A prominent Canadian think tank has issued a statement of support for Israel following recent terrorist attacks.The Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI) released the statement Tuesday, following what it called “recent horrific terrorist attacks by Hamas against civilians in Israel,” which MLI called “our friend and ally.”“The State of Israel is a legitimate and welcome member of the community of nations whose right to exist is uncontestable historically, legally and morally,” the statement began. “All states, including Israel, have the right to defend themselves and their citizens from enemies, both internal and external.”The MLI painted a favourable view of Israeli overtures regarding Palestinians.“Israel has repeatedly offered its Palestinian neighbours land in exchange for peace. Those offers have repeatedly been rebuffed by Palestinian politicians who prefer to hold out to their people the vain hope that Israel will be pushed into the sea,” MLI explained.“Israel is not going anywhere, nor should it. Anyone who wants peace in the Middle East must start by recognising Israel’s legitimacy and right to defend itself and its people. The Abraham Accords and other such agreements with Egypt and Jordan prove that such a peace is possible and is supported by many Arab countries in the region. It is our hope that they will soon be joined by Saudi Arabia.”Saudi Arabia announced four days ago it would put talks to normalize relations with Israel on hold as hostilities grow in the Middle East. The MLI expressed skepticism that Hamas would contemplate such peace with Israel.“Palestinians under the leadership of Hamas in Gaza, especially, will not make an honourable peace with Israel and Hamas continues to preach the destruction of that country and its people. Israel has therefore been forced to take steps to protect its people from the threat represented by Hamas’ irredentists. These justified steps include building security fences and strictly controlling the movement of Gaza residents into Israel,” wrote MLI.The think tank, founded in 2010 by economist and writer Brian Lee Crowley, also made an unfavourable assessment of Hamas, which was founded in 1987 as the Islamic Resistance Movement.“Having created the conditions in which Israel, for its own safety and security, must protect itself from sworn enemies on its borders, Hamas and its apologists then have the temerity to blame Israel for the plight of Palestinians in Gaza and use Israel’s perfectly legitimate security measures as justification for the murderous terrorist attacks of last week,” said MLI.“This justification is dishonest, dishonourable and disgraceful and must be rejected and decried by all civilised peoples. So too must Hamas’ efforts to put their very own population in harm’s way in an obvious attempt to delegitimise Israel’s efforts to dismantle Hamas and protect Israelis. These transparent ploys fool no one.”The MLI also blamed Iran for the terrorist attacks in Israel.“Hamas benefits from continued support and assistance from the radical Islamist regime in Iran, which has shamefully and predictably glorified and celebrated these barbaric attacks as another step in their campaign to destroy Israel. Iran supports, both covertly and overtly, any party that can help contribute to that goal of eradicating Israel, including contributing over $100m to Hamas last year,” MLI wrote.“Iran's support of Hamas and other terrorist actors, such as Hezbollah, has gone on for years and this unacceptable act of terror adds new urgency for the Canadian government finally to place the most robust and rigorous sanctions possible on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), up to and including listing them as a terrorist group. Canada should also support the United States’ call for Israel’s neighbours not to exacerbate the conflict now underway in Israel and Gaza.”MLI even made a statement of solidarity to Jews everywhere.“In this time of great sorrow and pain, we at MLI want to make it perfectly clear that we stand with our Jewish friends, neighbours and colleagues. The world must know that we reject anti-Jewish hatred and we urge the governments of Canada and other nations to take urgent steps to denounce anti-Semitism whenever it rears its ugly and pathetic head.”MLI calls itself “the only non-partisan, independent national public policy think tank in Ottawa focusing on the full range of issues that fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government.” The recent statement issued a message to the Canadian government and its “friends and allies.”“We at MLI stand unambiguously with Israel in the face of these barbaric attacks and wish to reiterate that Israel’s existence and safety, as well as the safety and security of the Jewish community worldwide, cannot and must not be threatened with impunity,” the think tank stated.“We urge the Government of Canada and the governments of all liberal democracies to do the same and to condemn in the clearest possible terms all anti-Semitism as well as the calls from Hamas supporters in their own populations to abandon our friend and ally Israel and to throw in our lot with those who kidnap and murder innocents to get their way.”The statement closed with, “Am Yisrael chai,” meaning “The people of Israel live.” The words are the title of a 1965 song composed and performed by Shlomo Carlebach that have since become a popular statement of Jewish solidarity.
