Ambassador Iddo Moed/Photo by Peter Waiser

The following is the text of an address delivered by Israeli Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed at a ceremony hosted by the Jewish Federation of Ottawa commemorating the first anniversary of the October 7, 2023 terror attack against Israel. 

October 7, 2024

“And who by fire, who by water,
who in the sunshine, who in the night time,
who by high ordeal, who by common trial,
…and who shall I say is calling?”

This excerpt is from the opening lines of the song Who by Fire by the great
Canadian-Jewish poet-singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the song was inspired by a Jewish prayer we recite yearly on Rosh Hashana – as it was last week – and on Yom Kippur – as it will be later this week.

“Who will live and who will perish?” asks the prayer.

“And who shall I say is calling?” asks Cohen’s song.

One year ago, on October 7th, a date that will forever be marked by atrocity, it was evil that came calling.

It had a singular purpose in mind—the destruction of the Jewish people and our state, Israel.

Thousands of terrorists flooded Jewish communities to rape, burn, mutilate, murder and capture innocent lives – men, women, the elderly, children and even newborn babies.

This was not about any cause of the Palestinian people, which Hamas pretend to represent – as we know, the terrorists did not spare the lives of fellow Arabs and Muslims on that day. And there was no thought of the repercussions that may result for the people of Gaza.

The evil also spread like wildfire around the world. From Paris to New York and even Canadian cities, antisemitic apologists flooded the streets and campuses to celebrate the atrocities as early as October 7.

With the savage massacre of 1200 innocent Israelis, that date saw the largest
single-day loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.

But unlike the Nazis who tried to hide their evil deeds, the terrorists broadcasted on social media their GoPro recorded acts, for the world to see and celebrate.

They wanted to make their Iranian backers proud. And they wanted to inspire other proxies of the Iranian regime as they did with Hezbollah and Houthi proxies who almost immediately launched thousands of missiles and drones against civilian targets in Israel.

“Who by fire?” Cohen asks in his song.

On October 7th, Canadian-Israeli Adi Vital-Kaploun died by gunfire, shot before her children’s eyes. But not before she somehow managed to save them. Adi attended summer sports camp no more than twenty minutes from where we are right now, at Ottawa’s Jewish Community Centre.

Winnipeg-born Canadian-Israeli Vivian Silver was burned out of her home in
Kibbutz Be’eri. In fact, she was so badly burnt that it took months to identify her remains. Vivian was a human rights and peace activist, founder of the Arab-Jewish Centre for Equality, Empowerment and Cooperation. She represented the very best of what Canada and Israel have to offer—peacemakers.

“Who in Sunshine, who in the night time?”

Canadian-Israeli Shir Georgy was amongst the innocent and unarmed partygoers of the Nova music festival who were hunted down and brutally massacred.

Canadian-Israeli Ben Mizrachi, from Vancouver was heroically tending to
wounded victims at the festival when he himself was murdered.

“And who by brave assent?”

Heroes like Ben Mizrachi and Adi Vital-Kaploun, who, like Leonard Cohen before them, were born and raised in Canada’s vibrant Jewish community.

To save his girlfriend and others with them, Canadian-Israeli Netta Epstein threw himself on a grenade moments before it exploded.

Canadian-Israeli Alexandre Look of Montreal died protecting others from bullet-fire inside a shelter. “He was our shield,” a survivor reported. “I swear to you, he was our shield. If it wasn’t for him, all 30 of us in there would be dead.”

These two men represented the selflessness that marks the human spirit of both Israelis and Canadians.

“Who by high ordeal?
Who in mortal chains?
Who in solitude?
Who by very slow decay?”

One hundred and one hostages, dead and alive, remain captives of Hamas under unspeakable conditions in Gaza. There is no Red Cross or UN agency that is offering them food or medicine.

Amongst them is the body of former Torontonian schoolteacher-turned-poet-and-peace activist Judith Weinstein Haggai, who was confirmed to have died while in captivity in Gaza. News of her death reached her family within weeks of Canada’s joint ceasefire statement made with Australia and New Zealand – an action which Hamas itself responded to by a releasing a video statement to offer its public thanks and praise to these countries’ governments.

“Who by common trial?”

Acts of lawfare and the new blood-libel of genocide levelled against Israel in International Courts of Law and Justice—false accusations intended to cripple Israel’s right to defend itself, to weaken support from complacent nations, and to justify acts of antisemitism against Jews worldwide.

Here in Canada, in a victory for antisemitism, school boards are attempting to equate any expression of Jewish identity with racism.

Iranian-backed antisemitic demonstrations and protests on University campuses threaten and prevent Jewish and other free-thinking students from studying.

Jewish high-school students are threatened almost every week, and a Jewish grade-school student had to be accompanied to school by his parents and the community to ensure his safety.

Shots are fired and Molotov cocktails are thrown at Canadian Jewish schools,
synagogues and community centres – Vancouver, London, Montreal, Fredericton and Toronto … everywhere in Canada, cities big and small, there is violence against Jews.

“Who shall I say is calling?” Cohen’s song asks again and again.

Who has responded?

What has the Canadian government’s response been to these acts of violence
against its own people at home and to political attacks against Israel, abroad?

Has it continued its support for Israel in the face of these, or has it retreated to complacent neutrality, which in the words of Elie Wiesel “helps the killers rather than the victims?”

Is Canada indirectly rewarding acts of terror and these “killers” through notable abstention on international votes, placing a de-facto embargo on an ally at war, or by considering official recognition of a Palestinian state?

There was a time when Canada was seen as having a positive role to play in my
country’s region. The Canada of Lester B. Pearson for example and many other statesmen and women who came after him and made a real difference on peace and security.

I am encouraged by Canada’s recent terrorist designation of the IRGC as a timely and bold expression of mutual understanding at this crucial moment, between Canada and Israel. Israel needs its friends, friends with honour and integrity, like Canada, so that it can continue to prevail in its struggle against the evils of terror and tyranny.

I believe I have a realistic hope for a Canada that realizes former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s vision that, “in the future of his dreams, antisemitism is no more.”

“Who shall I say is calling?” asks Cohen one final time.

In this I conclude with my challenge to Canada and to all of you.

I am so touched by how Canada’s Jewish community has come together and has strengthened its bonds to Israel. But we must broaden the tent.

In a world that is increasingly dangerous and where evil sadly does exist,
Canadians and Israelis must work together in defence of our people and our values as liberal democracies.

We must speak truth and act honorably in the face of lies and terror.

We must continue to protect and preserve one another.

In this let us be resolute and let us not falter. Let us rally together to bring the hostages home, let us stamp out antisemitism in all its despicable forms, let us exist in peace within and amongst our lands, and let this be our calling.

ננצח ביחד
AM YISRAEL CHAI