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The Trudeau Government’s Fake Fight Against Antisemitism- Part 16

Trudeau eyed Quebec Muslim constituencies which he sought for electoral success

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A sign at an anti-Israel rally in Westmount, Montreal, Quebec, on May 15, 2021. “… attacking Israel is an “acceptable” way for antisemites to express their Judeophobia”. (Photo: @jjmontreal)

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In the wake of the 2018 border conflict with Hamas, during Question Period in the House of Commons, Andrew Sheer, then leader of the Conservatives, asked Trudeau to apologise for his statement that refused to condemn Hamas and accused him of putting all the blame on Israel.

Trudeau gave away his game when he in turn accused the Conservatives of “politicising” the issue of support for Israel, and damaging Canada’s “pluralistic democracy.” Spencer Fernando, May 23, 2018

What on earth could possibly Canada’s pluralistic democracy have anything to do with the treatment of terrorism and terrorists? Well, as a matter of fact, the evidence reported below shows that for Trudeau it has a great deal to do.

Assuming for sake of argument, but not admitting that Trudeau wanted to do the right thing by Israel in 2018 and in the subsequent conflicts, he will not go past his standard platitudes and his statement that Israel has the right to self-defence, unless that is the Golan Heights and parts of Judea and Samaria, adjoining the Jordan River is involved. This is part and parcel of the identity politics which Trudeau has been inflicting on this country along with his slogan – “equity, diversity and inclusion”.

What is at play here is Trudeau’s electoral objective of retaining the support of his large and steadily getting larger Muslim electoral constituency, which subject to some notable exceptions, supports the terrorism of Hamas whose paramount objective is to destroy Israel.

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Starting with the election campaign of 2015

The day Justin Trudeau set out on his victorious election campaign of 2015 I was not sure what to make of him although I had a hunch that on the issue of the Palestinian- Israeli conflict, his sympathies would lay with the Palestinians and that he would be a supporter of Palestinian self- determination and the two-state solution.

Once he entered the electoral ring, I learned that he, like his father, abhorred nationalism, thought of Canada as a country without a core and took pride in the fact that Canada was one of the first, a post-national globalist state.

My search for further clues about the man was rewarded when I came across an old newspaper article  by the respected Quebec columnist Lysiane Gagnon titled “A Troubling Show of Solidarity” published in the Globe and Mail, February 9, 2009 and updated the following April 9.

Here is what I learned: The show of solidarity Gagnon is writing about is “the dalliance between Quebec sovereigntists and the Palestinians” and describing the antics of the then-Leader of the Bloc Quebecois and another M.P of the same party between 2006 and 2009, along with the Leader of the Party Quebecois, the heads of the major labour unions in Quebec, not to mention, Denis Coderre, then Liberal M.P, and subsequently the Mayor of Montreal.

Gagnon points out that “Predictably, the show of solidarity with terrorists groups angered many Quebeckers. But…” But what?

She explained it this way: ”… there is no doubt that in Quebec, probably more than in other provinces, there is widespread sympathy for the Palestinian cause-and very little sympathy for Israelis who have been the target of terrorist attacks for years”.

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She then proceeded to provide four sets of explanations for this state of affairs:

  1. ”…solidarity with Palestinians, seen as the victims of a powerful and rich ally of the United States, is a staple of current leftist thought….”
  2. “…homegrown factors behind Quebec’s bias towards the Palestinian side…The Montreal area has the largest Arab community in Canada. Since most Quebec Arabs come from North Africa and Lebanon, they are Francophones, thus closer to old-stock Francophones than to the old Jewish Ashkenazi community whose first language is English. The Sephardim Jews, who settled more recently in Montreal, are French–speaking, but don’t seem to have mingled as easily with the French-Canadians.
  3. “Most Jews, for obvious reasons, are suspicious of nationalist movements-and Quebec has absorbed deeply the sovereigntist ideology. For the sovereigntists, the Jewish community is an active ‘ally’ of the federalist camp, while the Arab community is either sympathetic or indifferent to Quebec nationalism.” ,although  since then, this sympathy appears to have converted into antipathy in response to Parti Quebecois’ fuss about its “ill-fated”  Charter of Secularism ,or whatever it is called, directed against  the Muslim community.
  4. ”Last but not least, there is the old factor of antisemitism, which still exists in Quebec as in so many other societies throughout the world. Nobody will dare voice plain, direct antisemitic remarks, but attacking Israel is an “acceptable” way for antisemites to express their Judeophobia”.

So, at the end of the day, our Prime Minister turned out to be a true native son of Quebec, who became confident that his pro-Palestinian stance will be favourably viewed and accepted in the province – including that of its large Muslim constituencies which he sought for electoral success. Needless, to say he also had his eye on the Muslim constituencies beyond Quebec.

A French language pro-Gaza poster in Montreal, claiming that Israel is committing a “massacre” of Palestinians. (Image: Facebook)

Post- 2015 election

Based on my notes of an article by Abe Greenwald in Commentary, very soon after taking office Trudeau phoned Prime Minister Netanyahu, to inform him that ‘there would be a shift in tone” in Canada’s relations with Israel, but said Canada would continue to be a friend of Israel…”.

His then Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion, explained the rationale for this change: ”Israel is a friend, it is an ally but for us to be an effective ally we need also to strengthen our relationship with other legitimate partners in the region. For example, we need to strengthen our relationship with Lebanon, and this will help Lebanon but also Israel. To be helpful, you need to strengthen your relationship with other legitimate partners, and that is what we will do.”

The problem with Dion’s statement is that to date the Trudeau government did not do anything helpful to Israel with Lebanon, the P.A. and certainly not with Hezbollah, Hamas or for that matter with any other “so-called” legitimate partners whose identities were not identified.

Not long after that in 2016, Vivian Bercovici (a Harper Government appointee) was unceremoniously dumped from her post Canada’s Ambassador to Israel, as she did not fit into the new government approach to the Palestinian- Israeli conflict and the Middle-East affairs.

Doğan D. Akman is an independent researcher and commentator. He holds a B.Sc. in sociology, an M.A. in sociology/criminology and an LL.B in law. He held academic appointments in sociology, criminology and social policy; served as a Judge of the Provincial Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, and occupied the positions of Crown Counsel in criminal prosecutions and in civil litigation at the Federal Department of Justice. His academic work is published in peer-reviewed professional journals, while his opinion pieces and other writings are to be found in various publications and in blogs.  

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Thank you for choosing TheJ.Ca as your source for Canadian Jewish News.

We do news differently!

Our positioning as a Zionist News Media platform sets us apart from the rest. While other Canadian Jewish media are advocating increasingly biased progressive political and social agendas, TheJ.Ca is providing more and more readers with a welcome alternative and an ideological home.

We revealed the incursion of anti-Israel progressive elements such as IfNotNow into our communities. We have exposed the distorted hateful agenda of the “progressive” left political radicals who brought Linda Sarsour to our cities, and we were first to report on many disturbing incidents of Nazi-based hate towards Jews across Canada.

But we can’t do it alone. We need your HELP!

Our ability to thrive and grow in 2020 and beyond depends on the generosity of committed readers and supporters like you.

Monthly support is a great way to help us sustain our operations. We greatly appreciate any contributions you can make to support Jewish Journalism.

We thank you for your ongoing support.

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