Goldie Ghamari - Am Yisrael Chai

00:00:00.040 Human beings are members of a whole, in creation of one essence and soul. If one

00:00:06.720 member is afflicted with pain, the other members uneasy will remain. If you've no

00:00:12.160 sympathy for human pain, the name of human you cannot retain. This poem, written

00:00:19.440 eight centuries ago by Iranian poet Saadi, decorates the gate of the United

00:00:24.960 Nations building entrance. His poem, Bani Adam, which means the children of humanity in English,

00:00:32.800 calls for the breaking of all barriers in humanity. Never again is a phrase that's been

00:00:39.780 constantly repeated since the end of the Holocaust. However, on October 7, the world looked on in shock

00:00:48.600 horror as never again unfolded right before their eyes. Over 1,400 and counting innocent

00:00:58.840 Israelis, including men, women, and children, as well as numerous foreign nationals, were

00:01:07.380 brutally raped, executed, burned alive, beheaded, and taken hostage by Hamas terrorists. Six

00:01:16.600 Canadians have lost their lives so far. Two are still missing. These terrorists

00:01:22.300 shot dogs. They executed Holocaust survivors. They laughed. They tied up 0.97

00:01:31.360 adults and children and burned them alive. As more footage comes out and more

00:01:38.140 stories are shared, our collective horror as humanity rises. There's one story,

00:01:44.280 Madam Speaker, one story in particular, one picture I see every time I close my

00:01:50.400 eyes and I can't get it out of my head. It's a picture of a young girl in a

00:01:54.740 wheelchair wearing a purple shirt, her smiling father standing beside her at

00:02:00.180 the Nova Music Festival. Ruth Peretz is a 16-year-old Israeli girl with

00:02:06.040 cerebral palsy who loves music. She and her father were last seen at the

00:02:11.520 desert music festival that was attacked by the vile terrorists. In released

00:02:16.200 footage, Eric, her father, was seen carrying Ruth with Hamas terrorists

00:02:22.860 chasing them down. Both are now being held hostage in Gaza. Ruth has cerebral

00:02:29.520 palsy. She has urgent medical needs. What Hamas did is absolutely an act of

00:02:38.340 monstrous barbarity. It was the single largest targeted massacre of Jews in one

00:02:46.200 single day since the Holocaust. And Madam Speaker, now is the time for moral

00:02:52.060 clarity, not moral relativism. Madam Speaker, Hamas is an evil genocidal 0.87

00:02:59.280 terrorist organization. Hamas is a listed terror group in Canada and has one main 0.92

00:03:05.580 goal, the eradication of Jews and the annihilation of the state of Israel. In other words, genocide. 0.98

00:03:12.960 That vile goal is enshrined in its charter of terrorism. Madam Speaker, Hamas builds military 0.83

00:03:20.760 bases in hospitals, schools, and apartments. Hamas digs up water pipes and uses it to make

00:03:27.560 missiles. Hamas holds innocent Gazans hostage, using them as human shields. They spread

00:03:35.040 misinformation. They kill Palestinians for their own political gain and share it through 0.99

00:03:41.080 their terrorist news networks. Thousands of innocent lives have been lost since Hamas' 0.97

00:03:47.020 brutal and monstrous attack, both in Gaza and Israel. My heart breaks for every single

00:03:54.700 innocent life lost—Palestinian, Israeli, Canadian, and all others. But let me be very

00:04:02.520 clear, be they Palestinian, Israeli, Canadian, or foreign nationals. Hamas is responsible, 0.98

00:04:11.520 absolutely responsible, for every single innocent life lost in this war. Full stop. 0.90

00:04:21.900 Hamas terrorists must release and return all hostages and lay down their arms.

00:04:27.720 I support Israel's inalienable right to defend itself.

00:04:33.220 My apologies, I can't even speak right now. 0.94

00:04:36.260 I support Israel's right to exist, and I support Israel.

00:04:45.780 As reports of the gruesome and horrific massacre came out,

00:04:50.080 the response here in Canada was just as vile.

00:04:53.900 Canadians looked on in shock and disgust

00:04:56.580 as people took to the streets, dancing, celebrating, and passing out suites in response to Hamas's terrorist attack.

00:05:04.700 On Monday, hundreds attended pro-Hamas rallies in Canada, including Toronto,

00:05:10.780 calling for the eradication of Israel and celebrating Hamas's terrorist massacre of civilians as an act of resistance.

00:05:18.800 When a Toronto news reporter questioned attendees, they were unable to explain why the rally was not in response to Hamas' terrorist attack or deflected with whataboutism.

00:05:31.480 Since then, one of the organizers posted a picture praising a Hamas terrorist on his Instagram, and the main organizer of the account made a post questioning the Holocaust itself.

00:05:44.200 Footage from hate rallies in Canada and around the world show people chanting,

00:05:48.800 gas the Jews, tense moments with police, and saying,

00:05:52.720 to pro-Israel supporters, which is a reference to the 7th century slaughter of 100 Jews by Muslims.

00:06:00.960 Terrorist flags of ISIS, Hamas, Taliban, and more have been seen in rallies right here in Ontario.

00:06:07.740 This is not something I ever thought that I would see in 2023 here in Canada, and it is horrifying.

00:06:17.120 This anti-Semitic behavior glorifying Hamas' terrorist massacre is nothing short of radical extremism propagated by the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, the Islamic regime in Iran.

00:06:32.440 For those who are unaware, Hamas is trained, funded, and armed by the terrorist Islamic regime in Iran. 0.65

00:06:41.120 This is the same radical extremism that Iranian Canadians have been sounding the alarm on

00:06:46.900 at demonstrations calling for the end of the terrorist Islamic regime in Iran.

00:06:50.920 The same demonstrations that made woman life freedom a rallying cry for peace and democracy around the world. 0.86

00:06:57.260 The same demonstrations that helped the world finally understand that the Islamic regime in Iran does not represent Iranians,

00:07:05.480 and Iranians have been fighting against the Islamic regime for decades.

00:07:09.300 Friday, October 13th, was declared by an ex-Hamas leader as a global day of jihad, 0.95

00:07:15.460 a call to Muslims around the world to rise up and exterminate Jews around the world. 0.97

00:07:20.960 Canadians took it seriously. 0.99

00:07:22.980 Police forces across the country increased security in Jewish community centres, schools, synagogues, and more.

00:07:30.240 Those who attended the pro-Hamas rallies this week claim it was about freedom and human rights.

00:07:35.940 But where were they when Iranians were calling for the end of the Islamic regime and calling for freedom and human rights in Iran?

00:07:42.840 They were nowhere to be seen.

00:07:45.480 While Canadian politicians of all stripes were quick to condemn these pro-Hamas hate rallies, some did not.

00:07:52.260 and that silence is deafening. One horrifying and spine-tingling sentiment that I've seen on

00:08:01.020 social media time and time again from people in the Jewish community is the following, and I quote,

00:08:08.060 This week, I've learned which friends would hide me during the next Holocaust, which friends would

00:08:14.740 not, and which friends would hand me over. I've got friends in all three categories. I see you. 0.60

00:08:24.660 Chilling. The Jewish people are living their darkest days right now, living their worst 1.00

00:08:31.220 nightmare since the Holocaust. I cannot even fathom what it must feel like to live in fear,

00:08:37.480 to walk down the street and look at someone and think, will this person hate me just because I

00:08:42.340 exist, just because I'm Jewish. But, Madam Speaker, even in these darkest days of loneliness,

00:08:48.820 fear, and isolation, in the face of the worst anti-Semitism seen since the Holocaust,

00:08:55.420 there is a beacon of hope. The sun is slowly rising. And I'm referring to the Lion and

00:09:01.700 Sun flag. Since the horrific terrorist attack by Hamas, Iranians in Iran and around the 0.61

00:09:09.020 world have been standing in solidarity with the people of Israel.

00:09:13.480 Iranians stand with Israel was a hashtag that was trending on X for days.

00:09:19.580 Every single peace rally organized by Israel and the Jewish community has been flooded

00:09:24.300 with Iran's lion and sun flag and attended by hundreds of Iranians in a show of solidarity.

00:09:31.900 Iranians inside Iran have been chanting slogans and secretly raising the flag of Israel in

00:09:36.900 defiance of the terrorist Islamic regime's anti-Semitic, Holocaust-denying, and pro-Hamas

00:09:42.980 policies. Jewish Iranian soldiers have been sending messages of support to Iranians through

00:09:49.600 the Israel Defense Force's Farsi channel on X, saying that they are in this together against

00:09:55.140 the terrorist Islamic regime. Madam Speaker, one of my fondest memories of this past week,

00:10:01.440 and it's been a very, very dark week

00:10:03.780 so I don't say this lightly

00:10:05.480 is when I was attending the rally

00:10:08.600 supporting peace for Israel

00:10:10.980 on Monday night in Toronto

00:10:12.480 and after the rally I noticed the standoff.

00:10:16.480 On one side there were a lot of Israeli flags

00:10:20.120 and on the other side

00:10:21.180 pro-Hamas, counter-protesters had shown up.

00:10:25.780 It was very tense.

00:10:28.120 I walked to the front of the lines

00:10:30.080 to get a better look, and as soon as I got there, amidst the sea of blue and white, I

00:10:35.900 saw two Iranian lion and sun flags standing right in front of everyone else, raising them

00:10:42.860 high and waving them. I've never been more proud to be Iranian-Canadian.

00:10:48.160 And the reason that Iranians are speaking out on behalf of Jews in Toronto, Ontario, Canada,

00:11:03.720 and around the world, it's because of our shared history and friendship between Iranians

00:11:09.560 and Jews.

00:11:10.840 The history of Jews in Iran dates back to late biblical times.

00:11:15.280 After establishing the Persian Empire, King Cyrus the Great allowed all subjects to participate in governance.

00:11:22.220 He borrowed the good deeds of other cultures in the first sign of his commitment to diversity through culture.

00:11:28.420 He set the Jews free from their Babylonian captivity that had taken place decades before.

00:11:34.340 Cyrus the Great facilitated their return to the Promised Land, Israel,

00:11:39.140 and he became a notable figure in the Jewish scripture as a savior who helped them build

00:11:44.640 the second temple in Jerusalem. This great event in Jewish and Persian history took place in the

00:11:52.500 late 6th century BC, by which time there was a well-established and influential Jewish community

00:11:59.480 in Persia. For 44 years, the terrorist and illegitimate Islamic regime in Iran has tried 0.69

00:12:05.800 to erase our shared history, has tried to say that Jews and Iranians are enemies, but 0.71

00:12:12.180 they cannot erase our history. These radical extremists who have been funding terrorism 0.86

00:12:18.740 in the Middle East, these radical extremists who have helped Hamas attack Israel, who support

00:12:26.280 this cause, who call for the eradication of Jews in Israel, they cannot erase our shared

00:12:34.020 history spanning almost 3 000 years and again madam speaker in these darkest times i've never 0.56

00:12:40.180 been more proud of the brave iranian people who have been spearheading the fight to call out pure

00:12:45.940 evil the lion and son of the iranian people will always stand not behind but beside the blue star

00:12:53.440 of israel because that is what friends do that is what humanity does that is what it means to stand 0.99

00:13:00.660 up and speak out in the face of pure, unmitigated evil. 1.00

00:13:08.480 Madam Speaker, I am so proud to be part of a government that has unequivocally spoken 0.94

00:13:15.760 out against the heinous terrorist attack by Hamas. 0.89

00:13:23.000 There is no other way to describe what happened.

00:13:25.980 It is the darkest form of terrorism we have ever seen.

00:13:29.880 is pure evil there is no yes but there is no moral equivalency when you are burning babies 0.99

00:13:40.680 when you are killing people and then raping their friends next to them and then executing them 0.99

00:13:47.240 there is no justification 0.99

00:13:52.280 whatsoever anyone who thinks so anyone who thinks so needs to take a good

00:13:59.080 hard look at themselves in the mirror and question whether or not they are human.

00:14:07.960 Madam Speaker, I'm going to end with what I said at the beginning.

00:14:16.440 Human beings are members of a whole in creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted

00:14:24.120 with pain, the other members uneasy will remain. If you've no sympathy for human pain, the

00:14:33.580 name of human you cannot retain. I stand with Israel. Thank you.

Goldie Ghamari - October 19, 2023

Am Yisrael Chai

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