Our globe-trotting prime minister has been building strategic partnerships with “middle powers,” and even China, as a policy intended to strengthen Canada’s hand against Donald Trump’s offence on trade. However, one middle power not on his list is Israel, a key ally contributing to western security and an important trading partner in technology and defence systems.

Even after the Hamas slaughter, rape and torture of Israelis on October 7, former prime minister Justin Trudeau was the only G7 leader besides Japan’s not to visit Israel since 2023. It was a terrible signal at that time when antisemitism in Canada surged. Even if some Canadian politicians believe that Zionism and antisemitism are unrelated, antisemites have a much different perception — Jew hatred and Zionphobia (hatred of Israel) go hand in hand.

It is time to correct this. Mark Carney should visit Israel after the U.S.-Israel confrontation with Iran comes to an end. With an outreach to Israel and a parallel visit to the Palestinian Authority, he could improve Canada’s historic international standing as a peace broker in global affairs. It would also be a crucial step to combat growing antisemitism at home by making clear that Israel, so important to the Jewish community, is not a pariah state but a significant economic and security partner in today’s turbulent world.

Canadá desempeña principalmente un papel en el Medio Oriente en el comercio y la ayuda humanitaria. Incluso perdimos influencia sobre la reconstrucción de Gaza cuando la invitación de Canadá para ser miembro del Consejo de Paz fue revocada después de que Ottawa se negara a pagar una tarifa de 1.000 millones de dólares y en respuesta al discurso de Carney en Davos. Tenemos 200 personal militar en el Medio Oriente, algunos ubicados en bases militares estadounidenses, para ayudar con la capacitación contra ISIS y otros objetivos de seguridad regionales. Lo más significativo es la base militar Ali-Al-Salem en Kuwait, que fue atacada por Irán el 1 de marzo. A pesar de la amenaza, ese ataque fue mantenido en secreto por el gobierno de Carney, solo para ser revelado por La Presse el 12 de marzo.

Mientras que Francia y el Reino Unido están enviando aviones y barcos a Qatar y Chipre para defender sus propios intereses, Canadá no está en una posición para hacerlo. Por lo tanto, no es sorprendente que el gobierno de Carney haya anunciado que Canadá no participará en el último conflicto en el Medio Oriente con Irán, aunque el Primer Ministro lo apoya (de alguna manera). Tenemos poco que ofrecer, excepto ayuda de 37,7 millones de dólares, para un gobierno libanés impotente incapaz de sofocar a Hezbollah de disparar más de 1.000 cohetes y drones contra israelíes. No es para menospreciar la ayuda a los libaneses, es casi cuatro veces más que las nuevas medidas de seguridad anunciadas para proteger a la comunidad judía de Canadá.

Seeking middle-power engagement, Carney visited Qatar last January to strengthen the “strategic partnership” and increase trade. In pursuit of soft power, Qatar has brokered peace agreements in the Middle East and Africa, which fits with Carney’s modus operandi. However, this ignores the more controversial Qatari actions: support for the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, as well as human rights abuses of migrant workers. As the prime minister said in his widely acclaimed Davos speech, “We actively take on the world as it is, not wait for a world we wish to be.”

Carney should carry those words with him when he visits Israel to strengthen our partnership. He does not appear to like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but he can try to influence better outcomes by reaching out. Despite the rhetoric, mainly from antisemites, Israel is not genocidal. Neither is war desirable but few countries face the continual existential threats from its enemies that Israel does. As former prime minister Stephen Harper stated in his Knesset speech in 2014, Israel is an ally, not an enemy. Even if we don’t agree with our allies at times, such as the U.S. invasion in Iraq in 2003, we remain friends.

Two-way Canadian-Israeli trade in merchandise and services totalled over $2.5 billion in 2024, encouraged by the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement that has removed most tariffs, but Carney could achieve more. In U.S. dollars, Israel exports $64 billion to the rest of the world, of which $17 billion is to the United States, followed by another $16 billion to Ireland, China, Netherlands, Germany and India. Canada is way down the list: 21st.

Given its size, Israel spends more on research and development than any other country in the world. That research has led to technological revolutions including water desalination, Waze, USB flash drives, robotics, medical advancements, the Iron Dome and even cherry tomatoes! Academic and business exchanges between Israel and Canada are key to developing new technologies as well as adopting them in each country.

In the wake of Russian threats, 23 EU countries now rely on Israeli defence systems. Germany has purchased the Arrow 3 missile defence system for US$4.6 billion, Finland acquired David’s Sling,, and the U.K. has purchased drones and advanced tank defence systems. Overall, Israel has become the seventh largest arms exporter in the world, even surpassing, the U.K.

If Carney reaches out to Israel, it will be welcomed by a beleaguered Canadian Jewish community that continues to be threatened by antisemitism day after day. It is not just the intimidation, gun threats and bomb scares. Jews are now afraid. They hide their identity, pray behind security walls and are criticized for their deeply religious-held support for Israel.

Even the latest incident shows that a new form of antisemitism, Zionphobia, can run deep. Mayor of Edmonton, Andrew Knack, criticized his chief of police for a February trip to Israel organized by the North America’s Major Cities Chiefs Association to learn high-level emergency-management, counterterrorism and cybersecurity. Arguing that “At a time of rising Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, antisemitism, and hate towards marginalized communities,” the trip was “harmful,” the mayor said. Yet Knack himself stokes antisemitism by denigrating Israel and putting the Jewish community on the defensive. In other North American cities, reaction was far more muted, if any — only Edmonton politicians don’t seem to care about making the city safe.

A visit to Israel by our prime minister would help quell this growing isolation of the Canadian Jewish community. It would also be good for Canada, too, as Israel offers technologies and defence capability that we sorely need from an important ally. Besides, Jerusalem is a wonderful city to visit!

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