Montreal Considers Cutting Ties to Israel as Outrage Grows in Canada over Israeli Impunity: Avi Lewis

Guests - Avi Lewisleader of Canada’s New Democratic Party. The Montreal City Council is set to debate a controversial motion Monday calling on the Canadian city to suspend all institutional ties with the Israeli government. Avi Lewis, a leading Jewish Canadian politician and head of the progressive New Democratic Party, says it’s a reflection of widespread outrage among Canadians over Israel’s actions across the Middle East. Pro-Israel forces “are on the defensive now,” says Lewis. “They still capture most of the political class and the mainstream media, but among the majority of people, we want to see our government step up and take a clear moral position against apartheid, against genocide and against the killing of civilians.” Transcript ANJALI KAMAT: Before we end, Avi Lewis, I want to go back to you, and I wanted to ask you about this other news from Canada. The Montreal City Council is set to debate a controversial motion calling on the city to suspend institutional ties with the Israeli government. Your response to this? AVI LEWIS: Well, I think I’ve been knocking doors in a series of by-elections that the prime minister has called, in Toronto, in Montreal, in Vancouver. And I’ve been talking to a lot of Canadians at their doorsteps in the past few weeks over this summer. And I have to say that the ongoing genocide in Gaza is a pressing moral issue for, I believe, a supermajority of Canadians. I have only come across a couple of people who take a pro-Israel position at the doorstep, knocking doors in all of our major cities for weeks now. And the vast majority of people are shocked and appalled by the activities of the state of Israel, dragging the United States into attacking Iran in another endless, incredibly damaging war, spiking oil prices and punishing people around the world with higher inflation and higher cost of living, which is already out of control, and the sheer trauma of witnessing — and Democracy Now! has done a better job than most media outlets in the entire world in documenting the ongoing murder of Palestinians in the West Bank, in Gaza, what is effectively an invasion now of southern Lebanon. People are upset and traumatized by the impunity and the violence visited by Israel on many different civilian populations now in the Middle East. And people in Canada are appalled and want to see their governments, at every level, do something. We’ve seen a big battle in Canada, as you have in the United States, where the pro-Israel forces, like AIPAC or CIJA here in Canada, the parallel pro-Israel lobby group, are on the defensive now. They are — they still capture most of the political class and the mainstream media, but among the majority of people, we want to see our government step up and take a clear moral position against apartheid, against genocide and against the killing of civilians. And you see these debates breaking out at the city council level, in educational institutions, and at the national level in Canada. And the tide has turned definitively, and Canadians want to see their governments and their elected officials stand up on the right side of history. It’s an ongoing battle, and the forces against us, the conventional narratives are still very much in place in the political class and in the corridors of power. But the people of Canada know which side is in the light and which side is in the horror of these massive crimes against humanity. And I think the Montreal City Council debate is one of many that you’re going to continue to see. It is not going to stop, because Canadians are outraged by this impunity. ANJALI KAMAT: Avi Lewis, thank you so much, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party. Thank you also to Lori Wallach, director of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project. Coming up, we go to Florida to speak with Angie Nixon on her upset win in Florida’s Democratic Senate primary. [break] ANJALI KAMAT: “Peligrosa,” “Dangerous Woman,” by Lila Downs, performing in our Democracy Now! studio. Media Options