I am prioritizing parties’ and politicians’ stances on Gaza when I vote in the federal election on April 28 — but please, don’t call me a single-issue voter.
As a Palestinian Canadian, Gaza feels like the best test I can use to gauge a politician’s actual commitment to human rights. The core principle behind human rights is that they are universal (apply to everyone) and inalienable (cannot be taken away). Over the past 18 months, I have watched Israel violate just about every human right that I learned about in school, while so many Canadian politicians stayed silent. If a politician isn’t willing to fight for the human rights of Palestinians, how can we trust they’ll defend Canadian rights? You might think our existing laws safeguard your rights against those who would take them away, but I’m sure many Americans thought the same thing about due process, too. Things can change fast.
