Published: 19 January 2021
Last updated: 4 March 2024
BARELY 24 HOURS into her new role as the first member of Canadian Parliament with dual Israeli citizenship, Ya’ara Saks was already attracting plaudits and fielding criticism from the country’s Jewish community.
It was part of her initiation to joining Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government following her recent victory in a hard-fought by-election in the Toronto district of York Centre, where 15 to 20 percent of the residents are Jewish.
In late November, just after being sworn in as Canada’s newest MP, Saks stood up in her parliamentary debut in Ottawa. Saying people in her district were extremely concerned by the rise in anti-Semitism and online hate speech, she turned to Trudeau, who has led the country since 2015.
“Could the Prime Minister tell the House,” Saks asked, “what our government is doing to combat anti-Semitism in Canada and around the world, and honor the memory of the six million Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust?”
FULL STORY Canada’s 1st Canuck-Sabra parliamentarian is Zionist and proudly pro-Palestinian (Times of Israel)
Photo: Ya’ara Saks (centre), after being sworn in, with her daughters and brother to her right, in Ottawa, Canada, on November 25, 2020 (Courtesy)
