A month ago, we weren’t talking about the Israelis-Palestinian conflict. The world’s attention was elsewhere, on Ukraine and Russia, on China. But on October 7, all that changed. Hamas’ brutality — the hunting of young adults at a music festival, the burning of homes, shooting of grandmothers, allegations of rape of women and girls, and the kidnapping of more than 200 Israelis and foreigners — placed the question of Israel and the occupied territories back on the front burner.

And there are many questions.

How should Israel respond to an event that shocked the nation’s psyche? Can it pursue Hamas without triggering a wider conflict in the region? Is it justifiable to kill so many civilians in an attempt to neutralize a terrorism threat?

This week on ‘It’s Political,’ we take a look at the war between Israel and Hamas through a Canadian lens.

First, we’ll review how we got to the current conflict with the aid of Canada’s former representative in the West Bank, Douglas Scott Proudfoot.

Then, we’ll hear from two families, a Israeli-Canadian man from Toronto and a Palestinian-Canadian couple from Ottawa, whose families have been deeply affected by Hamas’ attack and Israel’s bombing in response.

This is a political show, and we’ll sit down with two Liberal MPs from two different communities — Mount Royal MP Anthony Housefather and Scarborough Centre MP Salma Zahid — to discuss what they want to hear from their government and what their constituents want to hear from them.

Finally, we’ll have a fascinating conversation with two Middle East experts, Carleton University Political Science Professor Mira Sucharov and University of Ottawa Graduate School of Public and International Affairs Associate Professor Thomas Juneau, about Canada’s policy in the Middle East, how it’s changed over time, what impedes Canada from playing a larger role, and how diaspora politics guide Canadian foreign policy.

4:37 - Douglas Scott Proudfoot

22:36 - Aharon Brodutch

31:12 - Israa Alsaafin and Ahmed Alsaafin

42:05 - Salma Zahid and Anthony Housefather

56:07 - Mira Sucharov and Thomas Juneau

Some of the clips this week were sourced from CPAC, Global News, CTV, Al Jazeera, Fox News, the BBC, CBS, the United Nations, the History Channel, France 24, CBC, CNN, Reuters, and Atlas Aware.

This episode of “It’s Political” was produced by Althia Raj and Michal Stein. Kevin Sexton mixed the program. Our theme music is by Isaac Joel.