{"id":365984,"date":"2025-12-24T13:25:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T13:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/365984\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T13:25:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T13:25:07","slug":"theres-a-link-between-canadas-treatment-of-israel-and-why-canadian-jews-feel-unsafe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/365984\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a link between Canada\u2019s treatment of Israel and why Canadian Jews feel unsafe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand summoned Israel\u2019s ambassador to explain why a delegation of Canadian MPs was refused entry to the West Bank earlier this month.Virginia Mayo\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Lawrence P. Haber is a retired financial industry executive and securities lawyer, who currently serves on several corporate and advisory boards.<\/p>\n

Apparently, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand has summoned Israel\u2019s<\/a> Ambassador for an explanation as to why Canadian MPs were turned away at the border from Jordan into the West Bank. <\/p>\n

The Minister appears to not get it. Here\u2019s what happened. The purpose of the visit, comprised of around 30 Canadians and six MPs, was ostensibly to meet with Palestinians in the territory. But it was more of a publicity stunt, of the sort you might see from Greta Thunberg, sponsored by malign parties and designed by people with an agenda, and meant to embarrass the Israeli government and deflect from the important and difficult work being done by others to try to reduce tensions in the region and mitigate the serious conflicts there. <\/p>\n

Just like Canada, Israel, as a sovereign country, has the right to control its borders and decide who can enter. Ms. Anand\u2019s summons, coupled with her government\u2019s continued apparent indifference to the hostility, intimidation, harassment and violence being directed toward the Canadian Jewish community, puts Canadian Jews at risk of serious harm.<\/p>\n

Anand summoned Israel\u2019s envoy to explain turning away of MPs at West Bank border post<\/a><\/p>\n

While hatred of Israel is not the same as hatred of Jews, and while reasonable people can certainly disagree about the policies and actions of the current Israeli government, there is a serious degree of overlap between these two forms of hatred. When our government shows indifference toward protecting Canadian Jews, it gives aid and comfort to Israel\u2019s enemies. By corollary, when our government fails to support Israel, it gives aid and comfort to those who hate Jews in Canada. <\/p>\n

In this manner, our government\u2019s lack of support for Israel and its failure to sufficiently protect the Canadian Jewish community are inextricably linked in a vicious cycle. The lack of moral clarity from our government on these issues, and its apparent failure to understand this linkage, is very sad, and unfortunately, may ultimately lead to tragic consequences. <\/p>\n

Given the tragic events that occurred at Sydney\u2019s Bondi Beach, and the haunting similarities between the conditions in Canada and Australia, one might have reasonably expected that the terrorist attack there would have been a wake-up call for our government about the need to protect Jews here in Canada. Apparently not. I take these attitudes and actions personally. <\/p>\n

Editorial: The fight against the growing darkness of antisemitism<\/a><\/p>\n

For two years, I served with Ms. Anand on an expert committee advising the Ontario government on policy issues relating to the regulation of financial advice and financial planning. I later invited Ms. Anand to serve on the board of directors of a public company where I was the chair \u2013 she had expressed an interest in gaining practical experience in corporate governance. She served on that board until departing for her political career. <\/p>\n

Over the years, Ms. Anand sought my advice on various issues, including during her tenure as a government minister. I willingly and responsively did so on a number of occasions, discreetly and in confidence. Ms. Anand and her spouse were dinner guests in my home. We were friends. And yet. When I pleaded with her over the course of the last two years for the government of which she was a part to show some moral clarity in support of the State of Israel, I was met with silence. <\/p>\n

When I subsequently chastised her in private, I complained that Canadian Jews feel unsafe and exposed and abandoned. I urged her and her government to do something about it; I received no response. Nothing. Crickets.<\/p>\n

In the past, I have vigorously defended Ms. Anand from her critics. I was cheering for her to do well and I was publicly proud of her successes.<\/p>\n

No more. <\/p>\n

Opinion: We have to confront what Ahmed al Ahmed fought on Bondi Beach<\/a><\/p>\n

The moral deficit shown by the government in which Ms. Anand serves in failing to protect the Canadian Jewish community and in failing to support a country, Israel, that shares core values with Canada in every meaningful respect, is deplorable and unforgivable. <\/p>\n

Furthermore, Ms. Anand\u2019s continued apparent lack of understanding of the nexus between her government\u2019s policies and actions (and inactions) with regard to Israel and the safety and security of the Canadian Jewish community, is disturbingly na\u00efve. <\/p>\n

While Ms. Anand has expressed disapproval over Israel\u2019s treatment of these MPs, perhaps she ought to reflect on how her government\u2019s actions might reasonably cause both Israel and the Canadian Jewish community to disapprove of her government\u2019s treatment of them. <\/p>\n

In personal terms, this all makes me very sad. In non-personal terms, I\u2019m outraged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand summoned Israel\u2019s ambassador to explain why a delegation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365985,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-365984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-news","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365984\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}