‘Canadians are hurting and crying out that it needs to stop’: PM Trudeau on Israel-Hamas war

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is calling out the “unacceptable” rise in hate surfacing in Canada amid the Israel-Hamas war, and calling for Canadians to remember “this is not who we are,” while pushing for a humanitarian pause long enough to get “back on track” towards a two-state solution.

“We’re seeing right now a rise in antisemitism that is terrifying. Molotov cocktails thrown at synagogues, horrific threats of violence, targeting Jewish businesses, targeting Jewish daycares with hate. This needs to stop. This is something that is not acceptable in Canada, period,” Trudeau said on his way in to a Liberal caucus meeting.

“And period, the rise of Islamophobia we’re seeing across this country and around the world, is also unacceptable. The expressions of hate against Muslims, against Palestinians, against anyone waving a Palestinian flag. This is unacceptable. This is not who we are as Canadians.”

The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas, a Canadian-designated terrorist organization, launched a deadly offensive in Israel, killing 1,400 people and taking more than 200 hostages. Israel retaliated and in the weeks since has deepened its attacks in Gaza, killing and displacing thousands, in a stated effort to eradicate Hamas.

The hostilities quickly sparked emotionally-charged protests in Canada, and condemnation for some of the expressions of hate on display.

“Canadians are scared in our own streets right now. We need to make sure that Canadians are doing what we do best, which is listening to our neighbors, understanding and acknowledging our neighbours’ pain, even though it may be diametrically opposed in its cause, to the same pain that we are feeling,” Trudeau said. 

The prime minister questioned if Canada can’t “figure this out” what other country in the world could.

“There are people across this country hurting… scared for their loved ones on the other side of the world, and no sign of it getting better anytime soon,” he said.

“Forget about leading on the world stage here at home, we need to model how we get through this. That’s the responsibility of every single Canadian, to see how we are recognizing each other’s pain and fear and move forward.”

Trudeau made these remarks as MPs came to Parliament Hill Wednesday morning expressing concerns about the rising tide of antisemitism and Islamophobia in this country, as the war in the Middle East passes the one-month mark.

“A month ago yesterday, Hamas launched a horrific attack against innocent lives in Israel. And every day since then, we have seen violence and horrific images of families, elderly, mothers, children, killed,” Trudeau said.

“We’re watching it on TV every night, seeing it all over our social media, and Canadians are hurting and crying out that it needs to stop.”

In his remarks, the prime minister also restated the Canadian government’s calls for humanitarian pauses, amid continuing pushes from pro-Palestinian and labour groups, as well as the federal NDP caucus, for Canada to call for an immediate ceasefire.

Currently, the most-signed active e-petition on the House of Commons website, is one stating Canadians are calling on Parliament to “require the prime minister to take the necessary measures” to address the conflict, including calling for a ceasefire and asking for more measures to protect civilians.

As of Wednesday morning, the petition, which also pushes for Canada to “help foster a climate conducive to building a lasting peace,” had garnered more than 185,000 signatures.

“We understand this is a heightened time… Everyone’s concerned right now,” said Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks on her way in to the meeting with Trudeau. 

Wednesday, Trudeau spoke about holding a pause long enough to allow all hostages to be released, and for significant amounts of aid and medical resources to get in, so the work can begin to de-escalate the situation in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon where tensions are spilling over.

“And where we actually start doing the work of the real heavy lifting that’s going to be required to get back on track to a two-state solution, to start imagining what the long-term future of a viable Palestinian state looks like: safe, secure. And, beside a safe, secure, viable and successful Israeli state,” Trudeau said.

“This is what we need to get to, and every day that we continue to see suffering of, of thousands, of millions of people, makes it harder to get to that end state.”

Conservative MP Marty Morantz, on his way into his party’s caucus meeting Wednesday, said every time the government makes a statement about the situation in the Middle East, “it should be prefaced with a statement that they demand that the hostages be released, now.”

“That should be the number one priority of this government in terms of its foreign policy position, as it relates to the situation in Gaza,” he said. 

This is a developing story, check back for updates…