Israel-Hamas war cannot become another 9/11 moment, says anti-Islamophobia envoy

OTTAWA –

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s special representative for combating Islamophobia is warning against allowing the Israel-Hamas war to become a catalyst for the stereotyping of Muslim Canadians.

Amira Elghawaby, who was appointed to the new role in January, released a statement this week about the effect the war is having on members of Canada’s Muslim communities.

She said people are expressing fear about a “resurgence” in Islamophobia that “has troubling echoes of the past.”

She referred to the years following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when Muslims and Arabs “felt collectively blamed, stereotyped and racially profiled.”

Elghawaby said that locally, Muslims and Arabs “felt pressured to condemn actions unrelated to our communities” and experienced what she called “a silencing effect” when it came to community members voicing their views about human rights.

Her statement said the legacy of 9/11 is “being rekindled” in the current war.

“Over the past 10 days, like all Canadians, I have watched the devastating scenes from the Middle East,” she said in the statement released late Wednesday.

“There are no words to describe how our hearts ache as we watch, in real time, the suffering of innocent people. These events have taken a personal toll on me, especially the most recent attack on the hospital in Gaza, and the avoidable humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding.”

A spokesperson from the Canadian Heritage department said Thursday that Elghawaby, whose job is to provide advice to the federal government on how best to respond to Islamophobia, was unavailable for an interview.

The war began after Hamas militants stormed across the blockaded border between the Gaza Strip and Israel into southern Israeli towns on Oct. 7, a major Jewish holiday. Israel has since retaliated with strikes into Hamas-controlled Gaza and is preparing a ground invasion.

The Gaza Health Ministry says nearly 3,800 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, and more than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them civilians caught up in the deadly Hamas incursion.

The explosion at the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City this week has become a flashpoint in the war.

On Tuesday, the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry announced that a hospital blast had left hundreds dead and quickly blamed the incident on an airstrike by Israel.

The Israeli military has denied involvement and released a flurry of images that it says show that a Palestinian militant group misfired on the hospital.

U.S. President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the region on Wednesday that it appeared the hospital blast was perpetrated “by the other team, not you.”

Trudeau said on Thursday that Canada was taking the “necessary time” to probe the incident before drawing any conclusions.

Since the conflict began, Trudeau and other leaders have spoken out against a rise in both antisemitism and Islamophobia, including against Palestinian Canadians.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims said in a statement posted to social media Thursday that the number of reports of hate incidents it has received has skyrocketed, “and is fuelled by the ongoing tragedy in Gaza.”

It called on leaders to take action.

Trudeau and other federal leaders have all acknowledged the fear the war is stirring for members of Jewish as well as Arab and Muslim communities. They have called for the need to ensure the conflict does not lead to a rise in hate or violence against these groups.

In the wake of the Hamas attacks on Israel, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre issued a statement calling on the government to ensure the safety of Jewish Canadians, saying there is “a heightened level of anxiety about the potential of threats and violence.”

Poilievre reacted to reports of hate crimes directed at a Hebrew school in Toronto on social media last week, saying on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: “Threats of violence like these are despicable and should never be tolerated in Canada.”

Trudeau referred to the same investigation, in which Toronto police made three arrests, when speaking about what he called “a very scary rise of antisemitism here at home” at an event in Ottawa this week held by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

The prime minister also told Parliament this week that he has met with Muslim and Palestinians leaders to hear their concerns, saying that Hamas’s actions do not represent the Palestinian people “or their legitimate aspirations.”

Hamas has been listed as a terrorist entity in Canada since 2002.

Other parliamentarians spoke this week about the Chicago killing of a six-year-old Palestinian American and the wounding of his mother. Local police alleged that the two were targeted by their landlord in response to the Israel-Hamas war.

Some also told personal stories. Quebec Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi, who is Muslim, told reporters that his “visibly Muslim” sister-in-law and niece were threatened on their way to school and had to turn around.

Police agencies across Canada say they are watching for threats.

Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw said that the number of hate crime calls since the attack on Israel has gone up sharply compared to the same time period last year.

Demkiw told a police services board meeting on Thursday that since Oct. 7, there have been 14 hate crime reports — 12 relating to antisemitism and two about anti-Muslim incidents — compared to five during a similar time frame last year.

“Verified incidents of hate crimes, including mischief, uttering death threats and criminal harassment, are on the rise,” he said.

“We have been clear and we remain resolute. The Toronto Police Service will not tolerate acts of violence, intimidation or hate toward anyone or any community. We will facilitate lawful protest. We will be vigilant and resolute in our service to our communities and the residents of this city.”

Police have been maintaining increased visibility around synagogues and mosques, Demkiw said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2023.

With files from The Associated Press and Allison Jones in Toronto.