WINNIPEG — Some 550 people attended a “Stand with Israel” rally Jan. 8 at Winnipeg’s Asper Community Campus, and they were joined by a number of federal and provincial cabinet ministers and politicians.
Winnipeg teens at a rally in their city last week. [Rhonda Spivak photo]
“[Ever since the creation of the state], the people of Israel have been forced to defend themselves on a daily basis,” said provincial NDP Justice Minister David Chomiak.
“The enemy and the fear are [Hamas] terrorists who know no limits,” he added.
Joy Smith, the Conservative MP for Kildonan-St. Paul, who flew in from Ottawa for the event, noted that Hamas is listed as a terror group under federal law
“Canada maintains that Hamas rocket attacks are the cause of this crisis,” she said.
“The tragic truth is that civilian deaths will continue until Hamas abandons the policy of terror or until someone takes away its ability to wage war against the civilian population,” Jonathan Kroft, president of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, told the audience.
Anita Neville, Liberal MP for Winnipeg South Centre, told the rally: “In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew every Israeli soldier and 8,000 civilians from the Gaza Strip. The current situation is, therefore, not about occupation… It is about Hamas’ pursuit of their declared aim to destroy Israel.”
She added: “Despite the graphic images in the media, we know that Israel’s intent is to target terrorists and spare civilians.”
Neville quoted Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, who said Jan. 8, “Hamas is to blame for organizing, instigating these rocket attacks, and then for sheltering among civilian populations. And Israel is justified in continuing military operations.”
She also noted that Ignatieff said: “The rocket and mortar attacks must end and a permanent ceasefire should result.”
Federal Treasury Board President Vic Toews received a standing ovation when he said: “Defence of Israel is not a political choice for our government, it is a moral imperative.
“We have also been clear that we believe Israel has a clear right to defend itself against the continued rocket attacks by Palestinian militant groups which have deliberately targeted civilians,” he said.
“Israel has the clear legal and moral right to defend its people,” he added.
“Israeli and Palestinian leaders must remain committed to finding a comprehensive peace settlement. We remain supportive of the Middle East peace process… We offer our complete support to the parties in reaching their goal of a comprehensive two-state solution,” Toews said.
He also noted that Canada has “called for the international community to come together to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation [in Gaza].”
He added that Canada “will contribute $4 million dollars in emergency aid – $3 million of which will go toward meeting urgent needs such as food, shelter and medical materials, [and] $1 million will be going toward the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has an established presence in the region, to support their efforts of providing essential water and sanitation services.”
Manitoba’s minister of water stewardship, Christine Melnick, was also at the rally.
About 50 pro-Palestinian supporters and activists, including a handful of Jews, took part in a vigil outside the campus.
The protest, in which activists clutched white candles and decried the “massacres in Gaza” and “Israel’s war crimes” was organized by the Canada Palestine Support Network, Canadian Muslims for Palestine and Peace Alliance Winnipeg. The evening was mostly peaceful, but police broke up a few heated disputes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel supporters.
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