The establishment Jews in Canada cannot follow the breadcrumbs to lead them away from their full-on support of Israel and its genocide against unarmed, starving Palestinians. Two prominent Jewish Canadians who finally spoke up are perhaps the first two with ties to the official Jewish community. Irwin Cotler and Nathaniel Erskine-Smith spoke out just before the 24th month of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Irwin Cotler, former federal Liberal justice minister and human rights lawyer, is one of 5,000 notable Jews (mainly outside of Canada) who signed a worldwide letter in mid-August that called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza and end the war.
The letter also disapproved of Israel’s failure to stop Jewish settler violence, and said added to the current “diplomatic tsunami” of criticism from Israel’s historical allies. In part, the letter cites
“… the example of Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, who said his government is ‘erasing Gaza’ and that the territory will be entirely Jewish.”
Toronto Liberal MP (Beaches-East York) Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, who is Jewish, called what Israel is doing a genocide. In his recent op-ed in the Toronto Star, he wrote
“The Netanyahu government starves Palestinians by blocking essential humanitarian aid, in defiance of the International Court of Justice. It razes entire communities, expands illegal settlements in the West Bank, kills and bars journalists, kills civilians waiting for food aid and suggests Palestinians should be further displaced to Sudan.
“In a recent interview, Netanyahu told us that Israel intends to take over Gaza, and the Knesset recently voted in support of further annexation.
“It is past time for the world to act.”
In the last three weeks, Gazans’ deaths have spiralled thanks to the IDF.
In a table posted 5 Sept., (see below), Israel’s left-of-centre newspaper Ha’aretz listed the number of Palestinians killed by the IDF since Israel broke the ceasefire on 18 March.
ITEM: Ha’aretz noted the following: Israeli air strike killed a Palestinian fisherman at sea whom Israel claimed was “active in Hamas’ naval force”. Since when has Hamas had a navy—or airforce?
ITEM: Twenty-two emergency medical staff and journalists at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis were deliberately killed 1 Sept., as they sheltered in a stairwell at the hospital. Israel first bombed the hospital and 9 minute later “second tapped” — launched a second hit on the emergency staff and journalists in the stairwell. When the deliberate and targeted hit was exposed, even Netanyahu had to confess “Israel deeply regrets the tragic error.” No one thinks it was an error – the world is outraged.
ITEM: Just north of the hospital, the Israeli military fired a missile that struck a family’s tent. Two parents, Odah and Aline Kawarea, plus their three young children were killed. Their faces were “mangled by shrapnel.” A year ago, the father Odah had lost an eye, and suffered paralysis in his hand because of a missile strike.
ITEM: That night another missile hit a displaced family’s tent in Nuseirat refugee camp. Israel killed Sheikh Qudaih, a father along with his three children and his grandson, aged 12.
ITEM: Ha’aretz sent the Israeli military a list of 29 documented air strikes carried out by the IDF from late July to late August 2025. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the strikes killed 180 people. Ha’aretz demanded an accounting. But for only five of the strikes, the IDF provided a “partial reply”
“… leaving key questions unanswered: What were the targets of the strikes? Was the risk to civilians considered? Was an investigation opened into civilian casualties?”
As for the remaining 24 strikes, the response was insubstantial, and vapid.
In August, on average, Israel killed 70 people a day in Gaza (compared to 100 a day in July). This chart reveals the number of Palestinians killed, month by month, since Israel broke the ceasefire in mid-March:
Statistics reveal that 30% of the killings are by gunfire near food distribution centres; most of the rest were killed by drone attacks, artillery shelling or missiles fired that hit tents, homes and even people standing in the street.
Below: Bodies of those killed in Zeitoun, Gaza City where 12 people in one family were killed by an Israeli missile on 13 Aug. 2025. (video credit: from Ha’aretz)
What about the Jews?
Still, about half of the Jews in Canada refuse to budge in their stalwart support of Israel. Many Canadian Jews tend to parrot the talking notes of Netanyahu and his cabinet. When the talking points fail to mitigate the horrors of the genocide, Canada’s Jews fall back on the panic of antisemitism in Canada. They rail against the doctors, the lawyers, the university professors, the writers, artists, and almost anyone else who has dared to criticize Israel’s genocide. Read about it
It’s taken two years for most politicians and media pundits in the western “democracies,” including Canada, to build up steam to oppose Israel’s genocide. In the ongoing war on Gaza, Palestinians’ lives are worth nothing – that much is clear to us all.
But what about Canada’s Jews? They tell you not to confuse Jews with Israel – it is antisemitic to believe all or most Canadian Jews support Israel. That’s true; only 51% of Jews identify as Zionists, according to a 2024 study. Still, the pro-Israel Jewish organizations such as B’nai Brith, CIJA (Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs), Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre and Honest Reporting Canada insist that Jews must support Israel, no matter what.
Israel insists it speaks for all Jews (including Canadian Jews).
We Jews are being spoken for–told what to say– and what not to say.
We are excusing, allowing, fudging and ignoring the major humanitarian crime in the world today, Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.
So what is there to do? Simply say no. As a Jew you must publicly say – in blogs, newsletters, on stage, at lectures –Israel doesn’t speak for me.
“One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This”
When this is all over. When Israel has killed all the Palestinians, or they have been expelled – cleansed – from their own land forever, what will you say? Some of you will say, “It was Netanyahu’s fault,” or “We demonstrated to free the hostages,” or “We had to fight antisemitism here at home and didn’t have time (in two years) to say or do anything.” Or as author and journalist Omar El Akkad titled his 2025 book, “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This.”
I can tell you how true that phrase is from a different political struggle my family and I fought – this one in Saskatchewan 25 years ago. We won our 10-year fight to eliminate children saying the Lord’s Prayer and Bible readings from the public schools. We were a small group of parents –Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Atheists– in Saskatoon. We said it was discriminatory to have students recite Christian prayer in the schools – something that had been eliminated in most school boards across Canada by the year 2000. The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission agreed and took our case before a tribunal. The adjudicator ruled in our favour and against the Saskatoon Public Schools that demanded prayer in the schools. This was a huge and important victory: after we won, I can’t count the number of friends, colleagues— some fellow Jews —who told me they had always been on our side. Really?
They never wrote a letter, talked to a teacher or principal, never attended school board meetings, never came to our parents’ meetings (in those days, there was no Zoom), never put up a sign or anything to help. Now of course they claimed they were always on the right side.
Do Canadian Jews who support Israel think the rest of us will forget how their blind support for Israel destroyed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians’ lives — and even lives— or livelihoods— here in Canada? There is evidence from the last two years to show that Canadian Jews of influence have
- silenced discussion, stopped film screenings, stopped theatre performances about Israel’s genocide
- deprived professionals– who dared to oppose the genocide– of jobs, and took away opportunities
- suspended and expelled students for criticizing Israel
- banned public forums and speakers on Palestine
- posted hatred and lies against Palestinians on websites and social media
- ignored Israel’s genocide of tens of thousands of Palestinians only to promote the “record-high” fears of antisemitism among Jews. This despite the fact that “most Canadians do not have negative views toward Jews.” Indeed a 2024 academic Canadian study revealed 83% of Canadians hold positive feelings about Jews. How can this be possible?
Unfortunately, there are also many Canadian Jews who are as quiet as possible on this subject. They do their bit to refuse to discuss the genocide —whether among family, or friends.
When this is all over, we will hear them all say, it had nothing to do with them. They will say, “I have always been against Israel’s genocide.”
Photo at the top is taken from social media.
Another ruined dinner party... 