Oh Canada, Where Are You?

Photo Credit: Alex Guibord / Flickr

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau having fun.

As an expat Canadian living in Israel, I find myself increasingly disheartened and frankly, outraged by the actions of the Canadian government under Justin Trudeau. The anti-Israel sentiment and borderline antisemitic practices we’ve witnessed since October 7th are not just disappointing; they’re a betrayal of the values I thought Canada stood for. The biblical principle from Genesis 12:2-3: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” seems to be transpiring right in front of us in Canada in the wake of the Federal government’s policies against the only democracy in the middle east and a country that is supposedly Canada’s ally. This isn’t just some ancient text; it’s a warning that seems to be playing out before our very eyes.

Canada is suffering a major housing crisis spiraling out of control, an immigration crisis fueled by Liberal party policies that have seen nearly two million immigrants arrive in Canada in the past three years causing the absorption system to burst at the seams without supplying them with proper housing or jobs. Naturally, the cost of living in Canada has spiked and that too is pushing people to the brink. Protests against the Liberal Party’s immigration policies have begun. Is it a mere coincidence that these problems, let’s call them curses, seem to be befalling Canada just as its leadership turns its back on Israel?

The Trudeau government’s bias against Israel is as clear as day. Remember when Trudeau jumped the gun after taking Hamas’ pr statements as fact and erroneously claimed Israel had bombed a hospital in Gaza? Since then there has been an arms embargo against Israel, and an ammunition embargo against the United States as Canada assumes that the ammunition will eventually reach Israel, abstaining from voting for Israel in the UN by Canada, and sometimes even voting for pro-Hamas policies in the UN. Canada was even thanked by Hamas for their UN vote back in December of last year.  Not to mention that Canada has revoked the charity status of non-profit organizations that support Israel. It seems that Canada’s current leadership is abandoning its long-time ally, an ally engaged in a just war after suffering the worst attack on its civilian population in its history.

The Canadian government continues to take actions that amount to slaps in the face of Israel. The most recent was Trudeaus’ announcement that he would comply with the preposterous ICC arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. At the same time, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly made an empty statement marking one year since Hamas’s attacks by saying that Canada would stand up for Israel.  How can you say that you will stand up for Israel and its right to defend itself when you place a trade embargo on materials meant to help it do so and abstain from standing up for Israel every chance you get in the UN? Is it happenstance that violent anti-Israel riots that engulfed Montreal on Friday, took place in a city that Minister Joly represents in the Federal Government?

In response, all we see are Minister Joly and Prime Minister Trudeau using the same tired rhetoric of stating on their X accounts that the perpetrators of the violence should be condemned, without actually condemning them. It is their government that fueled the fire of these protests by saying that they would arrest the Israeli Prime Minister, while at the same time, refusing to actually condemn violence perpetrated in the streets of Canada against Israel and against the Jewish people. Jews have been attacked time and again in cities all over the country for the past 13 months and the Liberal government leadership has done little if anything to curb that wave of violence.

It is clear that the Liberal government has chosen to distance itself from Israel in foreign affairs and alienate the Jewish community of Canada by not putting an end to more than a year of antisemitic attacks and protests. While this happens, Canada suffers other severe domestic crises that unfortunately harm good-hearted Canadians due to the Liberal government’s erroneous policies.

It’s clear that this government has lost its moral compass. They seem to be more concerned with antagonizing Israel than addressing the real issues facing Canadians, that of the rise of hate on Canadian soil. I grew up in a Canada where the worst antisemitic incident was a thug spray painting an occasional swastika on a shul. Mass violent protests against Jews, synagogues, Israel, shootings, and widescale barbarism like what was seen on Friday night in Montreal, simply didn’t exist. I felt blessed to live in Canada and declare proudly wherever I went that I was Canadian. Now, thanks to the Trudeau government, that is no longer the case.

As I sit here in Israel, watching my people fight for survival while my birth country turns its back on its ally, I can’t help but feel a deep sense of shame and anger. Canada is facing the consequences of its leaders’ misguided policies. The housing crisis, the immigration chaos, the soaring cost of living – these seem to be the beginnings of curses that follow when a nation abandons its principles and its friends and turns its back on the Jewish people. It’s high time for all Canadians to wake up and demand better from their government. It is time for the Canadian government to wake up and remember the values that once made Canada a beacon of hope and support on the world stage. Until then, I fear we’ll continue to witness the unraveling of the Canada I once knew and loved.