Jewish Liberal MPs voiced their concerns on Wednesday about a cabinet decision to vote alongside Iran and against Israel at the United Nations.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, nine out of the ten largest Jewish ridings in Parliament are currently represented by Liberal MPs.“It may not satisfy anyone, right?” said Government House leader Karina Gould. “There are very strong emotions on both sides of this conflict.”“This is a really, really difficult issue,” Gould told reporters. “People have very real feelings about what is going on.”Canada's UN delegation voted against Israel and the United States on Tuesday, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution did not include any condemnation of the violence against Jews in Israel, including Canadian citizens.Other nations that supported the resolution included China, Cuba, and Russia.“This vote sends a crystal clear message to Canadian Jews and their allies who overwhelmingly support Israel and its right to exist that the government does not have their backs,” said Michael Levitt, former Liberal MP (York Centre, ON) and current CEO of Canadian Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre. “This will not soon be forgotten.”“My advice to all politicians: If you can’t stand proud and strong with the Jewish community, don’t light our damn Hanukkah candles,” Levitt said in a statement. The former two-term MP quit Parliament in 2020.Among the ten largest Jewish ridings in the Commons, Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman represents Thornhill, ON. According to Elections Canada data, approximately 30% of Thornhill's electors are Jewish.The nine largest Jewish Liberal-held ridings are Mount Royal, QC (21%), Eglinton-Lawrence, ON (16.5%), York Centre, ON (14%), Toronto-St. Paul’s, ON (11%), Outremont, QC (9%), Notre-Dame-de-Grace-Westmount, QC (8%), Winnipeg South Centre, MB (7%), Pierrefonds-Dollard, QC (7%) and Don Valley West, ON (6%).“I am very disappointed in the vote at the United Nations,” Liberal MP Anthony Housefather (Mount Royal, QC) told reporters on Wednesday. “I don’t understand.”“Can you still be a Liberal?” asked a reporter. “I am not going to get into things,” replied Housefather. “I am disappointed in this vote. Let’s stick to the substantive stuff about the vote.”“The motion is the motion,” said Housefather. “The motion was an unconditional call for a ceasefire. I do not support an unconditional call for a ceasefire. I do not believe the majority of my constituents support an unconditional call for a ceasefire and it is my obligation as an individually elected MP to speak out when I think Canada has abandoned its traditional position at the United Nations of supporting Israel at a time when Israel is at war.”“Why do you think they changed their position?” asked a reporter. “I won’t speculate,” replied Housefather. “That’s up to them to answer why they changed their position. My view has always been consistent. Israel is singled out far too often in international organizations.”“Canada has had a principled position under successive Liberal and Conservative governments to not support that,” said Housefather. “I think we supported a resolution that singled out Israel, abandoning Israel and our traditional ally, the United States, in a time when Israel was at war.”Liberal MP Julie Dabrusin (Toronto-Danforth, ON) emphasized the importance of the United Nations condemning crimes against Jews.“I wish the vote had called out Hamas,” said Dabrusin. “I don’t see how we cannot condemn Hamas in all of this.”Liberal MP Ben Carr (Winnipeg South Centre, MB) expressed concerns to reporters about the United Nations vote.“I have concerns,” said Carr.“The United Nations resolution, in my opinion, fell short in the following ways: It did not condemn Hamas to the extent I think is necessary and legitimate. It did not lay down as a condition for a ceasefire the need for Hamas to lay down its arms and immediately release all hostages, and to stop using innocent civilians as human shields.”According to census data, there are 1,775,715 Muslims in Canada, outnumbering Jews by five to one, as Statistics Canada reports 335,295 Jews nationwide.Other religious communities in Canada include 10.9 million Catholics, 1.2 million United Church members, 1.1 million Anglicans, 828,000 Hindus, 772,000 Sikhs, 623,000 Orthodox Christians, 437,000 Baptists, 399,000 Pentecostal Christians, 357,000 Buddhists, 328,000 Lutherans, 301,000 Presbyterians, 137,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses, 101,000 Methodists and 88,000 Mormons..Due to a high level of spam content being posted in our comment section below, all comments undergo manual approval by a staff member during regular business hours (Monday - Friday). Your patience is appreciated.
