Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew issued a letter Monday calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and implored the federal government to follow his lead.
In his first-person statement, Kinew spoke of empathy for both Muslim Manitobans and Jewish Canadians who have felt the effects of the conflict.
“I make this call today because the scale of destruction we have now witnessed and the emergence of famine in Gaza are incompatible with the values that unite us Manitobans – respect for human rights, a desire to live in peace and pluralism, and a commitment to advance reconciliation,” said Kinew within the letter.
Kinew affirmed his allyship for Manitoba’s Jewish community and asked Manitobans to ponder the rationale he laid out with an open mind as he questioned if Israel’s methods were the only way to conduct war against Hamas.
“I believe Israel is justified in targeting Hamas given Hamas’ intention to kill Jewish people based solely on their Jewish identity and the violence Hamas has shown in carrying out that intention,” he said. “But I also know that the war cabinet of Israel had a choice in how it decided to conduct the war,” he said.
Kinew went on to say any country in good standing with the international community has a strong responsibility to protect the lives of civilians.
He questioned whether it is just to hold people collectively responsible for the actions of a few, referring to Jewish students in Manitoba facing a hostile environment because of the actions of the Israeli government.
“Holding Jewish people collectively responsible for the actions of the state of Israel is anti-Semitism, and it is wrong.” he said.
“This is a reminder for us to continue to support the Jewish community in Manitoba through this difficult period and to remind any advocates for Gaza to not veer into anti-Semitism.”
Kinew added that there are plenty of people in Gaza being held collectively responsible for the inhumane actions of Hamas.
“The international norms and conventions which ask world powers to distinguish between civilians and aggressors would seem to suggest a similar conclusion.”
Kinew concluded his letter by sharing what he believes is the right approach for being a good ally to Israelis and Jewish people as well as a good ally to Palestinians and Muslims.
“To be a good ally to Palestinians means speaking up for human rights in this moment – starting with the right to life.” he said,
“Israel is an important ally in the Middle East, particularly as a democracy, and particularly as a counterbalance against other world powers who oppose Canada’s commitment to human rights”
“Israel is also an ally against the proxies of those world powers who oppose human rights, proxies who are at work in the region.”
Kinew says he wants people from both communities to be able to live together, just like people from every other background.
“We are one province and we don’t have to agree on everything in order for us to live together, to do good things together, and to respect one another.”
“The prospect of this pluralism is founded on our ongoing commitment to human rights.”
Kinew says the ongoing conflict pushes the prospect of reconciliation in Manitoba further and further away.