Members of Winnipeg's Jewish, Muslim communities urge unity amid tensions abroad

Members of Winnipeg's Muslim and Jewish communities say they need to stand together as the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas continues.

Tensions have flared across the globe since Oct. 7, when a surprise attack by Hamas killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, according to the Israeli government. More than 200 people were also taken hostage, according to Israel, and more than 300 of its soldiers have been killed since Oct. 7.

As Israeli airstrikes have pounded Gaza since then, more than 4,300 people have been killed there, according to a figure released Saturday by the territory's Hamas-run Health Ministry. The United Nations says more than a million have been made homeless.

Harold Shuster, a longtime organizer with the Winnipeg chapter of Independent Jewish Voices — a grassroots group that advocates for peace — says he wants to see international pressure put on Israel to agree to a ceasefire and ensure humanitarian aid can enter Gaza.

While he condemns the brutal attacks by Hamas, Shuster says as a Jew, it's hard to speak out against Israel's role in the longstanding conflict.

"I know of some who have spoken up, and it's caused significant rifts within their family. They can't gather," he said. "My family, a small family … we just don't have those conversations."

But he understands why criticism of Israel may be difficult for some Jews to digest.

"Growing up, there was always this image or focus on Israel as being necessary for our protection," said Shuster.

"We grew up with this idea that as Jews — because antisemitism is so prevalent — that the only way for us to be safe is to have some place that we could go, should something like the Holocaust happen again."

Shuster said he's been called a "self-hating Jew" in the past for his critiques of Israel.

"If you criticize Israel for its treatment of Palestinians, it shouldn't be [called] antisemitism," he said.

"You can't have it both ways. You can't claim to be a democracy and then claim that you need to be protected for not behaving the way we expect democratic countries to behave."

'We are grieving too': Muslim non-profit ED

Shuster says public statements issued immediately after the Hamas attack voicing solidarity with Israel didn't acknowledge the situation Palestinians in the region face.

"When Jewish institutions in this city are claiming their unequivocal support for Israel, and nobody is showing any signs of support or recognizing what the Palestinians are going through, it sends a pretty strong message that maybe those Palestinians' lives don't matter," he said.

In Winnipeg, Shuster says he's heard of incidents where Palestinian and Muslim businesses and employees have received threats and other harassment since the Oct. 7 attack.

Shahina Siddiqui, executive director of Winnipeg's Islamic Social Services Association, says while it was likely unintentional, the public statements released immediately after the escalation of violence, such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's, made Canadian Muslims and Palestinians feel ignored.

"Even in our grief, in our mourning, we are being othered. We are being excluded," she said.

"One grief is not greater than the other. One human life is not greater than the other."

People who have lost loved ones in Israel and Gaza should be able to mourn together, she said, but the tension resulting from the latest violence is taking a toll on many.

"If we do speak up, there is a backlash, and so you start grieving in silence. You go back into your silos. You hide," she said.

"I didn't see that after 9/11, this kind of hatred — going after an entire community because we dare to say that we are grieving too."

Jews feel 'forced to take sides': rabbi

Siddiqui, who is also the board chair for Islamic History Month Canada — a national event to celebrate Muslim culture — issued a news release on Wednesday urging events this month to continue as planned.

One such event was cancelled in Markham, Ont., following threats to some speakers, the news release said.

Cancelling other events would mean "we have learned nothing from our history" and send a negative message to Muslim children in Canada, Siddiqui said.

"For both the communities — Muslim and Jewish, and Palestinian and Arabs — we need to stand as one."

Rabbi Kliel Rose says his entire congregation at Winnipeg's Etz Chayim is affected by the violence. Vivian Silver, a peace activist and former Winnipegger who is believed to be among those taken hostage by Hamas, has ties to the synagogue.

Rose, whose brother lives in Israel, says many in the Jewish community have been struggling to reconcile Israel's right to defend itself and the suffering of the Palestinians.

However, he says some of Hamas's actions — such as hostage taking — put Jewish people in an uncomfortable position.

"We now feel that binary, and we are in some ways being forced to take sides. And I think one can stand for Israel, and also recognize the devastation that is already taking place in Gaza to the innocent Palestinians."

Rose says he prays for a solution that respects Palestinian rights, but that his focus right now is on healing for his congregants and his Palestinian neighbours.

"I don't think anyone I know of in the Jewish community wants to see another person harmed," he said.

"Lots of Jewish people, the majority of them, really understand the plight of the Palestinians and Gazans, but we don't see Hamas as representing the good, decent civilians."