The Israeli-Palestinian conflict casts its shadow over the speech of Canadian opposition leader Pierre Poilievre during his address to attendees at a Jewish synagogue in Montreal  

Last week, the Official Opposition leader in the Ottawa Parliament, Pierre Poilievre, accepted an invitation to speak at a synagogue affiliated with the “Beit Israel Beith Aaron” community in downtown Montreal.

In his speech before the audience, the Conservative leader gave an overview of the policy a future government led by his party could adopt regarding the Middle East.

The situation in the Middle East has been a source of division and conflict for decades, and it is currently one of the most sensitive topics for Canadian politicians, who have so far avoided officially siding with any party.

In the House of Commons in the federal capital Ottawa, Poilievre himself referred to Israel or Gaza only a few times and cautiously. This is despite his party voting against the New Democratic Party's proposal calling for the recognition of the Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution through negotiation.

But things are different outside the House of Commons halls. In fact, the Conservative leader has publicly stood alongside Israel during his recent speeches at Jewish temples in Montreal and Quebec City. This stance was very well received by these communities.

During his visit to a Jewish synagogue in Quebec City on March 26, Pierre Poilievre was specifically presented as Canada’s next Prime Minister. A video clip recording the event shows Poilievre delivering a 33-minute speech amid enthusiastic applause from the audience.

In addition to highlighting his knowledge of Jewish religion and culture, recounting stories from his visits to Israel in his youth, and offering references and expressions familiar to the Jewish community, Poilievre took his speech further by saying: “The Jewish people are the only people I know, who practice faith in the same language on the same land in the same country as was the case 3,000 years ago. They are truly an indigenous people,” after which the audience applauded very enthusiastically.

While discussing his travels, the Conservative leader specifically mentioned his stay on the Golan Heights, northern Israel, where he witnessed rockets being launched from Lebanon.

He added, “We literally saw with our own eyes Hezbollah launching rockets at northern Israel, and how the Israeli army bravely responded to that attack in southern Lebanon.”

The Canadian leader said that upon returning to the country, he contributed to “a widespread campaign to criminalize Hezbollah.”

It is worth noting that the Canadian government does not recognize the permanent control exercised by Israel over the Golan Heights, Syrian land controlled by Israeli forces since 1967 and annexed by Tel Aviv in 1981.

However, this is not the first time Conservatives have stood with Israel in the regional conflict that has torn the region apart for 75 years. In February 2018, then-Conservative leader Andrew Scheer announced that if his party won the 2019 elections, a Conservative government would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, just as U.S. President Donald Trump did in 2017.

Despite his clear sympathy for Israel, the Canadian Conservative Party leader said he is sensitive to the plight suffered by the Palestinian people in this war.

In his speech, he expressed empathy with Palestinian families who have been dispossessed of their property.

He added that the Iranian regime and other tyrants in the region have turned the Palestinian people into one of the pieces in the sinister chess game.

I understand the reason behind the strength of political pressures, and I understand why our Muslim friends and neighbors suffer and openly speak about the suffering of their loved ones in Gaza and the West Bank.

Meanwhile, he affirmed his belief in a two-state solution through negotiation, where Palestinians and Israel live in peace and harmony.

He added that a Conservative government in Ottawa “will also defend Israel’s right to defend itself and will reject any proposal or resolution at the United Nations that unfairly targets Israel,” according to him.

Poilievre said one of the measures he called for is ending Ottawa’s funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) entirely. This is “so that Canadian aid really goes to the suffering Palestinian people, not to those who support terrorism within UNRWA.” 

Canada and several other countries suspended their funding of UNRWA last January after Israel alleged that 12 UNRWA staff members were involved in the October 7 attack launched by Hamas on Israel. The federal government’s Minister of International Development, Ahmed Hussen, recently announced the upcoming resumption of UNRWA funding following the results of the investigations within the organization.