Independent Jewish Voices condemns the American and Israeli attacks on Iran, and Israel’s continued bombing of Lebanon. This attack is yet another example of Israel and the United States ignoring international law in service of their own imperial interests. In 2026 alone, the United States invaded Venezuela, starved Cuba, and now started a new regional war in the Middle East. Like the war in Iraq, this expansionist warmongering employs false rhetoric of nuclear powers to justify the US maintaining a stronghold on oil reserves in the region. We know that these imperial interventions always lead to death and suffering for civilians. Independent Jewish Voices stands firmly against war and holds all human lives as sacred.
One of the first targets in Iran was a girls’ school in Minab, an attack which killed over 100 schoolchildren ages 7-12. Just as we saw in Gaza, Israel is able to murder children and destroy civilian infrastructure with impunity. While the world’s attention is on Iran, Israel carries on with its relentless ethnic cleansing operations against Palestinians. Settler raids and violence in the occupied West Bank have skyrocketed, and Israel is using the attacks on Iran as a pretext to indefinitely close Gaza’s borders.
We are utterly disappointed in Mark Carney and Anita Anand’s response to these attacks. Once again, rather than follow through on claims to abide by international law, Canada has chosen to capitulate to US interests and parrot claims about Iran as a nuclear threat. Canada’s assertion that Iran is the greatest threat to global stability is absurd when, in fact, Israel and the United States are waging a colonial campaign of death and destruction throughout the region.
As Israel continues to act with impunity and the full-backing of the United States, we must remember that they are using Canadian-built arms to carry out these attacks. In the face of these atrocities and grave violations of international law, it is our duty to ensure that Canadian manufacturing companies cease contributing to these ongoing human rights violations. Today, more than ever, we renew our call for a total and reciprocal arms embargo with Israel.
We stand with the Iranian people and all those who are impacted by this violence. We firmly believe, in accordance with our Jewish teachings and traditions, that every human life is sacred and deserves to be protected. Imperialist warmongering cannot bring freedom nor justice, which all peoples deserve. Canada must end its complicity in the US and Israel’s campaign of destruction and terror throughout the region. We encourage both Mark Carney and Anita Anand to demonstrate a degree of moral strength by acknowledging that all ethno-nationalist supremacist regimes are dangerous, and to take action to stop supporting them. Our traditions teach us pikuah nefesh, or the idea that the preservation of human life is one of the highest commandments. We mourn each life lost in these attacks and call for an immediate end to the aggression on Iran.