Madam Speaker, I stand here with a very heavy heart. Every single one of us in this chamber is reeling in shock and dismay at what is transpiring at this moment in the Holy Land, which began early Saturday morning last week when the vicious terrorist group Hamas broke through the border fence from Gaza to Israel and massacred hundreds of civilians. They killed men, women and children, young and old, Jew and Bedouin Arab alike.

This was terrorism. This was cruelty, not only to strike civilians, but to strike Jewish civilians on Shabbat—an echo of countless violent moments throughout the history of the Jewish people.

Israel has a right to defend itself within the confines of international law, much like any other sovereign state. In the comfort of this House and the stability of Ontario, we can say that with ease. We are safe here, far away from marauding gunmen and exploding of rockets. Over there, it is war, and all war means is that thousands of people—Israelis, Palestinians, Canadians, Americans, United Nations personnel, Doctors Without Borders volunteers—will die.

What are we doing to stop the bloodshed? It was an Ontarian—a Torontonian—who came up with the UN’s peacekeeping initiative: the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson. That is who we should aspire to be, but all we can offer today is words. We could be debating sending funds to assist, medical personnel, material support to civilians and to the federal government as they try to get Canadians home.

I came to Queen’s Park to make the world a better place, so let’s all work to accomplish that. I stand against hate which divides, which only ever leads to suffering. I stand for peace. We must all stand for peace for the innocent civilians of Israel and Palestine, because as we give our speeches here, thousands of innocent men, women and children are dying, and that is a tragedy for all.