Tory gov’t would protect Canadian Jews from hate: Poilievre

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OTTAWA – You are not alone.

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That was Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s message to Jewish Canadians on Saturday, reacting to Canada’s explosion of antisemitism and anti-Jewish hatred since the Oct. 7 terror attacks.

“The rampage and chaos that we see in our streets, the targeting of synagogues and Jewish schools with hate, vandalism, violence, firebombings of synagogues – these things were unheard of 10 years ago,” Poilievre said during a morning press conference in the Ottawa suburb of Nepean.

“The Jewish community feels, understandably, under siege as these hate marches and antisemitic outbursts have become an unfortunate part of Canadian life – and frankly, the Liberals have encouraged these divisions.”

The Liberals, he said, routinely say one thing to one group, and something else to another group.

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Video posted to social media over the weekend shows Milton MP Adam van Koeverden campaigning in a local mosque, referring to Israel’s attempt to defend itself from Palestinian terrorists as a so-called “genocide.”

“Your voices will be strong in Ottawa, strong to condemn the genocide and end the genocide in Gaza,” he said to male members of the congregation, pointing out that fellow Liberal candidate Kristina Tesser Derksen was downstairs speaking to the women in the segregated mosque.

“We will continue to make sure that Palestinian voices are heard in Ottawa by our leaders, to make sure that Canada continues to stand strong for Palestinian safety and sovereignty.”

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Earlier this week, Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s furthered the genocide myth while responding to a heckler at a rally in Calgary – also making false statements that Canada has an arms embargo against Israel, comments that sparked an angry rebuke from Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on social media.

“… instead of supporting Israel, a democracy that is fighting a just war with just means against the barbarians of Hamas, he attacks the one and only Jewish state,” Netanyahu said in a retweet of a Toronto Sun reporter’s post.

“Mr. Carney, backtrack your irresponsible statement!”

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Repeated requests to Carney’s campaign to clarify his comments and explain his position on Israel went unreturned.

“The message to Canada’s Jewish community is that you are not alone,” Poilievre said.

“Canadians stand with you, you have the right to wear you Star of David, your kippah, and have your mezuzah on your door. You should feel proud to be Jewish, and you should never have to hide your Jewishness in order to stay safe.”

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume

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