In a sit-down with JNS at the Israeli embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday, Iddo Moed, Israel’s ambassador to Canada and top diplomatic representative in the country, discussed the rise in antisemitism in the country, as what he said was a concerning change of stance in Canadian policy towards the Jewish state.
Q: What are your thoughts on how Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has responded to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terrorist attacks?
A: Trudeau has been very consistent. He said a few things that are very important for Israel. First, he reiterated Israel’s right to exist and its right to defend itself, calling for the release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. He called for Hamas to lay down its weapons while making sure that Canada doesn’t see Hamas as part of the solution or the future of Gaza. At the same time, we saw a few things that are concerning to us, because of the very good relations we have with Canada and because of the shared values that were and still are at the foundation of our bilateral relations.
The shipment of goods that require export permits has been put under suspension, which we feel is a de facto embargo impeding not just the bilateral trade between our two countries but also the collaboration between Israeli and Canadian companies in the area of technology. This is lamentable.
[In September, Canada revealed that it had canceled around 30 existing permits for arms shipments to Israel, including a deal with the Canadian division of a U.S. defense contractor. The exports had been approved before January when Ottawa announced a ban on new sales of arms that could be used by the Israel Defense Forces in the war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.]
We also see in international organizations that Canada, which had a very clear policy of not allowing Israel to be singled out, has changed its policy in such a significant manner that at some point in time Hamas commended Canada for this stance.
[Last year, Trudeau received the equivalent of a high five from Hamas after Canada’s affirmative U.N. vote on Dec. 12 supporting an “immediate sustainable ceasefire” in Israel’s war against the terror group. In a five-minute English-language video statement posted on Dec. 18, Ghazi Hamad, a senior leader of the terror group, praised Canada, Australia and New Zealand by name.]
Most importantly, what is really concerning to us is the rise of antisemitism to levels that are not only unprecedented but go way beyond what people say and our disagreement within society. It’s the violent, intimidating, aggressive approach to Jewish institutions, Jewish communities, individuals—be it on universities and campuses or synagogues and schools being shot at.
What I’m hearing from the Jewish community is that they don’t feel secure. Even if the prime minister says that glorifying terrorism is not acceptable, there were talks of potentially holding a ceremony to glorify [slain Hamas leader] Yahya Sinwar by an organization condoned by the mayor [of Mississauga] and ahead of which the mayor herself went as far as to say Sinwar could be compared to Nelson Mandela.
Yahya Sinwar was responsible for the worst atrocities against the Jewish people since the Second World War. He is only comparable to Adolf Hitler. He cannot be compared to any kind of freedom fighter or anything else. His goal was to eliminate the State of Israel and kill as many Israelis as he could, Jews and non-Jews.
These are the very concerning developments in Canada. We’ve seen what happened on the streets of Amsterdam, and I think the Jewish community looks at the aggression here, the intimidation and the atmosphere, and they are very concerned. I can understand where they are coming from.
For the State of Israel, the relationship with the Jewish community is extremely important, and it’s also important for our bilateral relations. The Jewish community’s concern and support for Israel has always been part and parcel of the relationship between our two countries.
When the Jews feel uncomfortable or insecure, this is something that we also project to the leadership directly. The phenomenon of the rise of antisemitism, especially in Canada, which already accepted the international definition of antisemitism, the fact that antisemitism is growing and is so prevalent here is a great source of concern for us.
It’s happening under the current government and we share those concerns with them. We do whatever we can to develop programs to mitigate that, be it connecting law enforcement agencies in Israel and Canada, police forces, just to share with them our vision of combating antisemitism, experience, best practices and the like. We also connect Yad Vashem as an education resource with people who are interested in that here in Canada, and most importantly we point to areas where we think that a serious source of concern is coming up. We try to flag it and propose actions that involve Israeli contribution.
Q: What was your reaction to the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant?
A: I was shocked like many others at the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue those arrest warrants. [ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim] Khan’s request has no foundation and this decision has no merit and no jurisdiction. The court only has political motivation to come up with this legal mechanism that has been abused for the sake of attacking and isolating israel. Israel has a robust legal system proven to be able to address any issue at any level.
Neither Israel nor the Palestinians are members of the court.
I am disappointed. I have been speaking to legal experts who expressed their dismay, shock and disbelief that an international organ that is supposed to uphold international law has gone so far as to play an activist role against Israel, a country under attack and that is defending itself in accordance with international law.
At the end of the day, we see it as an attack not on our government and not on our democratically elected leader, we see it as an assault against Israel and its right to defend itself.
Q: What did you think of Canada voting on Nov. 20 in favor of U.N. General Assembly draft resolutions condemning Israeli settlements?
A: The resolutions Canada voted for have not changed anything. Canada’s change of position is lamentable. Canada supports Israel, we know that. We lament this change, which may reflect the image that Canada actually supports this activism against Israel and does not support the Jewish state at a time when it is defending itself against an assault by Iran and its proxies on seven fronts.
The U.N. has not been able to resolve any outstanding issues in the Middle East. It has only served those who aim to attack Israel again and again, and isolate it politically. It does not bring any peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Therefore it’s lamentable that Canada has joined this chorus of countries that play in the hands of extremist terrorists and the Iranian regime against Israel.
Q: Do you currently have ongoing projects meant to strengthen the link between the Israeli people and the Jewish community in Canada?
A: There are a lot of organizations that are very active. We don’t need to create something new. We strengthen what is already happening. We are present at festivities and milestones, and we’re behind the scenes talking to the leadership, the federations all around Canada and talking to specific organizations on specific issues—be it combating antisemitism, strengthening Jewish identity, strengthening solidarity with other communities and dialogue. There are a lot of areas where we try to support the existing collaboration or point at new initiatives but we don’t see the need to create new channels.
Our role is to strengthen it, be there and make sure the Jewish community sees us as part of the connection with the State of Israel, not just through the organizations but as the official representative of the State of Israel here in Canada. They need to see our presence, feel us, hear us, be there together. Having a physical presence is a very important aspect of the work that we do.
Q: Could you speak of the rise of antisemitism on campuses in Canada?
A: Antisemitism on campuses is very worrying. Just lately we have seen some very odd developments including Francesca Albanese, the U.N. Special Rapporteur for the West Bank, a self-declared antisemite who was not received by any government official in Canada, speaking on campus. We saw [former Israeli government spokesman] Eylon Levy chased out of another university and Hassan Diab, a convicted terrorist, teaching at a university here in Ottawa without any trouble, and many other instances that are concerning.
[According to a report released in September by antisemitism watchdog Canary Mission, nearly 250 people, including 153 professors, 19 students and 76 others, took part in or endorsed a nearly two-month-long anti-Israel encampment that began on the University of Toronto campus in early May. Of the 153 faculty members, 122 were professors at the public school and 31 were on faculty at other institutions, per the report.]
Even if we don’t see the encampments, the vile antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiment is there, and since campuses are our future we have to make sure that younger people have a broader understanding of what we’re talking about when we talk about antisemitism and bring issues into perspective. They need to get their news sources right. Much of the social media and the information spreading there is causing them to believe in some of the craziest things, and that’s another area where much needs to be done.
Q: At the entrance to the embassy, there are posters of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Could you talk about your relationship with the families of the hostages?
A: The daughter of [Hamas captive] Judy Weinstein was here a few days ago. She met with politicians here on the hill. We supported that, and we also carry on her work. She was here to remind the world that her mother was murdered on Oct. 7 and her body abducted to Gaza, and that it needs to be brought back. She’s one of the eight Canadian casualties in this war. We, of course, stay in touch with them, either here in Ottawa or through our offices in Montreal and Toronto.
We keep in touch with the families. We try to involve them as much as we can in our activities and reach out to them but also call on the broader community not to forget, to remember the kids, the Bibas kids who I’m wearing an orange tie for, and remember that we have to call for their release. Israel will not stop the war in Gaza until we get our hostages back. Nobody in Israel can truly rest until they are home.
We see the Jewish community very much involved in that. It’s very easy to continue with our lives and say that ‘it’s important, but there are a whole lot of other things.’ We can’t do that, we can’t say that what happened 410 days ago is history. That day is still happening for the families in Israel who relive it every hour. We have to remember as a people that we don’t forget anyone and we don’t leave anybody behind. We want them back. We want them home.
We ask the Canadian government to do whatever they can. We repeat that in our meetings at the highest levels, and we want to make sure that people remember that they are still there, that they need to come home and that we need to do everything we can to extract and liberate them.
Q: The Israeli Knesset recently passed legislation banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from operating in the country. What do you think of Canada’s relation to UNRWA?
A: UNRWA is an organization that was set up by Palestinians, run by Palestinians and aimed at prolonging the wish of Palestinians to return to what is Israel now—for Israel to cease to exist.
UNRWA is a threat to the State of Israel in the way that they educate. We’ve shown that and many organizations have shown that in the past. They are not only educating about hating Jews but telling a narrative which is about the destruction of the State of Israel. Funding UNRWA means actually destroying any kind of a peaceful solution between the Jews and Arabs, and Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East.
We don’t really understand how a country like Canada can support the idea of a two-state solution and at the same time fund UNRWA. It’s either one or the other. When Canada froze the funding, we applauded that because we believe that there should be other alternatives. That was back in February. We propose to Canada and many other countries to seek alternatives.
There are so many other organizations around the world that support refugees and help them and solve their problems within a few years, but this organization exists for 75 years and they haven’t done anything to resolve the [Palestinians’] refugee status. They created fourth and fifth generations of refugees, which do not exist anywhere else around the world. A similar organization existed in Korea and was dismantled because they solved that problem for Korean refugees, but this organization is actually contravening any kind of a peaceful solution between Israelis and Palestinians.
We believe that they should be defunded and that all the other U.N. organizations that Israel works with on a daily basis, like UNHCR, the World Food Program and all the organizations that coordinate with the Israel Defense Forces on how to work in the Gaza Strip, should take over from UNRWA.
UNRWA today is only responsible for a small amount of the food distributed among Palestinians. We know however that Hamas and criminal gangs are taking over supplies and selling them on the market. That’s why much of it is not getting where it is supposed to. We also know [it can] no longer be responsible for Gaza’s education system, because it actually will determine the future of coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians, and UNRWA is part of the problem, not the solution.
Q: What can you tell us about Canadian behavior and voting patterns at the United Nations?
A: We see a change as I noted before. Instead of objecting to singling Israel out they actually took on sort of a more neutral position, and other countries look at that and see the change in Canada’s policy, and they draw conclusions from it, including that Israel is being isolated.
It’s not about the content of those resolutions, because they don’t change anything on the ground. They are a political assault on Israel, just like terrorism is a physical assault on Israel, and allowing that to take place does not bring about any sort of peaceful resolution to the conflict. It only brings about a siege mentality which is not conducive to finding any kind of solution.
Canada has moved away. We think it’s wrong, we told that to the government on numerous occasions and we are looking forward to the time when it will change. There are occasions when Canada does stick with Israel in international organizations, international forums, but again we see a change that is lamentable in our eyes.
[In September, Canada abstained from a vote on a U.N. General Assembly resolution calling on the IDF to withdraw completely from Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip within 12 months. The resolution also banned the sale to the IDF of any military equipment that could reasonably be expected to be used in the disputed territories and called for a boycott of all Israeli products from those territories.]
At the end of the day, what we’re looking for is not necessarily for them to support Israel all of the time. Every country has its own considerations. But we do think that countries have to realize what we’re dealing with.
Hamas is not the Palestinian people, Hamas is out there to destroy Israel, and rewarding Hamas by changing voting patterns in the United Nations is wrong. Hamas was very satisfied that Canada changed. They feel they caused Canada to move away from Israel and in their eyes, that’s a success.
We are looking forward to a time when Canada will return to its pattern of the past and we believe that can be achieved because it’s the right thing to do. Stopping funding for UNRWA and seeking alternatives is something we are very much looking for. Israel is looking for alternatives but the international community should also be looking for alternatives.
Changes need to take place with regard to UNRWA just like with the Palestinian Authority, which has not condemned the atrocities of Oct. 7. It actually does not create an alternative for the Palestinian people to live peacefully. The P.A. does not recognize Israel’s right to exist and so working with the current P.A. is also wrong.
Some things need to change on the government side in Canada in terms of its approach for it to be conducive to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, and we don’t see enough of this.
Q: Do you have any relations with the head of the opposition?
A: We maintain good relations with all parties that are interested in maintaining good contacts with Israel, but it’s an internal affair. We try to stay away from internal politics. It’s complicated enough in Israel, let alone here. What we are seeking is public support for Israel.
We believe that the greatest majority of Canadians support Israel, stand with Israel and want to tell us that on a regular basis. I think Prime Minister Trudeau also supports Israel, and he said that and repeated that on the occasion of Oct. 7. He said it very clearly. He is also responsible for the government’s actions, and that’s where our differences are.
Canada supports Israel. It has always been the case, and we have full confidence that it will continue to be like that. What we are discussing is how to mitigate current crises in the Middle East but also how we together with local authorities can support the fight against antisemitism. Jewish communities and institutions feel that they are under threat and the number [who feel this way] is growing. That is a source of concern and we work together with Canadian authorities on that.
Q: Canada just foiled an attempt to assassinate [former Canadian justice minister] Irwin Cotler. What was your reaction?
A: According to reports, there are Iranian elements involved. In our part of the world, Iran is the head of the snake; they are running all these proxies, they have created seven fronts that confront Israel right now in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, the Houthis in Yemen. We are not surprised that Iran may be involved in this assassination attempt as well.
We know, including from the director of National Intelligence in the United States, that Iranians are also involved in campus activities and supporting [anti-Israel] encampments. When the government designated [Iran’s Islamic] Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror organization, we believed it was the right move.
Iran and Canada have huge differences. We have known that for a long time, without any connection to Israel. It’s not surprising that Iran is involved here. We live in dangerous times, and that’s very unfortunate, and so it’s good to know the Canadian authorities have been able to foil such an attempt.
We just wish these kinds of elements would disappear so that we can live peacefully so that communities can come together and support each other in a way that’s really helpful for our societies to strengthen our values of freedom, tolerance and mutual respect. That is what we need and what’s really important at this time of differences.
