(National Post-Canada) Anthony Housefather - As I listened to the debate in the House of Commons on a motion that sought to reverse the last five decades of Canadian foreign policy as relates to our friend and ally Israel, I realized that there was a fundamental misunderstanding of what Zionism was and why the vast majority of Canadian Jews identified with Israel and supported it in its effort to eradicate the terrorist group Hamas which attacked the country on Oct. 7. We are also keenly aware that following the Oct. 7 pogrom, Hamas encouraged followers to target Jewish communities across the world including here in Canada. In my address to the House I explained that Jewish Canadians love our country and that there is nothing irreconcilable in being both proud Canadians and Zionists. My community has been here since 1760 and helped build this country. We have fought in all of Canada's wars and are an integral part of this country. But the vast majority of us are also Zionists, as are many other Canadians who are not Jewish. Zionism is simply the belief that Jews have a right to have one state in our ancestral homeland. Jews are indigenous to Israel. We have been there for thousands of years. We also have a history where Jews have faced persecution in every country in the world. As such, it is etched in our collective understanding that for security we needed one place where every Jew in the world could go if things went wrong in their country. That is Israel. That is what Zionism means. I am proud to be a Zionist. It means that we will not give willful support to those who seek the disappearance of Israel and create false double standards making ludicrous comparisons between a democratically-elected government and a terrorist organization. The writer is a Member of Parliament in Canada.
2024-03-31 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive