for Israelis – even if it hurts Gazans in the process.
Those who persist in portraying the Israelis as sadists and the Gazan people as innocent bystanders, Fogel argues, “make no mention of the detailed instructions Hamas has provided to would-be kidnappers and murderers, or the cache of weapons carried by terrorists attempting to breach the border. And they completely overlook the Palestinian leadership’s cynical strategy that includes using human shields, forcing school children to the frontline, and blocking aid from entering the Gaza Strip.”
In the same vein, Avi Benlolo, CEO of the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, says “It’s disappointing that our prime minister did not condemn Hamas in his statement … for inciting violence and for attempting to enter a sovereign nation to carry out terrorism.”
Likewise, Michael Mostyn of B’nai Brith Canada says that it was “utterly inexcusable for Trudeau to pretend Hamas had nothing to do with the riots when its leaders proudly admit the opposite.”
Trudeau’s comments were equally lambasted by Andrew Scheer, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party. “In condemning the Israeli forces, Justin Trudeau ignores the role that the terrorist organization Hamas has played in inciting these clashes,” Scheer said in a statement. “In responding to these events with nothing but criticism of Israel, Justin Trudeau has failed Canadians on the international stage once again.” A few days later, during a session of the House of Commons, both leaders had an opportunity to speak again on Gaza and Israel, and both re-iterated their original responses.
The Conservative Party of Canada clearly calculates that a consistent pro-Israel attitude is what the public wants from its government.
The many commentators who imagine they are neutral as between Israel and Hama are taking no notice of the blatant demands for Israel’s unconditional surrender and Israel’s preparation for liquidation which are clearly promulgated by Hamas´ leaders:
Oh Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, destroy the Americans and their supporters. Oh Allah, count them one by one, and kill them all, without leaving a single one” – Ahmad Bahr, Deputy Speaker of the Palestinian Parliament in Gaza, 2012
There is no concession to Jerusalem, no alternative to Palestine, and no solution but to return. This is the Palestinian people taking the initiative for the sake of Jerusalem and the right of return” – Ismail Haniyeh, Chairman of Hamas Political Bureau.
Over is the time Hamas spent discussing recognizing Israel. Now Hamas will discuss when we will wipe out Israel” – Yahya Sinwar, Hamas Political Leader in Gaza, 2017.
And trumping all other possible arguments is this:
Removing the Jews from the land they occupied in 1948 is an immutable principle because it appears in the Book of Allah” – Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas Co-Founder, 2016.
Such declarations are not hard to find—and yet our journalists and the editorialists for our news papers and journals seem utterly oblivious to them. They carry on as though both Israel and her enemies are equally rigid in purpose.
Only the sturdy anti-Jewish spirit that still hovers close to the surface of our media culture can explain the perverse neglect of these mad declarations against Israel and Jews, made in full light of day every day in our own midst.
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