The war between Israel and Hamas creates two challenges for Justin Trudeau, as it would for any Canadian prime minister.
First, he must try to take and hold a principled position on a dire conflict. Second, he must try to hold together a country whose citizens are understandably agonized by the death and destruction.
The strain of both those tasks only becomes more apparent with each passing day. Within 24 hours of Trudeau’s remarks on the conflict Tuesday, Trudeau was heckled by pro-Palestinian protesters inside a Vancouver restaurant for what he didn’t say — and scolded online by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for what he did say.
Trudeau shouted out of Vancouver restaurant by protesters
Featured VideoFacing criticism from all sides for Canada’s position on the Israel-Hamas war, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was shouted out of a Vancouver restaurant by pro-Palestinian protesters calling for a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu replied to Trudeau on social media after he sharpened his tone against Israel in a speech.
Trudeau’s five-minute statement on Tuesday — delivered in the middle of an announcement of federal support for a new battery facility in British Columbia — began with comments and arguments he has offered before. The “human tragedy” unfolding in the Gaza Strip is “heart wrenching,” he said, and the “price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians.”
“Even wars have rules,” he added. “All innocent life is equal in worth — Israeli and Palestinian.”
He later condemned Hamas’s use of human shields and called for the release of all hostages. He cited Hamas’s threat to launch repeated attacks like the one it carried out on October 7.
Trudeau says killing of innocents in Gaza must stop
Featured VideoIsrael must use ‘maximum restraint’ to protect civilian life as it wages war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday, saying ‘the price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians.’ He also said Hamas must stop using civilians as human shields, and that all hostages taken from Israel must be released immediately and unconditionally.
He called again for a “humanitarian pause” and unfettered access to humanitarian aid. He expressed a hope that a sustained pause would create the conditions for peace.
He denounced recent incidents of antisemitic violence in Montreal and elsewhere. He called on Canadians to “remember who we are” and to be there for each other.
But what seems to have drawn the ire of Netanyahu and others is a portion of Trudeau’s remarks that began with a call for Israel to exercise “maximum restraint.”
“Because the world is watching,” the prime minister said. “On TV, on social media, we’re hearing the testimonies of doctors, family members, survivors, kids who’ve lost their parents. The world is witnessing this. The killing of women and children, of babies. This has to stop.”
Netanyahu rebuffs Trudeau’s call for ‘maximum restraint’ in Israel-Hamas war
Featured VideoNov. 15, 2023 – ‘It is Hamas not Israel that should be held accountable,’ said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a tweet to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday. Power & Politics speaks to a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces. Plus, no Canadians were on the list to leave Gaza today. Canada’s ambassador to Egypt responds to criticism about delays at the Rafah crossing.
Though it’s hard to argue with anyone’s desire for an end to violence, Trudeau did not say how the violence should stop or under what terms. Some interpreted his comments as an attempt to blame Israel for the war. But Trudeau also could argue that he was merely saying things that are objectively true. Women and children are being killed. The world is watching.
Trudeau not alone in worrying about civilian deaths
Some of Trudeau’s words resembled comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron four days earlier in an interview with the BBC. But Macron, who has called for a ceasefire, went further.
“It’s impossible to explain, ‘We want to fight against terrorism by killing innocent people,'” the French leader said.
Netanyahu was also unhappy with Macron’s comments. The next day, in conversations with other Israeli officials, Macron apparently “reiterated” Israel’s right to defend itself.
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, listens to Benny Gantz in Jerusalem on Oct. 24, 2023. (Christophe Ena/Associated Press)
On Wednesday, it was Trudeau’s turn to talk with Benny Gantz, the Netanyahu rival and critic who joined Israel’s war cabinet after last month’s attack. According to the official account, Trudeau similarly “reaffirmed” Israel’s right to self-defence.
Macron and Trudeau’s conversations with Gantz may have been about damage control. They also may have also gotten a point across — an important one.
Israel’s allies might accept its right to defend itself and hold Hamas responsible for inciting this war and putting civilians in harm’s way. But how much death is acceptable, tolerable or justified, even in self-defence? That is the question that weighs on Israel and every country that calls it a friend.
Palestinians rescue survivors after an Israeli strike on Rafah, Gaza Strip on Nov. 17, 2023. (Hatem Ali/The Associated Press)
This isn’t merely a moral question — it’s also a strategic one. Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group argued this week that Israel’s response to Oct. 7 has played into Hamas’s hands.
Opinion polling suggests there is significant support in Canada for some kind of ceasefire — either permanent or temporary. So Trudeau could argue his words are broadly in line with public sentiment. It’s at least as notable that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was not among those condemning the prime minister’s comments this week.
But this is not an issue that can be resolved with a simple poll.
‘My job … is to help bring Canadians back together’
When Trudeau was pressed on Tuesday to explain why he hasn’t called for a ceasefire, he pivoted and focused on the situation in Canada.
The question to ask, he said, isn’t whether “this magic solution or that magic solution said by a Canadian prime minister [is] suddenly going to bring peace to the Middle East overnight.”
Rather, he said, “this is about us remembering that when a kid feels scared to go to school in the morning because of their religion, because of their ethnicity,” it’s the responsibility of all Canadians to speak up.
“My biggest concern is how we bring Canadians together,” Trudeau said.
That effort starts, he said, “with listening to each other.”
Trudeau has now offered extended comments on this theme several times over the past week and a half. The ideals of pluralism and multiculturalism have animated some of Trudeau’s most forceful statements — and his calls now to reject prejudice and overcome differences seem like an extension of that.
Speaking to reporters at the APEC summit in San Francisco on Friday, Trudeau said his “job, as Canadian prime minister, is to help bring Canadians back together.
“To understand that, if Canadians can’t figure out how to get along and remember to be compassionate and empathetic towards each other, then where in the world is there a solution for the conflict and the tensions in the Middle East going to come [from]?”
Talk of bringing Canadians together can seem simplistic, trite or pro forma. But 44 years ago, former Progressive Conservative leader Robert Stanfield was dispatched to the Middle East on behalf of Joe Clark; among the recommendations he came back with was a simple call for more “dialogue.”
“In Canada a dialogue between Jewish and Arab groups would be highly desirable,” Stanfield wrote.
In addition to promoting public understanding, he said, dialogue might create a “sounder and healthier foundation” for Canadian foreign policy. Stanfield conceded it would require “patience and willingness to persist” through possible “misunderstandings,” but “such a dialogue seems to me nevertheless to be an important contribution that these groups of Canadians can make to the Middle East and Canada.”
Canada is not completely bereft of dialogue at the moment — consider the joint letter recently authored by Muslim and Jewish law students at the University of Ottawa.
But if it’s fair to ask the government about its position on the war — and if it’s fair to expect that leaders condemn bigotry and protect Canadians from harm — it’s also fair to ask what can be done to promote the sort of dialogue and compassion both the world and Canada need more than ever now.
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.
It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.
While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.
Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.
The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen.
“I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said.
Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’
Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.
“It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.”
Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.
But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.
It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.
“There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”
Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media
In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.
White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.
Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he’s on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.
“If it pops up on my page when I’m on social media,” he said, “I’ll just scroll past it.”
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Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
The AP poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
