Transcript:

Justin Trudeau: We stand with Israel.

Melanie Joly: We stand by Israel.

Chrystia Freeland: Canada stands with Israel.

Martin Lukacs: As Israel pulverizes Palestinians in Gaza, it’s more clear than ever: Canada has become one of Israel’s most extreme supporters. They sell Israel weapons, they back them at the UN. They offer them special trade access. They even serenade their leaders.

“Na na na nananana, nannana, hey Jude…”

(Someone obviously didn’t tell Stephen Harper what Jude means in German.)

So, what explains this relationship?

In 2005, Liberal prime minister Paul Martin put it this way: “Israel’s values are Canada’s values.”

They are indeed—the values of settler colonial states. Both cleared the land of Indigenous peoples to make room for settlers. Both impose and entrench that land theft with police or military violence. Both sign one-sided treaties to normalize this inequality on the ground. And both offer tearful apologies—but won’t stop committing their crimes.

While like recognizes like, the policies of Israel and Canada are fundamentally shaped by a far greater superpower: the United States of America.

Since Israel’s foundation, Canada has assisted U.S. interests in the Middle East: backing a strong client state to help control the region’s oil and keep Arab nationalism in check. During the deliberations over the partition of Palestine, Canadian diplomats took the American lead: “We will have nothing to say until after the United States has spoken.”

In the 1950s, the U.S. wanted to sell fighter jets to Israel, but were worried about their support being visible, so Canada sold it for them instead.

Speaker: “Ladies and gentlemen, the Royal Canadian Air Force proudly presents: the Goldenhawks.”

Lukacs: Over the following decades, Canada voted so often with Israel and America at the UN, that it developed a reputation as their second BFF.

In some cases, Canada outdid even the U.S. By the 1980s, most of the world had recognized the P.L.O. as the Palestinians’ official representatives at the UN. When U.S. president Ronald Reagan indicated that they too would open contact, Ottawa refused—making them the last country apart from Israel to formally deal with the P.L.O. In 1993, the U.S., with Canada by its side, presented themselves as peace brokers, helping ink the Oslo Peace Accords.

But the so-called peace process wasn’t intended to create an independent Palestinian state—it was intended to create, as former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami acknowledged, a “permanent neocolonialist dependency.”

Back at home, Canada’s spy agency targeted Palestinian activists who opposed this development. Canada began pouring tens of millions into a corrupt Palestinian Authority, who managed the occupation on Israel’s behalf. With Canadian and U.S. backing, a Palestinian security force more accountable to Israel than its own people would soon crack down on dissent.

They also inked a free trade agreement that recognized Palestinian territory as de facto part of Israel.

Billions in trade ensued. Canadian companies built the Israeli Air Force’s communications system, and components for bombers and helicopters, unmanned drones and maritime patrol aircraft, surveillance systems and body armour. They’ve even helped build the highways used by Israeli settlers that are off-limits to Palestinians, creating what Israeli human rights group B’Tselem calls a “regime of apartheid.”

Under Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, Canada started outdoing the U.S. once again in their extreme support for Israel.

Global News anchor: “He was given a warm welcome at the Knesset, even given the key to Israel’s parliament.”

Lukacs: And when Palestinians voted for Hamas in fair and free elections in 2006, Canada became the first country in the world to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority—to teach them a lesson for doing democracy the wrong way.

Canada’s votes at the UN by this point were so one-sided that even government officials complained in private: “Voting against the majority of these resolutions, while welcomed by Israel and the U.S., has been perceived as unbalanced by the Palestinians, the Arab nations and the G77+China.”

Today, as the Israeli state engages once again in open ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza, Canada continues to parrot what the U.S. says—quite literally:

October 17: CBS News anchor: “The blast killed hundreds of people yesterday. This morning, President Biden said intelligence appears to show it was done ‘by the other team,’ meaning Palestinian militants.”

Later that day: Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre: “Does he agree with President Biden that the offending missile originated with terrorists in Gaza?”

October 23: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken: “It means humanitarian pauses must be considered for these purposes.”

Later that day: Canada’s UN ambassador Bob Rae: “Canada supports humanitarian pauses in order to protect civilians.”

Lukacs: The good news is that public opinion in Canada now strongly diverges from our government. Three out of four Canadians want Canada to oppose the Israeli annexation of Palestinian land, and nearly half want Canada to impose economic or diplomatic sanctions against Israel.

A growing movement is connecting the dots, calling for decolonization at home and abroad. Respect for international law, an end to military violence and most important of all: Land Back.

That would break Canada free of the U.S. empire, and help achieve justice and peace for all.

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When I went to journalism school 10 years ago, my parents thought that they would eventually read my articles in The Montreal Gazette. Today, that newspaper is a husk of its former self. But I get to explain that I’m working towards critical, independent, and sustainable journalism.

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– Amanda Siino, Development Director, The Breach

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9 comments

You don’t speak for me, I’ll decide for myself, I don’t support Israel, I support Palestine, Land Back.

You left out the most important aspect of this genocidal war by Israel and the west. Zionism, is the driving force that unites them all. Religious belief is at the core of all corruption, and unholy wars. Maybe read a little Chomsky before your next article.🤔

I completely disagree. Most Canadians do not support ether illegitimate state, in fact most of us thinks its time to remove religions and religious states from their falsely granted status and consider them terrorist organizations, or criminal extortion empires as all religions are.
Most Canadians think its time mature beyond the separate provinces or states and become a single nation and that can not happen if our people still beleave in fiction and fairy tales like religions.

I have been a Canadian for about 50 years, and am very, very ashamed of Canada’s complicity in what are virtually, if not absolutely, war crimes by the Israeli “Defence” Force (what an oxymoron) in Palestine. Biden acts like an organ grinder, Trudeau as his chained monkey, and Rae as a flea on the monkey’s rear end. The latter two should resign or be sacked!

Sickening that during the Holocaust, Canada strictly restricted immigration of Jews to our country, – and now, blindly backs the decimation of the Palestinian population. A history of blindness.

Violence using weapons food roads children women elderly water hydro gas as hostages will only make trauma rage and violence in the future. Israelites should know that better than anyone else. I expected better from them. They have proven themselves to be like all other patriarchal hierchical mysogynistic religion. This is not faith.

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