By Michael Regenstreif
Look at the picture on the front page of this issue. It’s evident, from the grim expressions on the faces of Stephen Harper and Benjamin Netanyahu, that it wasn’t the happy occasion it was meant to be, May 31, when the Israeli prime minister came to Ottawa to visit his Canadian counterpart.
Netanyahu’s visit was meant to celebrate the strong ties and bonds of friendship enjoyed by the Israeli and Canadian governments and by the Israeli and Canadian people.
Instead, we woke up to the news that morning that nine people were killed when Israel stopped the Free Gaza flotilla from reaching the Hamas-controlled territory.
It was, to be sure, Israel’s toughest day since Operation Cast Lead ended almost a year-and-a-half ago.
There would be no gala reception for Netanyahu that evening at the Fairmont Château Laurier, and no meeting at the White House, the next day, with President Barack Obama. Laureen Harper and Sara Netanyahu – the prime ministers’ wives – did not make it to the Soloway Jewish Community Centre for the special performance of Tamir’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat that had been scheduled for them.
Instead, Netanyahu returned quickly to Israel to attend to the crisis.
Israel faces a terrible situation in regard to Gaza. There is no denying the humanitarian crisis there. Many of the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza suffer in the most horrible of conditions. Much of the area remains devastated from the destruction of Operation Cast Lead and many of the necessities of life that we take for granted – food, water, medicine, shelter, sanitation, etc. – are in too short supply for far too many people.
And while the simple answer would be for Israel – and Egypt – to just open the borders and sea routes to Gaza and allow unfettered access to the territory, there are no answers that simple in the Middle East.
Gaza is governed by Hamas, a terrorist organization and Iran proxy bent on Israel’s destruction. As long as it could, Hamas dispatched suicide bombers to Israel and terrorized communities like Sderot with thousands of rocket attacks in a barrage that lasted years.
Hamas gives Israel every reason to believe that unfettered access would just result in a rapid arms buildup leading to more rounds of terrorism and guerilla warfare.
Some sort of solution needs to be found – and found soon – to alleviate the suffering in Gaza without subjecting Israel to the very real threats of terrorism and rockets it faced for so many years.
Israel faces a lot of criticism. Too often, that criticism is way out of proportion and motivated by hatred. It’s important to stand up and respond to those who seek to delegitimize and destroy Israel.
But let us remember that it is a hallmark of freedom and democracy that no country or government is above legitimate criticism. All criticism of Israel is not antisemitic.
Organizations like Peace Now and J Street – which are Zionist organizations – are not being disloyal to Israel by lobbying for peace and a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians. Quite the opposite, they are standing for policies seen by many in Israel as essential if Israel is to maintain its duality as a democratic and Jewish state.
In his speech at the Federation AGM, Ron Prehogan talked about a task force he chaired several years ago for the JCC Association of North America. His task force found that one of the reasons many North American Jews, particularly young people, are – or are becoming – alienated from the organized Jewish community is the attitude of “Israel right or wrong.”
Ron said his task force concluded that discussion and debate should be welcome in our communities.
“It’s OK to disagree,” Ron said. “Let’s talk about it, argue about it, wrestle with each other about it so that we can understand each other better. That is what families do. And we are a family.”
