'Why should you get to eat in peace?': Canadians slam Trudeau's Gaza stance after protesters swarm him in restaurant

Vancouver police was forced to deploy almost 100 officers after videos showing swarms of people confronting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a restaurant Tuesday night went viral.



Joy Joshi
·Writer, Yahoo News Canada
Updated Wed, November 15, 2023 

In videos that have recently gone viral in Canada, a group of pro-Palestine protesters can be seen entering a restaurant where Prime Minister Trudeau was present and chanting “ceasefire now” to bring an end to the killing of civilians in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The Vancouver Police in a statement said almost 100 officers responded after approximately 250 people surrounded a Chinatown restaurant and escorted Trudeau out of the venue.

One of the many videos of the incident doing rounds on the web, shared by @palsolidarity on Instagram, shows Trudeau being heckled by protesters demanding “ceasefire now” at Vij’s, which is a restaurant in a different part of the city.

The protesters can also be heard urging Trudeau to “look at us” and using phrases like “shame on you,” “you fund genocides” and “you have blood on your hands” as they chased Trudeau out of the restaurant and into the street with the crowd growing impatient.

Later, the police arrested a man for assaulting a VPD officer and another for obstructing the police.

People applaud protesters for directing Canada’s attention to the need for a ceasefire

On social media, people praised the group of protesters for increasing pressure on Trudeau on calling for a ceasefire and bringing an immediate end to the killing of Palestinians in Gaza.

"whose voice is that so louddd???? thumbs up to youuuu lady!!" replied a user to the video shared by @palsolidarity on Instagram.

“So much respect for those who are fighting for humanity 🙌” joined another.

“So happy to see there are people with a conscience in this world. You don’t want innocent kids to have peace so why should you get to eat in peace??” said Bisma Parvez.

This comes as pressure mounts on the Liberal government over pressing demands from Canadians to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East where more than 10,000 people have already died as a result of intense bombing in Gaza.

Trudeau and Netanyahu take aim at each other

Earlier on Tuesday, Justin Trudeau called on Israel to exercise “maximum restraint” in Gaza, a call that was met with a strong response by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who solely blamed Hamas for the loss of civilian lives in the conflicted region.

“It is not Israel that is deliberately targeting civilians but Hamas that beheaded, burned and massacred civilians in the worst horrors perpetrated on Jews since the Holocaust,” Netanyahu posted on X while tagging the Canadian prime minister’s handle.

Netanyahu continued explaining how Israel accommodates Palestinian civilians by providing them humanitarian corridors and safe zones in Gaza, however, interference by Hamas proves to be detrimental and puts civilians in danger.

“While Israel is doing everything to keep civilians out of harm’s way, Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm’s way,” Netanyahu wrote on X.

Widespread dissatisfaction among Canadians over Justin Trudeau

While some Canadians believe that asking for "maximum restraint" is an improvement on his “Israel has the right to defend” stance from earlier, many remain dissatisfied with his leadership.

While some are disappointed in Trudeau’s inability to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, others are simply "just tired of him" as per the latest Leger poll for The Canadian Press. The poll revealed that half of those who took the survey want the prime minister to resign before the next election.

The main reasons listed by survey takers for the widespread dissatisfaction range from increasing unaffordability, housing, public debt to health care.

Trudeau's approval rating continues to take massive hits in comparison to Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre who is gaining more ground by the day, discussing issues like axing the carbon tax, Canada's position on Israel's war with Hamas and unaffordable housing across major cities.

While Trudeau appears to be inching closer to calling for a ceasefire, he seems to be struggling to get it right with his electorate since none of his recent moves seem to land effectively with them, especially his ever-shifting stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

Canadian government and politics expert Nelson Wiseman says foreign policy has never been anywhere near the top criteria for Canadian voters during elections, but the dissatisfaction over other factors could certainly lead to his downfall.

Canadian government and politics expert Nelson Wiseman weighs in on how Trudeau's stance on Israel-Hamas war does not impact the outcome of upcoming federal election (The Hill Times)

“International developments have virtually nothing to do with how people vote in elections. Foreign policy that has ever mattered in a Canadian election is if it has anything to do with the United States,” Wiseman told Yahoo News Canada.

“And, no, the current war is not setting the stage for Trudeau's resignation. Many people want a change after Trudeau's successful terms and the low popularity is a direct result of that. Because they are down in the polls so there is growing pressure on him," Wiseman concluded.

'What took so long?': Canadians welcome PM Trudeau's calls for 'maximum restraint' in Gaza but wonder if it is too late

Are you satisfied with the PM's leadership and response to the conflict? Poll suggests Canadians are not in favour of Trudeau

Joy Joshi
·Writer, Yahoo News Canada
Wed, November 15, 2023 

Canadians are divided on PM Trudeau's latest take on the situation in Gaza —calling on Israel to practise “maximum restraint” to minimize civilian casualties as the war against Hamas rages on.

Trudeau used his press address Tuesday afternoon to draw attention to Gaza’s largest hospital, Al Shifa, where the Israeli military carried out a raid on Wednesday against Hamas militants.

“The human tragedy that is unfolding in Gaza is heart-wrenching, especially the suffering we see in and around the Al Shifa Hospital,” Trudeau said.

Trudeau went on to add that the price of justice “cannot be the continued suffering” of all Palestinian civilians.

“Even wars have rules. All innocent life is equal in worth. Israeli and Palestinian.”

“I urge the government of Israel to exercise maximum restraint,” the prime minister said.

Canadians welcome Trudeau's latest, more pressing remarks

Trudeau’s recent comments were welcomed by many Canadians who had been urging the prime minister to call for a ceasefire — a word he has yet to use —to ease the loss of life of civilians caught in the war.

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu hits back at Justin Trudeau after the Canadian PM called for "maximum restraint" in Gaza to minimise civilian casualties (Canadian press/AP)

While not a direct call to Israel for a ceasefire, Trudeau seems to be inching closer to what Canadians want him to deliver on.

“I have been highly critical of Trudeau on many issues, using expletives on occasion, but I will give him his due as I agree with him on this point. The artificial Zionist state of Israel is not defending itself, they are not attempting to surgically remove or capture suspected Hamas members, they are conducting immoral and extremely disproportionate offensive murderous and genocidal actions; committing heinous war crimes against the Palestinian people and they MUST be stopped!” replied a user on X, formerly known as Twitter, to Trudeau’s clip shared by CPAC.

“I feel like any decent human being, and I consider him one, should’ve had this opinion from the start. I’m glad this was said in a very public way, but curious what took so long?” questioned another.

While many Canadians welcomed Trudeau's push for "maximum restraint" by Israel in the Gaza Strip, some others wondered if the prime minister is a little too late.

Speaking on whether Trudeau could have called for exercising "maximum restraint" sooner, Canadian government and politics expert Nelson Wiseman told Yahoo News Canada the prime minister's position on the issue remains constant with that of Canada's allies, therefore, if there is a change in his position that means overall there has been a slight shift in reactions owing to the tragic news coming out of Gaza daily.

The Canadian position will continue to be in line with that of its allies. The Canadian position has shifted for the same reason the American position has shifted. Biden called for a humanitarian pause and then followed Trudeau. The call for a ceasefire, too, is likely to follow the same pattern.Nelson Wiseman, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Toronto

Benjamin Netanyahu hits back at Trudeau with a rebuttal that shifts blame to Hamas

A few hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Trudeau’s calls for “maximum restraint” in a lengthy post on X, saying “Israel is doing everything to keep civilians out of harm’s way” and Hamas should be held accountable.

“It is not Israel that is deliberately targeting civilians but Hamas that beheaded, burned and massacred civilians in the worst horrors perpetrated on Jews since the Holocaust,” Netanyahu posted on X while tagging the Canadian prime minister’s handle.

“It is Hamas not Israel that should be held accountable for committing a double war crime - targeting civilians while hiding behind civilians.”

Netanyahu continued explaining how Israel accommodates Palestinian civilians by providing them humanitarian corridors and safe zones in Gaza, however, interference by Hamas proves to be detrimental, putting civilians in danger.

“While Israel is doing everything to keep civilians out of harm’s way, Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm’s way,” Netanyahu wrote on X.

Trudeau's critics applaud Netanyahu's reply to Trudeau

Netanyahu’s response to Trudeau led to a flurry of reactions from the PM's critics and Canadian supporters of Israel who did not appreciate their prime minister’s recent calls for “maximum restraint” by Israel.

“Trudeau is such an embarrassment.

Thank you for calling out our terrorist-sympathizing Prime Minister,

@netanyahu,” posted @BillboardChris on X.

“Justin Trudeau, who is heading the most corrupt government in Canada's history, is just pandering for voted. We have terrorists waving flags rallies, Jewish schools shot at to his silence, and won't designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization,” wrote policy commentator Kirk Lubimov.

Joining the criticism was @HanyaToderoff, who thanked the Israeli PM for “setting Trudeau straight,” while sharing the screenshot of a poll suggesting widespread dissatisfaction with Justin Trudeau' government.

Many Canadians unsatisfied with Trudeau, demand call for ceasefire

A Leger poll for the Canadian Press suggests that almost two in three Canadians have a negative impression of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and half want him to resign before the next election due to dissatisfaction over affordability, housing, health care and public debt.

Additionally, one in five people surveyed said they want him to resign just because they are “tired of him.”

This comes as Trudeau's approval rating continues to take massive hits in comparison to Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre who is gaining more ground by the day discussing issues like axing the carbon tax, Canada's position on Israel's war with Hamas and unaffordable housing across major cities.

Trudeau faces a strong challenge as he attempts to tackle it all, as the situation in Gaza causes further divide among Canadians.

With his recent remarks, Trudeau might be hinting at the possibility of calls for a ceasefire as the next step if Israel does not show restraint.

However, Canadians, especially the National Council of Canadian Muslims, demand a clearer and just response to reinforce Canada's stance.