Foreign Affairs Committee on May 7th, 2013

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

What about refugees who are coming from other Arab countries? If we start in one place, we have to take it to the next. How do we make that happen? What does that look like?

[Gladys Daoud]

I think that now that the story is being told, and you've heard from Gina Waldman who is speaking for the Jews of Libya, each country is getting organized to provide the history, the stories, whatever documentation there is. You'll get a lot of support and help from the communities themselves to tell the story.

To answer your previous question, I feel I'm a citizen of Canada. My story belongs to the Canadians.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Do you have any comment on repetition of this situation? Do you see any danger signs? Please speak to that.

[Lisette Shashoua]

I think hatred should be stopped now. I think nobody is allowed to start inciting hatred. I'm seeing it seeping through, and it's terrifying. When I was in Iraq, I was safe in their country, but we came here and we thought we would never see hatred or anti-Semitism again, and it's seeping through. That's the reality. I didn't want to say this publicly, but I'm happy I'm saying it.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Well—

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you—

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

May I simply finish?

We did have a committee that made an investigation into the new anti-Semitism we've seen. There is a report that was tabled in the House of Commons. Perhaps you'd like to have a copy of that to take a look at what our investigation brought forward and some of the suggestions.

I'm sorry.

[Gladys Daoud]

I would like to take one minute.

You are asking, what are the chances of this thing recurring and happening? Well, let me tell you, it's happening as we speak.

I hear every day that the Christians who are now a minority in all of the Arab countries are in the same desperate situation that we were in. In fact, they always said that after Saturday comes Sunday.

I hear about it. They keep getting in touch with me saying that their families are in desperate situations, that they're still in Iraq, they're still here, they're still there. So history is repeating itself and now the international community has to do something. We see it happening.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you very much.

We're going to finish with you, Mr. Rae, for seven minutes.

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

I'll make a brief comment and then ask you to comment on it.

Mr. Chairman, the last couple of sessions we've had an extraordinary opportunity to hear the real experience of not only communities, but of individuals whose lives have been terribly affected by the politics of the whole of the Middle East, by this rising nationalism, this xenophobia which includes anti-Semitism and excludes all others. The dangers and risks of extremism, not only in the Middle East but everywhere, are in front of us all the time.

We've also heard about the importance of this group, these MPs, this House, understanding the nature of the historical experience, what has actually happened, because I think Canadians need to know the story. You are our fellow Canadians and we need to be able to share that story with people.

If I may, Mr. Chairman, I'm reminded of the fact that Rabbi Hillel was in Iraq; he was in Babylon. Of course, he is one of the most famous of the teachers of Judaism and asked the famous three questions. Right? You asked your three questions. He had his three questions: If I am not for myself, then who will be for me; but if I'm only for myself, then what am I; and if not now, when?

It seems to me that the witnesses who have come forward require us to ask the same question, that we respect the importance of the Jewish community expressing itself and recovering its historical memory. It's not unusual.

I was asking earlier about why it's taken so long for some of these accounts to come out, and I think, in fact, it's natural. It's taken the world several generations to fully appreciate the impact of the Holocaust and we're still coming to grips with the impact of the Holocaust.

This second nakba, the Jewish nakba, the nakba experienced by people leaving, is one that I'm sure was suppressed. People were getting on and making a living, whether they were making a living in Israel or making a living somewhere else. As time has gone on, they've had a chance to tell their stories.

People should be reminded that the Middle East is actually a very complex place. Nobody should pretend that the Middle East is all of one thing. It has obviously a strong Arab and Muslim history, but it also has a Christian history, and not Christians who came from western Europe but who lived there and have been there for thousands of years. It's the same with the Jews. The Jews didn't suddenly emerge from nowhere. They were there for thousands of years living in the Middle East. It was their home.

These are stories that we need to hear. I think the committee needs to consider what we do and how we make sure we provide the appropriate recognition to show that we understand the vitality of this experience, and also understand its relevance.

I want to express my personal appreciation to the two witnesses. I know that if my colleague, Mr. Cotler, were here, he'd want to express his appreciation as well. He has helped to lead the fight in defining this issue for Canadians, and I do want to make sure you understand that we hear what you're saying. As Mr. Martin said, a refugee is a refugee, is a refugee.

At the same time, it's important for us to understand the uniqueness of each refugee experience. The Palestinian situation is unique to itself, and this experience is unique to itself. We have to understand the different elements that make it up, and I think what you've done today is extremely worthwhile.

I hope you feel that you've been able to tell us like it is and tell us a story that many of us would not otherwise have known or understood. I think it's very important that we express our appreciation to you for doing that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you.

Thank you very much for taking the time to be here.

They are very important stories to be told, so thank you so much.

With that, the meeting is adjourned.