Hon. Leo Housakos: Senator Gold, it’s great to say that the government is showing its solidarity with the State of Israel, but we also need action.

My question is not partisan by any means; it is simple and direct: Why isn’t the Canadian government ready to put into place punitive measures against nations that are supporting Hamas directly, such as Qatar and Iran? We are importing hundreds of millions of dollars of oil into our country from Qatar.

Of course, your government continues to refuse to list the IRGC, or Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as a terrorist organization. When will you list the IRGC as a terrorist organization?

Hon. Leo Housakos: Honourable senators, today, as Jewish people from across Canada and around the world are gathering here in Ottawa for an anti-Semitism conference, I feel compelled to talk about what that will mean as Israel increases its military action in Gaza. This conference was scheduled long before the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel that saw men, women and children of all ages murdered, raped and paraded through the streets as trophies; babies beheaded and set ablaze; and 200 Israelis taken and who remain hostage.

October 7 wasn’t an act of war or resistance. It was an act of cowardice and depravity. It was an act of terror and pathological Jew hatred, full stop.

The first and sole objective of Hamas is the destruction of the state of Israel and the Jewish people. That’s what they mean when they say, “From the river to the sea . . . .” It’s not a rallying cry for freedom and certainly not for peace. Hamas has no interest in peace. When we say that Israel has a right to defend itself and to defend its people, there can be no equivocation, especially in the coming days.

Of course, it is not easy to see images of civilians killed by Israeli rocket strikes. We can and should mourn the deaths of civilians in Gaza, as we mourn those in Israel.

However, we must be clear. Israel is acting in accordance with international law. It is engaging in a lawful, proportionate attack against a genocidal enemy force. While the human suffering of war is undeniable, we must remember that this war is not by choice for Israel. It is by necessity. Their very existence depends on it.

Israel’s military response against Hamas is not an act of retaliation, nor is it punitive. To describe it as such or to falsely accuse Israel of widespread atrocities, as at least one member of Parliament has done, is not only patently false and unfounded but an attempt to equate Israel with the cowardice of Hamas. Shame on anyone who does so, whether it be that MP, delegates at federal party conventions, members of provincial Parliament, heads of public service unions or Canadians marching shamefully in the streets in pro-Hamas rallies.

We’ve heard people at these rallies claiming that Hamas is not a terrorist group and that any violence they commit is justified in pursuit of a free Palestine. I don’t know how that can be characterized as anything other than hateful and anti-Semitic. Saying such things should be covered under our hate speech laws. If such laws don’t apply to the glorification of murdering babies and parading the bodies of dead women through the streets, to what do they apply?

If the October 7 attacks and the subsequent pro-Hamas rallies and anti-Israeli rhetoric being espoused by politicians and senior bureaucrats have shown us anything, it’s that — more than ever — we must recognize that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. We must face it and we must fight it.

Never again means never again.

Thank you.

Hon. Leo Housakos: Honourable senators, yesterday represented a milestone: It was the seventy-fifth anniversary of Canada and most of the world community voting “yes” for United Nations Resolution 181. That historic vote marked the beginning of the rebirth of the modern State of Israel, recognizing the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in their historic homeland where Jews have always dwelt.

That joyous day was not accepted by everyone, and indeed even today there are those who continue to engage in terror in an endeavour to destroy Israel. Just last week, a Canadian teen was killed in a terror bombing at a bus stop in Jerusalem.

Israel was small and poor on the day of its independence. Today, it is a proud, democratic nation, an ally of Canada and the Western world, a real economic success and a friend of developing nations.

Israeli research and development have led to a better life for untold billions around the world, producing major advances in green agriculture, medicine and technology.

If yesterday’s anniversary was a happy day, today is a sadder one. Today is Jewish Refugee Day, marking the departure and expulsion of a million Jews from their homes in the Middle East, Iran and North Africa. We should not forget that Jewish communities had existed in the region for millennia, contributing enormously to the growth and success of Iran and of Arab nations.

In response to the United Nations’ overwhelming vote for Israel’s independence, the Arab states launched a war that they quickly lost, despite overwhelming numerical superiority, and then began a campaign of hate aimed at the Jewish populations within their borders.

We should not forget that there were substantial Jewish populations in countries such as Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco and Syria, and today these communities — for all practical purposes — no longer exist. Where there were hundreds of thousands, today there are almost none.

Between 1947 and the mid-1970s, Iran and Arab states fomented violence and discrimination against their Jewish citizens. Many were murdered, and a million became refugees. Israel took in many, but I note that Canada welcomed many of these refugees as well. They have contributed enormously to Canada.

The expulsion of Jews from Iran and Arab lands is an enduring refugee crisis that has yet to be resolved. Tens of billions of dollars in assets were stolen from Jewish refugees, and no compensation has ever been offered. On Jewish Refugee Day, I am proud to have been part of a government that, in 2014, became the second country — after the United States — to “ . . . officially recognize the experience of Jewish refugees who were displaced from states in the Middle East and North Africa . . . .”

To that end, I call on the current government to do more to educate Canadians about this tragic but too little-known story. I call on Canada to pressure the Arab states and Iran to compensate the victims and their descendants for their stolen wealth.

Last evening in Ottawa, the Sephardic communities of Montreal and Ottawa, along with the Embassy of Israel and the Jewish Federation, commemorated this anniversary.

This evening, B’nai Brith, Canada’s oldest Jewish advocacy organization, will host a virtual commemoration of the story of Jews from Iran and Arab lands. I understand that some of the victims will tell their stories.

Colleagues, as they grow older, their personal histories remain as poignant as ever.

Senator Housakos: Government leader, as you likely know, your NDP coalition partner had this to say about Israel in its 2021 federal election platform:

Canada must play an active and constructive role in advancing peace, beginning by suspending arms sales to Israel until the end of the illegal occupation.

I guess this is the NDP-Liberal government’s position now, isn’t it, leader? Isn’t this why B’nai Brith shouldn’t expect any help from your government to remove a UN Human Rights Commission chair highly biased against the State of Israel?

Hon. Leo Housakos: Honourable senators, I would like to take a moment to speak about the leading role Canada has to play on the world stage in promoting a peaceful resolution to the long‑standing Israeli-Palestine conflict. It is with sadness and concern that I’m sure all of us in this chamber have observed the renewed bouts of violence between Israel and Palestine and the growing wave of terrorist attacks in Jerusalem targeting Israeli civilians over the last few months.

Israel is a beacon of democracy in a region largely suppressed by tyranny and terrorism, and is Canada’s greatest ally in the Middle East. Our two countries are linked by shared democratic values and a history of joint efforts on various matters, one of which being the promotion of peace and stability in the Middle East.

We can all appreciate that a just peace, recognizing the needs of Israel and Palestine, is a long-sought-after outcome. However, this will only be possible when the Palestinian people are free from the terrorist groups that keep them suppressed.

The Palestinian territories have long been trying to renew the electoral process, but attempts have failed for the last 15 years, largely due to the fact that neither the Palestinian Authority nor Hamas wish to hold elections for fear of losing their territorial domains. This has robbed Palestinians of any say in their governance and has undoubtedly been an impediment to any negotiated resolution between Israel and Palestine.

Honourable colleagues, it is clear that the status quo is a dead end, which is why I’m urging the Canadian government to work with the international community to facilitate free, fair and credible elections in the Palestinian territories, so as to break the grip of terrorist organizations and promote the peace process.

The international community has long called for more accountability and democratic governance in the region. An election under international auspices would provide the infrastructure for free and fair elections, ensure that international law is upheld and redress the inability of the current electoral framework under the Palestinian Central Elections Commission to prevent the participation of political parties controlled by terrorist entities.

International sponsorship of these elections should seek to include access to a free press and international election observers to monitor the vote. Furthermore, as promoters of democracy and the international rule of law, Canada, along with other liberal democracies, must make it clear that forces that espouse terrorism and call for the destruction of Israel have no place in this process and must ensure their participation is prohibited.

Colleagues, this is an opportunity for Canada to be a leader on the world stage in affirming its commitment to democracy and international law, and also in providing governance assistance to the Palestinian people. It is my hope that the Canadian government will consider this path forward in promoting a durable solution that grants the Israeli and Palestinian people peace and security. Thank you, colleagues.