Anthony Housefather MP says he plans to remain in the Liberal caucus despite concerns about the party’s support for a motion to establish a Palestinian state.
“The adoption of the motion and all the events that preceded it angered me as much as it angered most Jewish Canadians I interacted with,” the Montreal MP said in a press release late Friday.
“But I also know that my core values remain liberal ones, and after some serious consideration, I believe that my greatest values to Canadians are: I believe in staying in the caucus to defend the Taoist, classical liberal party.”
Housefather told CBC News Network. power and politics He said a recent conversation he had with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about concerns about anti-Semitism in Canada led to his decision to stay with the party.
“We had a very, very painful discussion about how I felt the government wasn’t doing enough, and he said, ‘Come work with me, let’s work together. Let’s do it.” [special envoy on Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism] Deborah Lyons, please show leadership on this file and we will fix it,” he told host David Cochran.
“It means something to me and I want to be a part of it.”
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Housefather said last month that he needed to reevaluate his position in the Liberal caucus after many Liberal MPs supported the NDP motion, saying he believed a “red line had been crossed”. Stated.
The NDP motion, tabled in response to the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war, initially called on the government to formally recognize Palestine as a state and “cease all trade in munitions and technology with Israel.” .
Most Liberal MPs supported the motion after a last-minute amendment. The final language calls on the government to “cooperate with international partners” to “pursue the goal of comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East” and to “address the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of bilateral negotiations.” “We must work toward this goal.” -Status solution. ”
The motion was also amended to call on the federal government to “stop further licensing and transfers of arms exports to Israel,” rather than halting trade in military weapons and technology.
Anthony Housefather says he felt there was a line in the sand [was] “Crossed” as caucus colleagues praised an NDP lawmaker for introducing a motion on Palestinian statehood on Monday. Housefather said he was mulling over the motion and considering whether he could remain in the parliamentary office. The Liberal government approved an amended version of the motion.
Housefather, Ben Carr and Marco Mendicino were the only Liberal MPs to vote against the amendment motion.
At the time, Housefather said the motion suggested a “false equivalence between the state of Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas.”
“Canada should stand with Israel. Canada should protect Israel’s right to fight back against terrorist organizations. We should not pass a motion that equates terrorist organizations with democratic states.”
Housefather told Cochrane he still thinks the motion is “absolutely awful” but will continue to fight for his values in the Liberal caucus.
“I can’t pretend that everything the government does is something I agree with, but at least I’ll have my voice at the table,” he said.
“Without my voice, the party in power will be deprived of a pro-Israel voice.”
The Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel killed nearly 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took about 250 hostages, Israeli officials said. Since then, more than 33,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been killed in the Israeli military response, according to Gaza health officials. These figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but Gazan officials say two-thirds of those killed were women and children.
In a statement Friday, Housefather said he has heard from thousands of Canadians, including those from non-equestrian backgrounds. He said that whatever decision he makes “will make a lot of people unhappy.”
“Despite the strong feelings on both sides, I am very happy… that many people recognize how difficult this decision was for me and that regardless of the decision I made, “How many voters have pledged to support me,” he said.