Trudeau and Sajjan’s recent missions to Kuwait are part of the fallout from Washington’s decision to assassinate Iranian general Qassim Suleimani. After the January 3 killing some Canadian forces in Iraq were withdrawn to the base in Kuwait. Iraq’s parliament passed a resolution demanding foreign soldiers leave the country and Iran threatened to retaliate against US troops in the region.

Iranians have good reasons to tolerate their regime more than one the US and its allies would install, again. If it is argued that 1953 is ancient history, or that the US and its allies have changed, the recent failures in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Venezuela should teach us all that regime change is a reckless strategy that is almost certainly doomed to fail.

A top diplomat organizing an event to celebrate Canadians fighting for another country’s military ought to generate criticism. Doing so while that force humiliates Palestinians at checkpoints in the West Bank, fires on protesters in Gaza and bombs Syria in violation of international law is an outrage that must be condemned.

The Trudeau government could have delisted Iran as a “state sponsor of terror”, or repealed Harper’s Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act. Instead, it didn’t even keep its promise to restart diplomatic relations with Iran. While there is much to dislike about the government in Tehran, progressive-minded, peace-loving Canadians should reject Ottawa’s aggressive anti-Iranian policies.

Even though many are celebrating the fact that a handful of US politicians, even presidential candidates, are contemplating conditioning aid to Israel - in effect, broaching the possibility of sanctions - what we must celebrate is the fact that US politicians who have so far provided complete immunity to Israel are finally understanding that we, the voters, wish to hold Israel accountable. And we are making that very clear.

The US military’s assassination of Qasem Soleimani, one of the top military commanders of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s expansionist regional policies and its proxy wars in the Middle East, can lead to retaliation by the Islamic regime. Such retaliation, the threat of further US retaliation and a chain reaction could further destabilize the region and endanger the lives of thousands of Iraqis, Iranians and other ordinary people in the Middle East.

We tell Mr. Trudeau that instead of your objective of getting a seat at the UN Security Council, you may end up with a seat in front of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. If the “two-states-for-two-peoples solution… prospects appear increasingly under threat,” it is because of Canada’s (and others) unconditional support for Israeli occupation, war crimes, and apartheid.

As we consider the immense dangers that surround a prospective war with Iran, it is of vital importance to denounce the lies and fabrications currently peddled to justify it. Moreover, in light of the powerful interests that are pushing for this latest conflict in the Middle East, it is essential to harness the collective and civil opposition needed to stop this insane war.

Gideon Levy is a Haaretz columnist and a member of the newspaper’s editorial board. Levy joined Haaretz in 1982, and spent four years as the newspaper’s deputy editor. He is the author of the weekly Twilight Zone feature, which covers the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza over the last 25 years. In this video, Levy speaks at Palestine Expo, Europe’s largest Palestinian event, a two-day festival of music, art and lectures, held in London on 6-7 July 2019.

We are beginning to hear more about the varieties of racism that plague our country. With a federal election around the corner, those among us who strive for a just peace in Israel-Palestine can raise this issue with our local candidates. At your doorstep, in your community, and at local candidates’ debates, ask them if they support the ongoing charitable status of JNF Canada. Ask them if they think Palestinian lives matter.