Hussein Hoballah, Montreal

A few days ago, we asked Lebanese Canadian parliamentarians, especially MPs Ziad Aboultaif & Fayçal El-Khoury, to say something to denounce the aggression against Lebanon.

El-Khoury: I’ve spoken to Prime Minister Trudeau

During a radio interview in Ottawa, El-Khoury hurried to list his endeavours “to stop the aggression against Lebanon,” saying he had been in touch with Deputy Prime Minister Crystia Freeland and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “urge Canadian politicians to take action to support Lebanon and the Lebanese during these difficult times.” El-Khoury said the outcomes of his political action would “be seen in the coming days.” During the interview, El-Khoury expressed solidarity with the Lebanese people, many of whom have been killed by the Israeli aggressors.

El-Khoury’s action is a good step. We thank him for that and hope it meets the demands of the heartbroken Lebanese Canadians, whose families and houses have been affected. We also hope that his words are turned into real action and ask him to post news of his actions on social media. Once we learn he’s actually doing something, we’ll support him and forget about any earlier disagreements.

MP Aboultaif: “My heart goes out to the people of Israel!”

Shockingly, however, MP Aboultaif responded to our call to condemn Israel’s appalling aggression against Lebanon by posting disgraceful words – ones that could have been written by a pro-Israeli Zionist MP.

In his post on social media, Aboultaif said, “My heart goes out to the people of Israel who have been evacuated from their homes and under near constant attack from Hezbollah and their IRGC allies. Hezbollah should stop this war, end their attacks and stop using innocent people in Lebanon to shield themselves.”

The MP said nothing to comfort the Lebanese people or Canada’s Lebanese community, who are bereaved by what’s befallen their families and loved ones. Yesterday, two Ottawans were killed during an airstrike in South Lebanon.

There are no words that can express the absurdity of such a post, which is just like posts made by pro-Israelis, Israelis or Zionists. That fact that those words have been made by a Lebanese Canadian MP who speaks Arabic like us and writes poetry and prose in Arabic must not be unnoticed. Our community need to take a stance against his words and the continuous pro-Israel policy of his party.

The statement made by Aboultaif must be shocking to those who know him. Sources report that the MP has been compelled to make such a statement by his party, which is abetting Israeli crimes in Gaza and Lebanon. It’s also known that some parties make posts or statements in the name of their MPs, even without the MPs’ approval.

If that’s the case, Aboultaif had better resign from his party and offer an explanation in public. He specifically needs to show his real stance concerning the brutal Zionist aggression.