Christians, Jews and Muslims unite at B.C. event to call for end to Israel-Hamas conflict

Members of faith groups from across Metro Vancouver came together at an event on Sunday to call for peace and an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Dozens of people from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities gathered at Baitur Rahman Mosque in Delta, B.C., for Voices of Peace, a nationwide campaign launched by Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Canada.

The gathering began with prayers led by each faith leader and was followed by a panel discussion in which community members could ask questions and share their concerns.

Imam Umran Bhatti of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at says he hopes that bringing together different faith groups can ease the rise in polarization in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict and ultimately bring peace to the Middle East.

"Regardless of our religious backgrounds, regardless of our teachings, we must come together as one and promote love for all, hatred for none and call for a ceasefire in the Middle East where innocent people are losing their lives on a daily basis," Bhatti said.

Laura Duhan-Kaplan, professor of Jewish Studies at the Vancouver School of Theology and rabbi emerita at Vancouver's Or Shalom Synagogue, says a message of peace and hope in times of darkness is especially significant this week as the Jewish community marks Hanukkah.

"We're seeing violence, harassment, bullying, vandalism, other kinds of hate crimes, and I think it is very, very important for spiritual leaders and religious leaders in Canada to stand together and say we want a peaceful multicultural society here," Duhan-Kaplan said.

In a statement released in early November, B.C.'s human rights commissioner Kasari Govender said the Israel-Hamas conflict has resulted in a surge of hate incidents and violence toward both Jewish and Muslim people in the province.

Jaynas Prasad of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Surrey, B.C., said the event was emblematic of how greater unity can be achieved.

"There's a lot of heartache seeing what's going on in the Middle East and so as we come together, shake our hands, give hugs ... I think [we can] come to some sort of — not conclusion — but ideas on how we can help our community through this crisis," Prasad said.

The fighting in the Middle East began on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants staged surprise attacks in Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages. In response, Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Around 18,000 people have since been killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza, with 49,500 injured, according to the territory's health ministry, which is run by Hamas. About 100 of the Israeli hostages were freed during a week-long truce that ended on Dec. 1.

Battles raged across Gaza on Sunday as Israel indicated it was willing to fight for months or longer to defeat Hamas, and a key mediator said willingness to discuss a ceasefire was fading.