Nanaimo-Alberni MP James Lunney stood in the House of Commons last week to make a pitch for Canada’s continued strong support for the state of Israel.
“Colleagues, this past summer I visited the death camps at Majdanek and Auschwitz. I saw young people weeping before mounds of human ashes, shoes of victims, mass graves and monstrous crematoria,” Lunney said in his speech. “Sadly, the threat to the Jewish people is still with us today ... it is clear in the determination of those sworn to destroy the collective Jew — the Jewish state.”
Lunney said the world needs a strong Israel and Israel needs secure borders and neighbours that recognize the state and choose the path of peace.
“There are those who advocate dividing Jerusalem, separating the old city, historic Jerusalem from the Jewish state, leaving a state without a soul,” he said. “The recent Basel Declaration highlights the San Remo commitment of 1920, the Mandate for Palestine approved by the League of Nations in 1922; solemn commitments that gave the legal foundation for the modern state of Israel, including Jerusalem.”
Lunney urged all nations to treat the issue carefully, noting the stakes are high.