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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 290

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 18, 2024 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24
Mr. Chandra Arya (Nepean, Lib.)
  • Mar/18/24 5:53:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, like her, a few years back, I visited Palestine and the West Bank, and, like her, I noted the worsening conditions of the occupiers imposed on Palestinian people. I note she mentioned the human rights report, the Amnesty International report, which was also concurred in by the Israeli human rights commission on the apartheid policies that Israel imposes on the occupied territories. During her visit, did she see the settlers violence? Unfortunately, people know about the violence that is happening in Gaza with over 30,000 people killed, but not many people are aware of the settlers violence happening in the West Bank. I will ask her to briefly speak on that.
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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24
Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)
  • Mar/18/24 6:55:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on a human rights and humanitarian crisis in Palestine and Israel. I thank my colleagues for tabling this motion. I encourage all members in the chamber to not turn a blind eye to the current ethnic cleansing happening and the serious violations of international law in Palestine. As members of Parliament, we cannot forget that our decisions have wide-reaching consequences and can often make the difference between life and death. The death toll in Gaza, caused by Netanyahu's bombardment and ground offensive, has now climbed to over 30,000 people since October 7. It is estimated that over 70% of them are women and children. When we treat the loss of human beings as mere casualties, as numbers to be forgotten, we lose our own humanity. It is a testament to the compassion of so many people in Canada and their sustained advocacy all winter that we are here today, calling on our leaders not to remain complicit in the face of what is being investigated as a potential genocide in the International Court of Justice. The horrific terrorist attack of October 7 by Hamas, and Netanyahu's response to collectively punish the people of Gaza, who bear no responsibility for the terrorism of October 7, must be condemned. I am proud of my Jewish heritage, and I am lifting up calls for peace along with other Jewish voices, like the heroic Vivian Silver, a 74-year-old Israeli Canadian peace activist who spent her life working towards a just peace in Palestine, provided specialized medical care in the West Bank and Gaza, and tragically lost her life during the October 7 attack in Israel by Hamas. Like her son, Yonatan Zeigen, I never lose sight of continuing the legacy of my father, Albert Gazan, a Holocaust survivor from Holland, who fought for a just peace and a livable world where all people are able to live in dignity and with human rights. I echo what Yonatan shared so powerfully when asked what his mother would think about what was happening in Gaza. He said, “She would be mortified, because you can't cure killed babies with more dead babies. We need peace. That's what she was working for all her life.” Like his mother, my father spent his whole life working for peace, and he would have agreed with what Yonatan Zeigen shared, because he understood that no amount of killing would have ever healed the trauma and loss that he experienced as a result of the Holocaust. The only thing that would relieve his pain was to know that what happened to him would never happen again, but it is happening again. In fact, his cause for a just peace was so profound that, just before he died, he sat down with my adopted uncle, Jim Kinzel, to help write his eulogy. He wanted to ensure he would leave the world sharing his final teachings about humanity, human rights and peace. I share his words with the House today. Being born to Jewish parents in Holland, my father was just two years old when the Nazis invaded Holland and was soon separated from our family and forced into hiding for years. He had to take on a new name and relocate several times. By the end of the Holocaust, of the hundred or so of our extended family members, only five survived. I will never forget the story of when my father visited his uncle in the hospital shortly after the war. His uncle, who had lost his pregnant wife and all five children, began screaming and crying uncontrollably upon seeing my father. He could not live with the fact that he had survived and they had not. I think about the thousands of Palestinians who will never see their loved ones again, many of whom will grow up almost devoid of family as a result of genocide, as my sister and I did. It was very lonely. My father was also an advocate of peace. At six years old, while alone and in hiding, he threw a rock at a sparrow and killed it. He immediately felt terrible and realized that was wrong, pledging to never kill again. He knew that nothing could justify the death of an innocent being. He carried this belief with him throughout his life, and while he hated Germany for the genocide it committed against our family, his retribution was to beat the German boys at soccer. When later asked his opinion on what was happening in Israel and Palestine, he talked about injustices on both sides and did not fear criticizing the State of Israel. “The only way to leave Auschwitz behind me was to become a citizen of the world,” he said. He would not kill the sparrow, regardless of what it looked like. Today, Palestinians are being killed indiscriminately with weapons provided by many countries, likely including military goods and technology made in Canada in violation of our obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty. The people of Gaza are starving in part because the Canadian government suspended aid and refuses to push Israel to allow life-saving aid trucks in. I am reminded of what my father always said about refusing to share resources with people in need, “Stop the dialogue if anyone suggests that there is not enough room in the lifeboat for everyone, because the next thing to discuss is who gets thrown out. And then we are back on the road to Auschwitz.” It is the memory of my father, Albert Gazan, that inspires me to support this motion to end the injustices being committed in Palestine through the following measures: an immediate ceasefire and release of all hostages; suspending all trade in military arms and technology with Israel and increased efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas; ensuring long-term funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Palestine; supporting the prosecution of all crimes and violations of international law, including by the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court; ensuring that the Canadians trapped in Gaza are safely evacuated and lifting the arbitrary limit of 1,000 applications under the temporary resident visa; demanding the supply of continuous humanitarian aid to Gaza; banning extremist settlers from Canada and imposing sanctions on officials who incite genocide; advocating an end to the occupation of Palestine; and officially recognizing the state of Palestine. In memory of my father, I am saying, “Not in our name.” I urge others with common histories of genocide to not let our pain overshadow our shared humanity. I ask my fellow parliamentarians to vote in favour of this motion to put an end to the violence and work for peace and justice for all people in Palestine and Israel. “Never again” means never again for everyone.
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