October 19, 2023
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Minister Melanie Joly
Re: Canada’s response to the hospital bombing in Gaza
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister Joly,
The Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation welcomes your government’s strong support for Israel, our true ally in the Middle East. Mr. Prime Minister, we greatly appreciate your strong pronouncements in support of Israel in recent days, especially as expressed at the CIJA conference, Antisemitism, Face it, Fight it.
We also thank you, Minister Joly, for travelling to Israel to show our common bond with Israel and to offer assistance in securing the release of all hostages.
When earlier this week, a bomb was dropped on a hospital in Gaza, we note with serious concern that the Government of Canada initially asserted that Israel had bombed civilians and called for Israel to follow the laws of war.
However, the Government of Canada failed to confirm the facts. This failure no doubt has fuelled animus towards Israel and lead to the vilification of the Jewish community.
This has heightened the safety concerns of the Jewish community in Canada and has harmed Israel’s international status. Facts show that the blame for that tragedy was not Israel’s but that of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Islamic Jihad has since confirmed that it was their failed rocket that killed innocent Gazans, and both Israeli and American intelligence confirmed it.
CAEF would greatly appreciate a press release be issued by the Government of Canada clearly stating that PIJ was exclusively responsible for this bombing.
Thank you in advance.
Yours truly,
Sincerely,
Andria Spindel
Executive Director
cc. Jagmeet Singh
Pierre Poilievre
Elizabeth May
Yves-François Blanchet
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