Israeli appeals based on alleged Hamas atrocities and Israel’s need to “destroy Hamas” are starting to wear thin. A new poll of Canadians shows that opinion is shifting, despite determined attempts by mainstream media, governments and the Israel lobby. Read more....
As Israel’s merciless assault on Gaza drags on, new data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds Canadians’ sympathies shifting. Despite a constant drumbeat of pro-Israeli information from the mainstream media, Israel lobby groups and politicians at all levels of government, Canadians are increasingly skeptical of the Israeli narrative.
In November, significantly more Canadians said their sympathies were mostly with the Israelis (28%) than those whose sympathies were more with the Palestinians (18%).
Three months later, the number of Canadians saying they sympathize with one side or the other has drawn near-even .
This comes amid a growing view among Canadians that the destruction wrought by Israel’s military response in Gaza after the Hamas terrorist attacks of Oct. 7 has been “too heavy handed.”
Concerns over the growing Palestinian death toll have sparked allegations of genocide. In January the United Nations’ highest court, the International Court of Justice, ruled that Israel was committing “plausible genocide” in Gaza and issued a series of provisional orders.
More Canadians now believe Israel is in fact committing genocide against Palestinians (41%) than not (32%).
The rapid shift in Canadian opinion no doubt reflects the situation on the ground in Gaza but also the steady stream of demonstrations, letters, petitions and other actions by Palestinian Canadians and their supporters.
Ceasefire now?
While Canadians now appear to be about equally divided on which “side” they support, according to the same poll, a large majority of Canadians (67%) want a ceasefire. This is true across all political parties. 55% of Liberal voters and 69% of NDP’ers believe there should be a full ceasefire. Even 28% of Conservative voters want a full ceasefire.
It would appear that the Liberal party is reading the polls. Prime Minister Trudeau on Wednesday released a joint statement with the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand warning Israel against an impending attack on Rafah and calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”.
The trend line is clear – Israel and its lobby are losing. But more work needs to be done.
Canada Talks Israel Palestine (CTIP) is the weekly newsletter of Peter Larson, Chair of the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine (OFIP). It aims to promote a serious discussion in Canada about Canada’s response to the complicated and emotional Israel/Palestine issue with a focus on the truth, clear analysis and human rights for all. Readers with different points of view are invited to make comment.
Want to learn more about us? Go to Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine.ca
Canada Talks Israel/Palestine 
Good news, Peter. Thanks! Alex
“The only time it is right to look down at someone is when we are offering our hand to help them get up.” Pope Francis – “Let Us Dream”
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Canadians should be beginning to recognize that Israel has set an impossible goal for itself and that having an unachievable goal is leading to disaster. It has repeatedly stated that its goal is to completely destroy Hamas. They have not said that they want to weaken Hamas, or to demilitarize Hamas, or even to confine Hamas; they say “destroy”. There is only one way to do that; they have to destroy the Palestinian people.
It is useful to recall the end of World War II. Germany lay in ruins; its army was defeated. However, when it began to reconstruct, there were reports of people working in government offices who came to work wearing Nazi party pins. Thirty years later, I sat quietly in a train compartment while a group of Germans, strangers to each other, praised Hitler and expressed the wish that he were back. Even today, there is a major political party in Germany that many consider to be a successor of the Nazi party. The Nazis were weakened and demilitarized, but never destroyed.
Hamas too cannot be destroyed without destroying the nation behind it. The Israelis, sadly familiar with all the relevant history, know that. Their intent is clear. Canadians cannot support them.
Netanyahu has said that to achieve peace, Israel must destroy Hamas. He is wrong. To achieve peace, Israel must make peace with Hamas. To do that they must treat Palestinians fairly – something that they have never done.
I wonder if when the genocide in Gaza ends, if Israel’s support increases or continue to decrease. I believe that no matter what the assault outcome will be, the Israeli government together with the army, will put a spin on it that Israel won on every front. That will strengthen Israel not to do any changes but continue diminishing Gaza by strangulation and continue taking over West Bank.
Although the small voices for peace in Israel and elsewhere will increase somewhat, it will not change the overall situation. Israel’s aim was and will continue to be “The Greater Israel”, which will not stop and he pressure on Israel by other countries will lessen. Yes, talks about peace and fair solution will continue, but it will be bogged down by Israel talking the talk but nothing about walking the walk.
“THE INTENTION OF ZIONISM WAS NOT TO BRING DEMOCRACY” – Ariel Sharon
“The terms ‘democracy’ or ‘democratic’ are totally absent from the Declaration of Independence. This is not an accident. The intention of Zionism was not to bring democracy, needless to say. It was solely motivated by the creation in Eretz-Israel of a Jewish state belonging to all the Jewish people and to the Jewish people alone. That is why any Jew of the Diaspora has the right to immigrate to Israel and to become a citizen of Israel.”
—Ariel Sharon, “Democracy & the Jewish State,” Yedioth Ahronoth, 28 May 1993
Quoted in AN ISRAELI IN PALESTINE: Resisting Dispossession, Redeeming Israel, by Jeff Halper (Pluto Press / ICAHD, 2010, 2nd edition, Chapter Three, location #959)