In one of the most irresponsible statements by a Canadian political leader in quite some time, (and there have been many over the years, see for example almost anything said by Preston Manning), NDP leader Avi Lewis has just painted a bulls-eye on every Jewish Canadian.
Nor was this a mistake, an immediately regretted off-the-cuff comment made during a high pressure media scrum. No, this was a carefully and deliberately crafted statement posted to the NDP leader’s site on X on the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Lewis, who is Jewish, used this occasion to declare:
“It’s a time of atonement, a time to grieve those who have been lost, a time to acknowledge and take responsibility for harms we have caused, individually and collectively. For Jewish people, the personal has always been political and the political personal. This year I’m reflecting on the fact that we failed to do our part to stop an ongoing genocide committed in our name…”
In other words, the NDP leader is saying that all Canadian Jews are somehow responsible for the actions of the Israeli government, which he is accusing of genocide. And he has made no reference whatsoever to the original terrorist acts and genocide that began this ongoing Middle East catastrophe, nor does the word ‘Hamas’ appear anywhere in the text. Clearly balance in political commentary is not something Mr. Lewis considers to be important. Indeed, rabble-rousing rhetoric seems to be more in line with his thinking.
As should be obvious to a five year-old, the outrageous claim made in his post is not simply irresponsible but dangerous. At a minimum it allows those who support the Palestinian cause to continue to argue that they are “anti-Zionist” and not “anti-Semitic,” a claim that has been repeatedly disproved by the words and actions of so many of these activists, to say nothing of the appalling and increasing number of acts of outright violence by extremists targeting Jewish stores, synagogues and even schools in this country.
Clearly the proper venues for those who are critical of the actions of the Israeli government to address their concerns are, first and foremost, the Israeli embassy in Ottawa. They also have every right to articulate their concerns and/or demand policy changes by addressing those responsible for the Canadian government’s foreign policy, from ministers to local MPs. What makes absolutely no sense, and is not only wrong-headed but dangerously discriminatory, is to suggest a foreign government’s actions are the responsibility of any Canadian citizen.
If this bizarre thinking were carried to its logical conclusion, Canadians of Russian origin would be carrying the can for Putin, Chinese Canadians would be responsible for Xi, and Canadians of Indian origin or descent would have to answer for the foreign interference violence perpetrated by the Modi government, to name but a few ridiculous examples. But this is not happening, underlining once again how Jewish Canadians are being singled out and treated quite differently from their fellow citizens. This is not anti-Zionist behaviour, it is antisemitism plain and simple, and it must be seen as such, not excused or defended by a national political leader.
Sadly, Mr. Lewis’ comments are very much in line with the thinking of many socialist and left-leaning political leaders in Europe, a trend that has been increasing over the past two decades. For those unfamiliar with the European left’s growing and almost unqualified support for the Palestinian cause and blanket critiques of Israel one need only look, for example, to the comments of the previous leader of the British Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, and the Human Rights Commission report on rampant antisemitism in that party.[i]
If anyone still believed that racism had been eliminated in Canada, the growing number of blatant and even violent examples of anti-Muslim behaviour and attacks on indigenous Canadians should have dispelled that myth. But for the most part such behaviour has at least been recognized as unacceptable. Apparently, even the leader of a federal political party is incapable of recognizing antisemitism when he sees it.
[i] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-54730425
