Israeli politician to Carney: ‘Defend the Jewish community in Canada’

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JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Mark Carney needs to work on making Canada a better friend to Israel and a safer place for its Jewish community, Israel’s deputy foreign minister said.

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Speaking to the Toronto Sun from inside the Knesset, Israeli legislator Sharren Haskell urged Carney to do better than his predecessor on Canada’s Israel policy.

“The first step should be to go and defend the Jewish community in Canada,” Haskell said.

“It’s been targeted, attacked violently. Physically. There’s racism, antisemitism, shootings towards schools. It’s not safe for Jews.”

With many Canadian politicians falling silent at Canada’s explosion of anti-Jewish hated since the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks, Haskell urged Carney to step up and correct the mistakes of the Justin Trudeau administration — and that includes stopping Canadian money from funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

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“Funding UNRWA is funding terrorism,” said Haskell, who was born in Toronto.

“UNRWA in Gaza has been taken over by Hamas. Its workers committed crimes against humanity, murdered Israeli citizens, abducted them and are still holding them hostage. UNRWA gave paid leave for Hamas fighters one week before the seventh of October.”

The United States cut funding to UNRWA after evidence emerged of its employees taking part in the Oct. 7 massacre.

While Canada and numerous other nations followed suit, Ottawa reversed course two months later — in time to deliver a $25-million installment of a $100-million 2023 funding pledge by the Trudeau Liberals.

Intelligence provided exclusively to Postmedia by Israel last year contained maps, biographies of UNRWA employees moonlighting in Palestinian terror groups, and photos of Hamas installations within or very close to United Nations compounds.

That briefing was the same one Israel gave to the PMO in 2023, outlining their case for cutting funding to the contentious organization.

“It’s absolutely unacceptable,” Haskell said.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com

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