‘Appalled by a complete lack of humanity’

‘Appalled by a complete lack of humanity’

MELANIE JOLY

Open Letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly

Dear Minister Joly,

I am not a Palestinian and I have never been involved in activities in support of the Palestinian struggle. But it was with great dismay that I watched your interview on CBC last Monday [Oct. 9] evening about the war in Palestine-Israel. I was not surprised by your one-sided position in favour of Israel because I know that is the stance, unfortunately, of the Canadian government. But I was appalled by the complete lack of humanity that you displayed towards the Palestinian people.

Repeatedly you were asked about Israel’s retaliatory attacks on Gaza, the deadly consequences it would have on the ordinary Palestinians living in Gaza. Repeatedly you refused to comment on it, referring again and again to the attacks that Hamas launched on Israel. You even refused to answer the question about Israel’s threat to completely cut off the supply of food, water and electricity to Gaza. You know very well the consequence of that – the inevitable death of 2 million Palestinians, including children, not just Hamas fighters.   

You continuously mention how Hamas violated international law by launching a surprise attack on Israel. But you never acknowledged that Israel’s siege on Gaza is also a violation of international law. You denounce the violence of Hamas but never appealed to Israel to exercise restraint.   

BERN JAGUNOS

By refusing to acknowledge the deathly threat faced by ordinary Palestinians in Gaza, you basically denied the existence of Palestinians. As if in your consciousness and in the eyes of the Canadian Government, the Palestinian people do NOT exist. You basically denied Palestinians their humanity. By refusing to urge restraint on Israel’s side, Canada is basically allowing Israel to kill Palestinians without restraint and limit.

I can imagine how Canadian citizens from Palestine felt when they saw your interview. How do you think they feel when they also see only the Israeli flag displayed on the Bell Tower in the Centre Block of Parliament, sending them the strong message that Canada only laments the deaths of Israeli children, not the children of their Palestinian families, friends, relatives and communities in Gaza.

If you lament for the loss of Israeli lives, it is beyond my ability to comprehend how you, the Canadian government and other Canadian politicians cannot get yourselves to mourn the loss of the lives of innocent Palestinians.

In solidarity with the neglected, oppressed Palestinian people,

Bern Jagunos