44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 16, 2023 11:00AM
- Oct/16/23 2:14:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Hamas launched a number of terrorist attacks on Israel last week. Many civilians were killed or taken hostage. The terrorists committed rape, decapitated children and launched numerous rockets, hoping to kill as many Jews as possible. In response to the murders and violence perpetrated by Hamas, the Iranian foreign affairs minister warned Israel to stop defending itself, saying that the war could spread to other parts of the Middle East. In other words, Iran wants Israel to quietly accept the murder of its own citizens and do and say nothing.
Israel has the right to defend itself against the attacks and to respond to the attackers in kind. The Conservatives unequivocally condemn the Hamas terrorists' invasion of Israel. Furthermore, I find it appalling that anyone in Canada or elsewhere would express support for Hamas knowing that at least five Canadians, including Alexandre Look of Montreal, are among the victims. The glorification of terrorism has no place in Canada. In addition, not a single dollar of Canadian taxpayers' money should be used to support terrorism. It is time to bring common sense back to Canada's foreign policy.
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- Oct/16/23 2:19:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Hamas's atrocities against Israeli civilians have been unimaginably horrific, and the sadistic crimes continue. In the carnage, five Canadians were murdered and they are not just numbers. Alexandre Look from Montreal and Ben Mizrachi of Vancouver were both murdered when Hamas opened fire on a music festival. Shir Georgy was also killed there. Adi Vital-Kaploun of Ottawa was murdered in her kibbutz; and Netta Epstein was murdered as he sheltered his girlfriend from a grenade launched at them. They are now in our memory forever and may their memory be a blessing.
Canadian citizens missing are believed to be held hostage among the 199 others by Hamas terrorists who hold their own people under siege in the gruesome grip serving as a proxy for the regime in Iran, imposing maximum terror on everyone in their path of destruction.
Among the missing believed to be held are Vivian Silver, Judih Weinstein and Tiferet Lapidot, daughters of our own citizens. Their fate is unknown. Canada could do more and it must do more and demand their release again and again. We pray for their fate and their safe return.
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- Oct/16/23 8:05:45 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, Canada must stand with the state of Israel. The events of October 7 were the biggest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. On that day, Hamas launched a terrorist attack and invaded Israel. Some two and a half thousand Hamas terrorists broke through the border, attacking Israeli military bases and massacring Israeli citizens.
The latest count indicates that 289 IDF soldiers were killed and over 1,100 Israeli civilians were killed. Thousands more casualties took place as IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians were injured. The over 1,100 Israeli citizens who were killed were not killed inadvertently or accidentally. These 1,100 civilians were deliberately and systematically targeted and murdered by Hamas.
They were gunned down execution style, just like the mobile killing squads of the Nazis, the Einsatzkommando, who executed some one and a half million Jews by firing squad during the 1941 Aktion campaign in Eastern Europe. It was the Holocaust by bullets before the Holocaust by gas chambers that murdered an additional four and a half million Jews.
On October 7, whole families were executed, innocent babies were killed in their cribs and the dead were mutilated. Some of the dead were paraded through the streets of Gaza. The war that began October 7 is an existential threat to the state of Israel. The very state of Israel is threatened by this war, particularly if Hezbollah in Lebanon and the IRGC in Iran start participating in attacking Israel.
One of the belligerents in this war, Hamas, has targeted Canadian interests. Five Canadian citizens were murdered by Hamas and another three are missing, presumably being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. We, in this House, call for the immediate release of these hostages by Hamas. We will not forget about the five Canadians who were murdered by Hamas. We will not forget what will happen to the three Canadians currently held by Hamas.
There has been widespread condemnation from western democratic leaders of Hamas's barbaric terrorist attacks, including Canada's democratic leaders. There has been widespread solidarity expressed by western democracies for the state of Israel at this difficult time. This institution, the Parliament of Canada, projected an image of the Israeli flag on the Peace Tower as a sign of our solidarity.
The coming days and weeks will be a test of western condemnation of Hamas and a test of western solidarity with Israel. In the coming days and weeks, Israel will exercise its right to defend itself under article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which states, “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations”.
In the coming days and weeks, we should be clear that Israel has the right to eliminate Hamas as a threat from the Gaza Strip and to liberate the hostages Hamas has taken. As casualties mount, we should resist the temptation to call for a ceasefire until the Israel Defense Forces achieve its goal of eliminating this existential threat to the state of Israel.
This is a war. It is a legal war under international humanitarian law. Under the law of armed conflict, it is a justifiable war against a terrorist group, a group that the Government of Canada has officially listed as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code of Canada.
The state of Israel has the right to prosecute this war at the time and pace of its choosing until it has accomplished its goal of eliminating this existential threat. Israel has the right to determine, within the bounds of international law, how it will prosecute this war. It has the right to determine the pace of this war. It has the right to determine the timing of this war, including when the war ends.
Palestinians are also victims of Hamas. The suffering of the Palestinian people is a real tragedy. A million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza. Every innocent human life, whether it be Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, Muslim or any other faith, is of equal precious value. We must do everything in our power to preserve this precious life and to minimize the suffering of innocent civilians.
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- Oct/16/23 9:10:33 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley.
First of all, we are having a lot of trouble clearly identifying who we are dealing with when it comes to Hamas. Last week, for example, I was flabbergasted to hear that CBC/Radio-Canada had asked its news anchors not to use the word “terrorist” to refer to Hamas. Last night, on the program Tout le monde en parle, news anchor Céline Galipeau answered a question from Guy A. Lepage by saying, “Out of concern for remaining neutral, we prefer to use more specific and neutral language, but we can speak of combatants, armed men or hostage-takers. That's what we prefer.”
I am going to use the time I have left to talk about Hamas in more detail, because I think some people may not understand exactly who we are dealing with.
Hamas emerged in late 1987, at the beginning of the first Palestinian intifada. The group's charter calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the place of Israel and rejects all agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Hamas has a military branch that has led many anti-Israeli attacks in Israel and in Palestinian territories since the 1990s. Hamas continues to refuse to recognize Israel or to abandon its violent resistance against Israel. It proactively encourages and leads terrorist attacks and does everything it can to sow hatred against Jews. As a result, the American government designated Hamas as a terrorist organization in 1997, and Canada followed suit in 2002.
Hamas's explicit mission is to murder Jews and to eradicate Israel and replace it with a Taliban-type theocracy. Videos distributed primarily by Hamas and posted on social media document acts of torture, sexual violence, violence against children and desecration of corpses. Even Palestinian officials have recognized that the missiles fired by Hamas constituted war crimes. A Palestinian envoy to the Human Rights Council said that every missile launched against Israel constitutes a crime against humanity, whether or not it hits its target, because it was directed at civilian targets.
On October 7, 2023, over 1,500 Hamas terrorists attacked the Israeli border around the Gaza Strip and went on a murderous rampage in the southern regions. Over 1,300 people were killed and thousands more were wounded in this bloody attack, which was accompanied by a barrage of 5,000 rockets launched indiscriminately on Israeli towns and villages.
Why deny reality? The members of Hamas are terrorists. There is ample evidence of that. It is time to tell the whole truth about these violent criminals. This is not merely a conflict between two peoples. These are acts of terrorism and war crimes. What is more, I think it is despicable that anyone in Canada can express support for Hamas knowing that at least five Canadians are among the victims, including Alexandre Look of Montreal.
Israel has the right to defend itself and to exist. We will always unequivocally the terrorist acts without mincing words. We will always stand by the Israeli people. Hamas must be destroyed. Hamas has provoked something irreparable, and it must pay the price.
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- Oct/16/23 9:14:31 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague for his speech. This does not happen often, but for once, we are in agreement. The members of Hamas are terrorists. Hamas is seeking the annihilation of Israel. Hamas is evil. We all agree on that.
However, does the fact that these terrorists want to cause harm and the annihilation of Israel justify any action that will affect the entire Palestinian people?
Is my colleague for or against the establishment of a humanitarian corridor?
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- Oct/16/23 9:18:14 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, quite obviously, my colleague is absolutely right.
There has been a lot of talk about an attack on Israel. Now, it is true that some people are trying to downplay the reality of what happened and the disgusting way Hamas attacked Israeli citizens. Canadians died. Some victims were from the United States. There were people at a concert. Young people were there to have fun and listen to music. Paratroopers came in from all sides and started shooting. It does not make any sense at all.
That is why we always have to think of the act that was committed, whether it was against Israel or against people from any other country who were there that day and were attacked by 1,500 Hamas commandos. These terrorists did this simply to spread terror. That is what terrorism is. It is about spreading terror and scaring people.
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- Oct/16/23 9:19:25 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, on October 7 we woke up to an unspeakable horror. Hamas terrorists brutally invaded Israel, invaded homes, intentionally killing 1,400 Israeli civilians and taking hostage over 100 more.
We must stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel as it defends itself from the criminal and barbarous acts of Hamas. Among the dead are seven Canadians. May their memories be a blessing. At least one Canadian is still missing and presumed held hostage. All hostages must be released.
More Jews were killed in Saturday's attack than on any single day since the Holocaust. They were children, babies, men and women intentionally slaughtered in their homes. They were young people, just out listening to music at a dance party. This was an unprecedented, brutal, intentional attack.
As we speak, Hamas is threatening to execute innocent hostages. This outrage cannot and must not stand. Do not let anyone say that Hamas is the legitimate voice of the Palestinian people. It is not a government. Its members are not activists or freedom fighters. They are not a resistance movement. They are a genocidal, murderous and evil death cult, and they must be defeated.
Hamas has demonstrated, in an especially depraved manner, why it is listed as a terrorist entity by Canada and its western allies. There is broad consensus that the war on Hamas is a just one. Hamas is a sworn enemy of Israel, intent on its annihilation, but it has also betrayed the Palestinian population it claims to represent. Its goal is to maximize the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians. It serves as a fundamental impediment to peace and the goal of reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinian people.
Make no mistake: Hamas is a direct proxy of Iran, and that is why Canada must list the IRGC as a terrorist entity. I have to say that all celebrations on Canadian soil of the evil, sadistic Hamas terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens are abhorrent. Shame on all those who participated.
Conservatives unequivocally condemn the invasion of Israel by Hamas terrorists and the sadistic violence that Hamas has carried out against innocent civilians. Now is the time for moral clarity. There is no moral equivalency between democratic Israel and the butchers of Hamas. There is no response within the boundaries of international law that would be disproportionate to the crimes Hamas has committed.
Israel has the right to defend itself against these attacks and respond against the attackers, just as any other country would. Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, was famous for saying, “If you will it, it is no dream.”
In 1948, that dream became a reality, a homeland in Israel, the promised land. Working together, Israelis turned a desert into an oasis, an island of democracy surrounded by a sea of autocracy, a Jewish state where Jews could live in peace, free from fear and persecution.
Let there be no doubt: Israel is the ancient and indigenous homeland of the Jewish people.
Many politicians will stand with Israel when it is easy, but listen to what they say when it is hard. They will talk about both sides. I am here to say that there is only one side: the side of morality, the side of democracy, the side that Israel is on.
Too often we see politicians at the United Nations unfairly single out Israel for criticism. I will always stand against the unfair singling out of the Middle East's only democracy.
We call on the government to conduct an immediate review of all aid going to Gaza, to ensure it does not go to funding Hamas in its campaign of terror but rather to aid innocent civilians. Already there are calls for Israel to de-escalate. I cannot believe I am hearing this, even from the NDP. I ask, would any country de-escalate after having its people slaughtered in cold blood and still held hostage? No, they would not.
I wish the people of Israel and its brave soldiers Godspeed on their mission to defend the promised land from pure evil. As then prime minister Stephen Harper said, “Through fire and water, Canada will stand with you.”
Am Yisrael Chai.
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- Oct/16/23 9:47:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague that Hamas has been keeping the Palestinian people hostage. I agree that the Hamas terrorists must be stopped and destroyed. I am not here to speculate on how we do that. I am certainly open to suggestions. However, as I said in my speech, and if my colleague was listening, this is a conflict halfway around the world.
I am not sure that, right at this moment, these are the ideas that need to be said in this House. Canadians are afraid and hurting. Our duty is toward our Canadian community.
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- Oct/16/23 10:02:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, October 7, 2023, is a day now permanently pierced into history, when the world witnessed evil in its purest form. Israelis were wrapping up the festival of Sukkot when sirens rang out. Israel was under violent attack. Like many Canadians, I was horrified to wake up to the news, images and videos coming out of Israel. This deliberate, coordinated attack by Hamas terrorists was despicable, unjustified, and I condemn it unequivocally.
Israel has the right to defend itself, just as Canada would if this attack were carried out on our soil. This should not be difficult to say, but some Canadian politicians and some in the media could not find the moral courage to say so. We have seen statements put out by both Liberal and NDP politicians that were so outrageous and morally bankrupt they had to be walked back or deleted.
The CBC instructed its employees to avoid referring to Hamas as terrorists. Our own state broadcaster ignored the fact that Hamas was put on the terrorist entity list by the Government of Canada in 2002, describing Hamas as “a radical Islamist-nationalist terrorist organization”.
We have seen reprehensible celebrations of these terrorist attacks right here in Canada, including, shamefully, in my own community in B.C. On Friday, in my community, a rabbi's home was vandalized with eggs and a swastika was drawn on his window. This is disgusting and unacceptable. This hate should not be tolerated in our country, full stop.
I condemn these celebrations and condemn the ideology of hate that has no place in Canada. There is no moral equivalence between Hamas terrorists who slaughter innocents, savagely rape women and children, behead babies and use their own people as human shields, and Israel exercising their right to defend themselves. This is a time for moral clarity.
I hope the CBC is paying attention when I say that Hamas is not a militant organization, a resistance or an activist group. Hamas is a sadistic, barbaric, terrorist death cult with no respect for human life. There can be no negotiating with Hamas. They must be defeated and destroyed. Their enablers must be exposed for the vile anti-Semites that they are. This includes state sponsors of terrorism, including the dictatorship in Tehran.
I have seen first-hand the strength of the Israeli people and how Israelis live under existential threat from Hamas, funded by Iran and other hostile actors in the region. Now this threat is reality.
My heart breaks for the families who have been destroyed, especially the families of the seven Canadians who were ruthlessly murdered. Last night in South Surrey, I attended a rally in support of the Jewish community and spoke to friends of Ben Mizrachi, a 22-year-old British Columbian murdered at the music festival. He was using his training as a medic with the IDF to help people who were wounded in the attack. He was trying to save lives when he tragically lost his own.
For those still in danger, we must do everything we can to bring them home safe. As we continue to watch the horrific events unfolding in Israel, there are concrete actions that Canada can and must take.
First, Canada must criminalize the IRGC, the terrorist arm of the Iranian government. Today again, the Liberals blocked the passage of a Conservative bill that would have taken this necessary first step.
Second, there are Canadians missing and presumed to be among the hostages. The Government of Canada must demand the immediate release of our citizens and all hostages taken by Hamas.
Third, Conservatives are calling for a full review of all foreign aid programs to ensure that no Canadian tax dollars are going to support terrorism.
Fourth, we must protect Canadian places of worship. Every person of faith has a constitutional right to worship here in Canada. “Never again” is a phrase associated with the atrocities of the Holocaust. Never again is now. Jewish people around the world are remarkably resilient. They choose to believe the promises of scripture that better days and peace lie ahead. However, they should not be continuously forced to prove their resilience by malevolent forces against their very existence.
I am proud to stand with our friend and ally, Israel.
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- Oct/16/23 10:58:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Hamas, the perpetrator of this attack, is a listed terrorist organization here in Canada. However, Conservatives have been calling for the IRGC, affiliated with the Iranian regime, the enabler of so much terrorism in the region by Hamas, by Hezbollah and other actors, also be listed as a terrorist organization. This attack by Hamas terrorists is another crime that we can ultimately lay at the feet of the support and enabling by the Iranian regime.
The member is a former minister of public safety and made the choice as minister to not list the IRGC at that time. I wonder if he could reflect on why he chose not to list the IRGC and if he thinks that the new minister should proceed with listing the IRGC now.
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- Oct/16/23 11:22:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her intervention in the House today. I am sorry, but I am not going to speak in French. It is a very late night and the topic is very difficult for me.
One of the things that I have been thinking about is that today we have been talking about how Hamas needs to be defeated. I know that the member is on the defence committee. We have babies in incubators in Gaza. We have doctors who refuse to leave those babies because, obviously, the children are trapped there, and they know they may die.
The people who are most able likely to leave the territory are in fact members of Hamas, the very terrorists we should be trying to target. The people least able to leave Gaza right now are the elderly, the infirm, the children, the babies and people in the hospital. I am struggling to understand why anyone in this place thinks that bombing Gaza right now would not cause more harm to those people than to the terrorists.
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