Hamas’ surprise offensive against Israel occurred just ten days before Deborah Lyons, former Canadian ambassador to Israel, began her new mandate as Canada’s special envoy for preserving the memory of Israel. Holocaust and the fight against anti-Semitism. These new responsibilities then take on a whole new meaning.
“When I opened my phone that morning, I knew my work had changed dramatically,” says Mme Lyons in an interview with The dutyhis first interview offered to a French-speaking media.
After 25 years of experience in international relations, Mr.me Lyons has been given the complex mandate of combating anti-Semitism in Canada and abroad just as Israel’s response is beginning to spark outrage around the world.
“It became even more important for the community, but I knew it was going to be even more difficult,” she says.
Hamas’ attack on Israel has led to the deadliest fighting in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in decades. At least 1,160 Israelis and foreigners, mostly civilians, were killed in the October 7 attack. More than 240 people were taken hostage.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to annihilate Hamas, considered terrorist by the United States, Canada and the European Union. Since October 7, the Israeli army has been relentlessly shelling the Gaza Strip. Today there are more than 30,400 deaths on the Palestinian side, the majority of them civilians, according to Hamas. Rafah is also in the crosshairs of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently announced the upcoming launch of a major operation. According to the UN, nearly 1.5 million Palestinians, largely displaced, are crowded there in precarious conditions.
The one who was ambassador to Israel for four years maintains that a “response” to these attacks was necessary. ” Brutality [du Hamas] sent a clear message of true hatred and evil,” she believes.
Although she anticipated the “impacts” of this response, she admits that she never thought she would see so much acrimony in the country.
“I never expected our good Canada to react in such a disappointing way. In Montreal alone, we saw over 130 hate incidents between early October and December alone. I never anticipated such an intense reaction,” she confides.
Last November, a Jewish center in Montreal was the target of a Molotov cocktail. The SPVM also reported firebomb attacks which caused minor damage to a synagogue and a Jewish organization, and gunshots which hit two Jewish school buildings.
The limits of freedom of expression
Although she recognizes the suffering experienced by both Israelis and Palestinians, Deborah Lyons is concerned about the unfolding of certain demonstrations in the country. “Let’s be clear about this: a person can be both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli. One does not cancel the other,” believes Mme Lyons.
“Canadians have every right to take to the streets and enjoy their freedom of expression. But we must ensure that these protests take place peacefully and respectfully. This is not always the case,” she denounces.
Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced a protest outside a Toronto Jewish hospital as a “reprehensible” display of anti-Semitism. “A hospital is for care, and not for demonstrations or intimidation,” the Prime Minister wrote.
The groups that organized the march said the politicians’ suggestion that protesters targeted Mount Sinai Hospital in an act of anti-Semitism was unfounded and inaccurate.
“Part of what is happening now is not a reaction to the situation in the Middle East. This is targeting our community, targeting Jewish individuals, Jewish businesses, Jewish places of worship, and it is completely unacceptable. It is strictly and nothing less than anti-Semitic,” condemns Mme Lyons, judging that demonstrations must take place in front of consulates and embassies.
Islamophobic incidents have also been reported in the country. Canada’s special representative in charge of combating Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, told the Duty having been the victim of Islamophobic acts since the start of the war.
A new two-state solution
From her experience as Canadian deputy ambassador to the United States (from 2010 to 2013), Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan (2013-2016), then to Israel (2016-2020), Deborah Lyons believes that new efforts are necessary to achieve the two-state solution in the region.
“The world needs to act more proactively. Perhaps we have been a little too passive in leaving the two-state solution aside and focusing on other problems in the world. It’s obvious that we have to come back to it,” she believes.
Is a two-state solution really possible? “Oh yes, I think it’s possible, although I think it’s going to take a lot of work,” she replies, adding that leadership from both camps and their neighbors will be essential to get there.
The two-state solution as the “only possible” path to peace between Israelis and Palestinians received broad support among the G20 countries meeting in Rio de Janeiro last week. The European Union has also been vocal in supporting the coexistence of Israel and an independent Palestinian state.
“When we get to that day, we must be ready to help build the kind of structure and governance that would allow Israel to feel secure and for the Palestinians to finally have that state that people have been trying to achieve for so many years. “years,” she concludes.