Mr. Speaker, today Israel is celebrating Yom Ha'atzmaut, the 66th year of the state's independence.
The story of Israel is a great example to the world. It is a story of a people who have overcome great suffering, from the Spanish Inquisition in 1492 to the Khmelnytsky massacres of 1648-1650 to the countless number of pogroms, all culminating just 70 years ago in the Shoah, when six million Jewish men, women, and children, including my father's entire family, were brutally murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators.
Born out of the ashes of the ghettos and concentration camps, Israel serves as a beacon of hope, and our government stands with Israel.
Just this past January, our Prime Minister stood in the Israeli Knesset and said, “Our view that Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state is absolute and non-negotiable”.
The current relationship between Canada and Israel is based on the shared values of democracy, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law.
To all celebrating this historic day, I wish a Yom Ha'atzmaut Sameach.