Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East

An Israeli airstrike struck an apartment building in central Beirut, on Wednesday. The Israeli army had warned residents to evacuate about an hour before completely flattening it as day broke.

In mid-February, I joined police Chiefs from Canada and the United States, on a visit to Israel where we met police and community leaders in several cities. I spent time with police officers from Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Druze faiths representing a wide range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. I also met with Muslim community leaders who shared openly about their concerns and their reasons for working with police. These officers and community leaders operate in an environment that demands extraordinary vigilance - managing crime, counter terrorism, supporting community and crisis response all amid extreme complexity. Police to police we were able to talk about the toll this work takes on the people who do it. We talked about building trust in communities where there is little trust. We were able to get a glimpse of the undertaking required to police in complex environments. I am grateful for what I was able to learn and share with those we visited and among my North American peers. These missions offer a great deal of insight and valuable perspective. I am grateful for the continued leadership and support of the Edmonton Police Commission who have supported me in this. As police we focus on behavior, not beliefs. Where I have felt challenged this week is in the implication that any community group should have the right to direct where we can learn. I stand by my decision to take the trip to Israel and continue to view it as valuable, among multiple learning experiences I will have in this role. I remain focused on my longstanding and ongoing commitment to dialogue, learning and connection across communities and across boundaries.

Unfortunately, this is a distorted view of reality. On March 2nd, as on October 8th, 2023, Israelis were attacked unprovoked from Lebanese territory by Hezbollah. These are the same Israelis who for an entire year were forced to leave their homes due to relentless Hezbollah fire, yet the statement ignores their suffering. In the last two weeks, Hezbollah has fired approximately 2,000 missiles, rockets, and drones at Israeli civilians. Would the citizens of the countries that signed this statement agree to live under such terror? If these democracies were attacked in this way, would they accept a distorted symmetry between “all parties” - equating a democratic state defending its citizens with a terror organization that has taken control over a neighbouring state? The statement includes no demand on the Lebanese government to stop the fire on Israel - or even to remove Hezbollah ministers from the government. The Lebanese government failed to disarm Hezbollah, and now it must take steps to immediately stop the firing towards Israel.