FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 14, 2018

Ottawa, ON – Today the United States officially moved its Israel Embassy to Jerusalem. On the Gaza border, Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations staged violent riots and attempted to breach Israel’s border.

In response, CIJA’s CEO, Shimon Koffler Fogel, issued the following:

“Jerusalem has been central to Jewish identity since it was established as the capital of the Jewish nation three thousand years ago. Since the re-establishment of the modern state of Israel, Jerusalem has been the seat of Israel’s democratically elected parliament, independent supreme court, and national government offices. Sadly, Palestinian leaders have made a concerted effort to deny the deep connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem.

“Recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is not an impediment to peace. In fact, acknowledging the connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem is an essential milestone in the quest for meaningful and lasting peace. We have always maintained that Canada should formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as we continue to work toward two states for two peoples.

“Once again, Hamas is using this political development to cynically foment chaos on the Gaza border. The terrorist group has doubled down on the exploitation of their own people, using civilians as cover while its armed operatives fire assault rifles at Israelis and try to breach Israel’s border. While Israel remains at the negotiating table, ready to forge peace, Hamas openly opposes Israel’s existence and rejects all peace initiatives. Its actions are solely aimed at inflaming Palestinian anger and escalating the conflict.”

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The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) is the advocacy agent of the Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA.

For more information, please contact:

Adir Krafman
Senior Manager, Media Relations
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA)
Phone: 416-820-6871
Email: akrafman@cija.ca