Liberal And NDP Support On Israel-Gaza Motion Was A ‘Knife To The Heart,’ Oct. 7 Victim Families Say

Four Canadians whose mothers, daughters, nieces and cousins were killed by Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7 say this week’s parliamentary motion on Canada’s response to the war felt like a knife being twisted in their hearts, and are accusing the Trudeau government of appearing to pick a side in a dangerous politicization of the conflict.

Iris Weinstein Haggai — whose mother was killed by Hamas — is asking why the Canadian government isn’t doing more to help bring her mother’s body home.

“Please, help me get my mom out, and 134 hostages out, and save humanity. Please,” she said Wednesday.

Weinstein Haggai and other family members of Oct. 7 victims were on Parliament Hill in the aftermath of an emotional debate in the House of Commons over an NDP motion laying out actions it wanted Canada to take in response to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas militants killed an estimated 1,200 people during last fall’s attack on Israel, and took about 250 people hostage. Just under half of the hostages were released during a negotiated ceasefire last year. Since Oct. 7, Israeli forces have killed an estimated 31,000 Palestinians in a military campaign which they say aims to destroy Hamas’s ability to operate in Gaza.

Toronto-born Judih Weinstein Haggai is among the Canadian victims. She was originally believed to have been taken captive during the assault on her kibbutz, but months later she and her husband were confirmed to have been killed during the attack and their bodies taken to Gaza.

The Israeli government is now under mounting international pressure to consider a ceasefire.

Similar demands are being made on the streets of Canada, with ongoing protests against the Israeli government and allegations that Canada is complicit in Israel’s actions.

Police in Canada have linked opposition to the war to a rise in hate-motivated attacks against Jews at a rate not seen in the last three years.

Weinstein Haggai said what happened in Israel could happen one day in Toronto, and that it is incumbent on Canadians to fight harder against terrorism.

“We should fight for peace,” she said. “We all have the same goal, for both Palestinians, Jews and Israelis.”

On Monday, members of Parliament voted on a motion that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said was prompted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau not having the courage to “take bold steps for peace and justice.”

Hundreds of thousands of Canadians were writing to demand action, Singh said, and it was time for Canada to push harder to “end the bloodshed.”

The NDP motion included calls to recognize a state of Palestine and suspend arms trade with Israel.

The motion’s opponents, which included some pro-Israel organizations and some government and Conservative Opposition MPs, argued the text upended decades of Canada’s Middle East policy on a negotiated two-state solution and minimized the role Hamas has played in the current conflagration.

The Liberals scrambled into the evening Monday to get New Democrats to agree to amendments they felt were more in keeping with existing government policy.

Ultimately, the NDP agreed to remove the direct call to recognize a Palestinian state, tweak the language on arms sales and make other changes. The non-binding motion passed in a vote of 204-117.

The House of Commons passed a softened New Democrat motion on Monday night that no longer calls for the federal government to officially recognize Palestinian statehood after last-minute amendments brought in by the governing Liberals.

From the perspective of Ashley Waxman Bakshi, whose 19-year-old cousin Agam Berger is being held by Hamas, the political manoeuvring on display in Ottawa is what is problematic.

“Seeing the massacre, the horrific situation that is right now in the Middle East, our lives and our hostages being used for internal Canadian politics, for me as a Canadian, watching the vote and seeing it pass felt like the knife that had been stabbed in my heart on Oct. 7 was being pushed deeper and deeper by my own government,” she said.

Canada is showing it is picking sides with the motion, Weinstein Haggai said, adding it shouldn’t be about “sides.” There is no humanitarian “side,” she said.

“This is a humanitarian issue,” Weinstein Haggai said.

” It’s a lot bigger than Jews against Palestinians. This is something a lot bigger and Canada should focus on helping not only Israel and the Palestinians but its own country.”

The chaos of Monday night continued to reverberate Wednesday on Parliament Hill. The motion’s language about arms sales to Israel raised questions about the implications of that policy shift, and the future of at least one Liberal MP who opposed the motion remains in doubt.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller also mused the vote could hold up efforts to get families of Canadians out of Gaza because of the Israeli government’s displeasure.

Weinstein Haggai said what’s being ignored is the reality of Israel. Were it not for how strenuously the Israeli government and military goes to protect its citizens against Hamas, Israel “would look exactly like the photos you see in Gaza,” she said.

“This is a wider issue, a world issue that we need to fight and let’s not put a Band-Aid on it,” she said.

“Let’s be on the right side of history. Let’s look back 20 years from now and be proud that Canadians took the lead: save the only Canadian hostage, save 134 hostages, save the Palestinians.”