Full conference recordings at page bottom
All photos by Anat Mazor
The Haaretz Conference in Toronto brought together leading journalists, Israeli opposition politicians, Canadian Jewish and Palestinian leaders beneath the CN Tower at a critical moment in the Israel-Gaza war for Canada and Canadian Jewry.
Over 500 attendees and 6,000 livestream viewers joined the conference, titled “Israel, Gaza and What Comes Next,” jointly sponsored by the New Israel Fund of Canada and JSpaceCanada. The main stage speakers included Yair Golan, leader of Israel’s Democrats Party; former Israeli justice minister Dan Meridor; MK Ayman Odeh, leader of the Hadash Party; Haaretz’s Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn, English Editor-in-Chief Esther Solomon, and military correspondent Amos Harel; as well as Canadian federal MP Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and former MPs Ya’ara Saks and Omar Alghabra.
Opening the event, our director Ben Murane described the event as a platform for Israelis and Canadian Jews to fix a broken public discourse. “A deep and personal connection to Israelis and a belief in a homeland for the Jewish people does not conflict with care and concern for Palestinians’ safety and equality and statehood. In truth, in this moment a powerful love of Israel and a desire to stand in solidarity with Israelis requires us to oppose what this extremist Israeli government is doing. We’re demonstrating a Jewish way through Israelis to care about Jews and all people in the region.”
The conference showcased Israelis and Canadians who have responded to events since October 7th with nuance and concern for both Israelis and Palestinians. Panels addressed “the day after the war,” protecting democracy in Israel, war journalism in a polarized media landscape, and the necessity of Palestinian statehood.
“The question of what will be the relations between Israel and the wider Arab world … very much depends on who will govern Israel,” said Ksenia Svetlova, Mitvim Fellow and Director of ROPES, on ‘The Gaza War, the hostages, and the day after’ panel moderated by Haaretz columnist Dahlia Scheindlin, with Amos Harel and Palestinian activist Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib.
Ayman Odeh, speaking passionately about the need to end the Gaza war immediately, said during his conference address, “Enough of war. Enough of bloodshed. Enough of destruction. Enough of atrocities. Because a mother from Rafah and a mother from Nir Oz cry out the same cry: Enough! This is what is needed now, and this is what the majority of the people demand: Stop the war of destruction in Gaza. Bring a comprehensive deal that will save lives.”
Opposition to the current extremist Israeli government extends deep into the centre of the Israeli political map. “If you don’t have a Palestinian state, you don’t have a Jewish state. They go together. It’s good morally, internationally and it’s good for us.” said Dan Meridor, former deputy prime minister from the Likud party.
In addition to the war, speakers also addressed the ongoing attacks on Israel’s democracy. “More than 50 laws that discriminate specifically against the Palestinian [citizens of Israel], creating a second-class citizenry, as enshrined now in the nation-state law.” said Mohanad Berekdar, as he described the New Israel Fund’s work empowering civil society activists fighting for Jewish-Arab shared society and equality for Israeli Arabs.
Urging the audience to not remain sidelined, former IDF officer and pro-democracy protest leader Asaf Agmon appealed, “Jews in the diaspora must take a position and must do whatever possible to say that the current government does not represent us.”
In closing out the conference Maytal Kowalski issued a challenge to attendees. “Our fight is not tribe against tribe, it is for the fragile project of democracy and liberal values themselves. The threat to Israel’s future is not students on Canadian campuses chanting ‘from the river to the sea.’ The real danger to Israel’s future comes from Israeli government officials who are working to entrench Jewish supremacy from the river to the sea.”
Watch the full recordings below.
Media Coverage of the Haaretz Conference in Toronto
- Haaretz Toronto Conference Explores Prospects of Palestinian Sovereignty After Gaza War (Haaretz)
- ‘We’re in Deep Trouble but Despair Isn’t an Option’: Israel, Gaza and What Comes Next (Haaretz special podcast on the conference)
- Israel at War Day 709 (Haaretz live blog with Conference updates)
- Two states is the solution (Marsha Lederman in The Globe and Mail)
- Haaretz editor describes covering war in Gaza from inside Israel (CBC’s The Sunday Magazine with Piya Chattopadhay)
Full Conference Video Recordings
Haaretz Conference – full livestream
Haaretz Conference – Q & A with Aluf Benn, Haaretz Editor-in-Chief
Haaretz Editor-in-Chief Aluf Benn answers questions about covering the conflict, media bias and the evolution of Israeli politics and society.
Haaretz Conference – panel discussion – Jewish leadership in a time of extremes
Featuring panelists Cantor Cheryl Wunch, Spiritual Leader of Congregation Shir Libeynu, Karen Kollins, Director of Canada, Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, Stephen Pincus, Senior Partner, Goodmans LLP, Founder and Chair, Kaleidoscope, and the Hon. Ya’ara Saks, PC, Former Canadian MP and Minister of Mental Health & Addictions. Moderated by Ben Murane, Executive Director of NIFC.
Haaretz Conference – panel discussion – Palestinian voices: Between solidarity and suppression
Featuring panelists Raja Khouri, prominent community leader, social entrepreneur and human rights advocate, Eng. Bashar Al Shawwa, Policy specialist, researcher and advocate in conflict resolution and sustainable development, and Mohanad Berekdar, Director of the Nasij Program Strengthening Palestinian Civil Society in Israel. Moderated by Yafa Sakkejha, Canadian Insurance CEO and Depolarization Advocate.
Haaretz Conference – panel discussion – Journalists on Israel-Palestine for Canadian audiences
Featuring panelists Marsha Lederman, Columnist for The Globe and Mail, author of ‘October 7th: Searching for the Humanitarian Middle’, Esther Solomon, Editor-in-Chief, Haaretz English, and Ellin Bessner, Journalist and Host, The Canadian Jewish News ‘North Star’ podcast. Moderated by Esther Enkin, President of NIFC, journalist and former CBC Ombudsman.
Haaretz Conference – panel discussion – Antisemitism in Canada: Politics, fear and prejudice
Featuring panelists Leora Schaefer, Executive Director of Facing History and Ourselves, Canada, Shlomit Broder, CEO of Digital Public Square and Ella Messler, Program Associate for the Nexus Project. Moderated by Cantor Cheryl Wunch, Spiritual Leader of Congregation Shir Libeynu.
Haaretz Conference – Q & A with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib
Q & A with Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, Founder and Director of the Realign for Palestine project at the Atlantic Council, at the Haaretz Conference in Toronto.