As a city councillor in Côte Saint-Luc for the past decade, I have had the honour and pleasure to serve under Anthony Housefather as mayor. Seldom have I come into contact with a man as brilliant as Anthony. The ultimate multi-tasker, he has the magic touch when it comes to politics, having been elected to public office in Hampstead when he was only in his early 20s. When he decided to seek the Liberal nomination in Mount Royal, each member of council stood behind him. Now the race is on, with voting set to take place on October 19.
Anthony`s opponent from the Conservative Party is Robert Libman, someone who I have known for many years and also have a great deal of respect for. One thing voters need to understand is that when they go to the ballot box, they will not see the names of Justin Trudeau, Stephen Harper or Tom Mulcair. It will be Housefather, Libman and the other local candidates. Nonetheless, during this campaign voters in Mount Royal are being fed lies about Trudeau. There is no question that Harper has been a huge supporter of Israel. But so is Trudeau.
"Some who oppose the Liberal party are using the issue of Israel as the main thing to differentiate the main political parties," said Sidney Margles, a one-time legendary broadcaster and a key player in the Housefather camp. "The Conservatives are trying to make you think they are the saviors of Israel…and there is at least one candidate who has gone so far as to tell some people that Israel cannot exist without the Conservative support, which is the furthest thing from the truth. Now, there is a vitriolic and defamatory letter from Toronto that has started making the rounds in Montreal."
The letter is indeed full of mistruths and I found it quite sad to field emails from individuals in the community who took no time to do any fact checking. It was written by Gabriel Erem, the publisher of the splashy Lifestyles Magazine, who basically came out on attack over Ontario pharmaceutical giant Barry Sherman and his wife Honey's plans for a fundraising cocktail party they have scheduled for Trudeau and York Centre candidate Michael Levitt.
Sherman and his wife were appalled by Erem's email regarding the stance of Trudeau and the Liberal Party on Israel. "Not only did you demonstrate astounding ignorance and unfairness, but you had the gall to cc countless people, apparently in an attempt to undermine our efforts to provide support from the community, which Justin and the Liberal Party surely deserve," Sherman wrote. "In essence, your letter slanders Justin on the basis of irrational views expressed, not by Justin, but by his brother!"
Sherman notes that the best evidence of Trudeau's views is surely his own words and deeds.
-On his brother’s views on Israel, Trudeau has said: "On the issue of Iran, and Israel specifically, we disagree significantly.” Click here to see Trudeau's visit to Leo Baeck Day School: -1.1026543
-On multi partisan support for Israel, Trudeau agrees completely with Harper's support for Israel and says: “I’m happy to say that I love the prime minister for his support for Israel and thank Mr. Mulcair for his personal support of Israel as well, and I’m glad to say that any government of Canada will be supportive of Israel.”
–Here is a link to Trudeau's interview with The Jewish Independent:
-On Standing Up for Israel, Trudeau has been clear in his belief that standing up for Israel is more than just standing up for her security, it is also standing up for the very values and ideals that our two countries share…” See this clip of his greetings to Meir Hospital. "Yes, the Liberal Party will have Israel’s back – not because it’s in our political interests to do so at home – but because it is the right thing to do on the world stage," he said.
-On Iran, Trudeau has said that it must never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons capability as it would pose an existential threat “not just to Israel but to the entire Middle East.” Click here for his position.
-On BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanction) and IAW (Israel apartheid week), Trudeau has said, “The BDS movement like IAW has absolutely no place on Canadian university campuses “
Click here.
-On Gaza/Hamas, Trudeau made this statement on July 15, 2014 regarding the war in Gaza which clearly demonstrates his and the Liberal Party’s position. “Israel has the right to defend itself and its people," he said. "Hamas is a terrorist organization and must cease its rocket attacks immediately.” Here is the full statement.
Sherman notes that as Jewish community leaders, he and his wife have always believed it is crucial for our community to encourage support for Israel from across party lines. "Our pro-Israel community's goal, including that of CIJA and CJPAC, is multi-partisan support for Israel," he says. "We must continue to build relationships with those that seek to ensure Israel’s peace and security. We are grateful for Justin Trudeau's unwavering support for Israel, and Michael Levitt’s record of leading Israel advocacy efforts in Toronto and across the country. We are therefore proud to support Justin Trudeau and Michael Levitt in their efforts."
To Erem, Sherman says: "Given the outrageously unfair contents of your email, we request that you immediately forward this response to every person to whom you forwarded your email, together with a retraction of and apology for the contents.I hope that you have the decency to do so."
Trudeau has already held a Town Hall meeting at Shaare Zion Congregation in Montreal where he answered a wide variety of questions. Please see that video clip here.
Anthony Housefather and Robert Libman will debate on Radio Shalom (1650 AM) on Sunday evening, August 23 (6 p.m.) and at a much anticipated event sponsored by B'nai Brith Canada on Wednesday evening, September 2 (7:30 p.m.) at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in Snowdon.