Jewish and Muslim Canadians Unsatisfied with Trudeau’s Response to Israel–Hamas War

As the Israel–Hamas war enters its third month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and senior cabinet members have been struggling to deliver messaging that will please a divided public and slow rising antisemitic and Islamophobic violence, while providing support for the dozens of Canadians still in Gaza.

One Canadian remains unaccounted for in Gaza and eight have died, including one Canadian who died in Lebanon, where fighting between the militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces has spiked since Oct. 7. Hezbollah is recognized as a terrorist group by the Canadian government. While Global Affairs won’t say whether the missing person is taken hostage, a US statement indicated one of Hamas’ hostages may be Canadian.

Photo Credit: Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via CTV News

Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly have called for expanded access to humanitarian aid in Gaza along with “humanitarian pauses.” According to BBC News, a temporary ceasefire that lasted from Nov. 24 to Dec. 1 allowed additional humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, and 110 hostages being held by Hamas were released. 

Speaking to reporters before the announcement of a temporary pause in fighting, Joly said she hopes the success of the deal could translate into a full and lasting ceasefire. CTV News reported that on Dec. 12, Canada voted in favour of a non-binding United Nations resolution calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Canada also released a joint statement with Australia and New Zealand supporting a ceasefire. They stated that “in defending itself, Israel must respect international humanitarian law. Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected. [...] the price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continuous suffering of all Palestinian civilians.” However, before and during this announcement, Trudeau faced backlash on both sides for perceived inaction.

According to an online government statement, Canada’s official policy recognizes Israel’s right of self-defence, however its support is contingent on Israel abiding to international law. “Canada supports Israel's right to live in peace with its neighbours within secure boundaries and recognizes Israel's right to assure its own security,” reads the statement. “Israel has a right under international law to take the necessary measures, in accordance with human rights and international humanitarian law, to protect the security of its citizens from attacks by terrorist groups.”

The Canadian government has advocated for a two-state solution, in which Israel and Palestine exist as independent, separate nations.“Canada recognizes the Palestinian right to self-determination and supports the creation of a sovereign, independent, viable, democratic and territorially contiguous Palestinian state, as part of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace settlement,” the website reads.

The NDP, Bloc Québécois, some Liberal Members of Parliament, Muslim advocacy groups, and humanitarian organizations have all called on the government to endorse a ceasefire, according to CBC News.

Trudeau has told reporters his most pressing concern is antisemitism and Islamophobia within Canada. In his view, the question shouldn’t be whether “this magic solution or that magic solution said by a Canadian prime minister [is] suddenly going to bring peace to the Middle East overnight.” Rather, Trudeau emphasized the responsibility of Canadians to prevent situations “when a kid feels scared to go to school in the morning because of their religion, because of their ethnicity.”

Trudeau has condemned the actions of Hamas, calling for the release of all hostages being held in Gaza and demanding the group stop hiding itself in civilian locations, such as hospitals. The terror group must “stop using Palestinians as human shields,” he said. The Canadian government has considered Hamas a terrorist organization for over 20 years.

The prime minister also raised questions about Israel’s actions in Gaza, imploring its military to follow international law and spare civilians from the fighting. “We’re hearing testimonies of doctors, family members, survivors, kids who’ve lost their parents. The world is witnessing this—the killing of women and children, of babies. This has to stop,” he said. “I have been clear that the price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians. Even wars have rules. All innocent life is equal in worth—Israeli and Palestinian.” 

CTV News reported that Trudeau called for Israeli Defence Forces to exercise “maximum restraint” in the densely populated Gaza Strip, since “the world is watching.”

In a response to Trudeau’s comments on Twitter, currently known as X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took issue with Trudeau’s questioning of Israeli policy. “While Israel is doing everything to keep civilians out of harm’s way,” he claimed. “Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm’s way. [...] It is Hamas, not Israel, that should be held accountable for committing a double war crime—targeting civilians while hiding behind civilians. The forces of civilization must back Israel in defeating Hamas barbarism.”

Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair maintained a neutral stance when asked about Trudeau’s remarks, reiterating that “the prime minister, quite understandably, is concerned about innocent lives on both sides of that border.”

A day after making those comments, Trudeau met with Benny Gantz, an opposition leader in the Knesset and member of Israel’s War Cabinet, and “reaffirmed” Israel’s right of self-defense, according to the official account of the meeting.

The government’s position has sparked outrage in Canada. Following his Nov. 14 remarks on the conflict in BC, pro-Palestinian protesters interfered with Trudeau’s dinner arrangements twice. Videos posted to social media show protestors chanting “ceasefire now,” before forcing the prime minister out of popular Vancouver restaurant Vij’s. Later that evening, 250 protesters, while chanting the same slogan and waving Palestinian flags, prevented Trudeau from leaving another Vancouver restaurant, according to Vancouver police.

VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison said 100 officers were called to the scene to ensure the prime minister’s safe exit.

Reports from CBC News confirm dozens more protesters, again demanding the government call for a ceasefire, amassed outside an Ottawa hotel before Trudeau was scheduled to attend a Nov. 21 fundraising event. Some protesters gained access to the event space before being removed by security.

Charlotte Kates, a member of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network who attended both Vancouver protests, told CBC News she wants Canadian officials to call for a ceasefire, instead of delivering meaningless remarks on the conflict.

“We want Canada to take a real position on this issue and not simply say that, you know, the Israeli occupation should be restrained,” she said.

Stephen Brown, CEO of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, says Trudeau simply acknowledging the deaths of Palestinian women and children is not enough. Instead, he wants to see Canada call for action in preventing future deaths by calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Speaking about the deaths of innocent Palestinians is “an important and positive step […] but we need to see more. Canada needs to be a leading voice in the international community calling for a ceasefire and also working for just and lasting peace for the Palestinians.”

Brown also called out Netanyahu’s social media post for being inconsiderate and insensitive. It was “callous and uncaring […] Quite frankly, it’s ridiculous,” he says.

Palestinian Canadian Dalia El Farra told CBC News she feels unwelcome in her local community, making an already difficult time even more challenging. “I can't grieve in peace [...] There's a constant feeling of being attacked and needing to defend myself […] and just constantly trying to humanize myself and my people,” In Canada, she feels “very disenfranchised and very marginalized [...] The narrative coming from our elected officials, from the media, from the systems that are supposed to support me and keep me safe, they're making me feel vulnerable.”

Jasmin Zine, professor of sociology, religion, and culture at Wilfrid Laurier University told CBC journalists that the situation Muslim Canadians are currently experiencing is more dire than the surge in hate that took place in the aftermath of 9/11, but not entirely unexpected, given recent trends. 

"[We’re in] a situation that is much worse than what we saw in the aftermath of 9/11 [...] Over the past two decades, Islamophobia has laid the groundwork that makes it easier to collectively label and punish Muslim populations," Zine said. 

Leaders of the Jewish community are similarly dissatisfied with Trudeau’s remarks. In a post on social media, Michael Levitt, President and CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies and a former Liberal Member of Parliament, called out the prime minister for his lack of support for Israel. Trudeau’s “reckless accusations against Israel [are] deeply concerning,” he said.

Speaking to CBC News, Levitt accused Trudeau of over-simplifying the situation and failing to discuss the actions taken by Hamas that led Israel to retaliate. 

“The prime minister’s remarks were delivered sharply and curtly. The accusation of Israel killing women and children, killing babies, it was something that did not properly contextualize how we got here […] Everything that’s happening now, the tragic loss of life that we’ve seen of both innocent Palestinian and Israeli civilians, is the result of the atrocities committed by the terror group Hamas.”

He says he’s disappointed with Trudeau’s response to the war, and believes many members of the Liberal Party share his opinion. He’s most concerned with the forceful tone Trudeau has taken on the matter. Micheal Mostyn, President and CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, agreed in an interview with CBC News, adding that Trudeau’s tone was not conducive to holding constructive, hate-free conversation in Canada.

“[Trudeau’s] words, which belie the facts on the ground in the war between a fellow democracy and a genocidal terror group, may have been meant to deliver a message overseas but that’s not the only place they landed […] The scathing remarks also landed here at home, where Jews like me, reeling from weeks of surging antisemitism, got the message loud and clear […] [Trudeau’s comments hold] the potential to further fan the flames of Jew-hatred that we are facing,” added Levitt.

Police in Canada have confirmed a surge in the number of hate-related incidents against the Jewish and Muslim communities following the beginning of the Oct. 7 conflict. Sgt. Addison, the VPD spokesperson, said his force has received 18 reports of hate incidents against the Jewish community in the month following the beginning of hostilities.

From Oct. 7 to Nov. 20, Toronto saw 17 incidents of anti-Muslim hate, a 1,600 per cent year-over-year increase, and 38 antisemitic hate incidents, an increase of 192 per cent, according to numbers Police Chief Myron Demkiw presented to a police board meeting. The uptick is something “we’ve never seen before,” he said.

In the same period, police in Montreal received reports of 35 hate incidents against the Muslim community and 107 against the Jewish community, according to CityNews. In a Nov. 25 incident, a Molotov cocktail was allegedly thrown at a Jewish community centre in the city.

Rabbi Saul Emanuel, executive director of the Jewish Community Council of Montreal, the organization who owns the building, expressed relief that no one was injured in the attack, but still called out the violence for its antisemitic sentiment. “Thank god no one was present and minimal damage occurred. [...] The rise of antisemitism in our city is frightening, and the repeated violence and attacks on our community are abhorrent and condemned in the strongest terms.”

Nico Slobinsky, a vice-president at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs who spoke with CBC News, says that the danger from antisemitic hate incidents is real, and needs to be addressed. “People are really scared by what’s happening right on our streets […] Antisemitism is a threat to democracy and we all need to work together and stand up together and call out hate anywhere and everywhere it rears its ugly head.” 

Uthman Quick, director of communications for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, told CBC News the level of hateful incidents his community is currently experiencing compares only to the surge in Islamophobia that followed 9/11.

“We’ve seen so many incidents of Islamophobia coming from across the country […] What we’re hearing from the community is fear but also a level of being targeted that we haven’t really experienced since the early 2000s.”

Photo Credit: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Moreover, the fear of hate and division spreading as a result of the conflict isn’t limited to Jewish and Muslim Canadians. 69 per cent of Canadians are concerned or somewhat concerned the conflict will lead to an increase in hate incidents in their communities, according to a Nanos Research poll.

Trudeau has condemned the violence and implored Canadians to help each other through this challenging time. He says dialogue between different communities is necessary, since it is the only way to secure lasting peace for everyone.

“[My] job, as Canadian prime minister, is to help bring Canadians together,” the prime minister told reporters. “To understand that, if Canadians can’t figure out how to get along and remember to be compassionate and empathetic towards each other, then where in the world is there a solution for the conflict and the tensions in the Middle East going to come [from]?”

Overall, recent polling indicates Canadians’ views on the war are largely divided. 28 per cent say their sympathies lie with Israel, while 18 per cent support the Palestinians and 31 per cent say they have equal sympathies for both sides, according to research from the Angus Reid Institute.

Most people want peace in the region. 65 per cent of respondents to an Angus Reid survey said they want to see a full, lasting ceasefire called immediately, while 51 per cent of respondents to a Nanos poll agree now is a good or very good time to start negotiations for a two-state solution, which would see the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state.

While 43 per cent of Angus Reid respondents say Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is a form of apartheid, 78 per cent also believe Israel has the right to exist and defend itself. 57 per cent of Nanos Research respondents think Israel is justified or somewhat justified in using its military to dismantle Hamas.

Meanwhile, approximately 70 people with connections to Canada remain trapped in Gaza, according to figures form Global Affairs Canada. 600 Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and their family members have fled to Egypt through the Rafah gate, the only way out of the besieged territory.

Louis Dumas, Canada’s Ambassador to Egypt, told CTV News that the process of securing evacuation for Canadians through the Rafah gate has been challenging. “We spare no effort talking to the people who produce the [exit] list–we’re talking here about the Israeli officials, Egyptian officials, and their conversations […] We try to influence, as much as possible, the possibility of having more Canadians, permanent residents and their family members on the list.”

The government is seeking to provide aid for the residents of Gaza. Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen announced $20 million to support the Red Cross’ operations in Gaza, along with the efforts of several UN agencies. An additional $40 million has also been promised.

Amidst the growing division surrounding the war, a message of unity has emerged from Jewish and Muslim law students studying at the University of Ottawa. In an open letter that has earned the support of 1,000 people in the legal community, the students ask Canadians affected by the conflict to “focus on how our shared pain unifies us, instead of letting hatred divide us.”