Winnipeg MP wants to talk about Gaza; not to fan flames in Canada — to help extinguish them

With relations between Jews and Muslims in Canada strained over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and pro-Palestinian encampments on university campuses, there’s an argument to be made that rather than risk igniting emotions, the less said the better.

Ben Carr doesn’t agree. The Liberal member of Parliament for Winnipeg South Centre and a member of the Jewish community believes it’s exactly the time to talk.

“In order to work through conflicts in a meaningful way, we have to understand where each other are coming from,” he said about his efforts to engage with Muslims in Parliament and in his riding.

“We can learn about each other through dialogue, rooted in a willingness to be open and vulnerable,” he told the Free Press, adding the goal of the conversations is “not to persuade people to see things my way, but to engage in dialogue, to listen, to build relationships, to understand and empathize.

“We can’t talk if we don’t trust each other.”

Carr went public with his efforts to reach out to Muslims earlier this month.

In a newspaper column headlined “Creating space for Jews and Muslims to engage,” Carr noted there are some who would rather see the tensions rise.

For some people with a long history of hostility between their communities, sitting down together works against their stated cause, he said.

Carr wrote about accepting an invitation to visit the only mosque in his riding during Ramadan.

“We shared an iftar meal, spoke honestly and agreed to continue talking,” he said. “We established areas of shared priority, of which there are many, and asked questions to help understand why we were arriving at different positions on the same issue.

“Imagine that.”

He said by talking with those who see things differently, people get to him on a human level, as a person.

Carr said he’s experienced pushback. What he’s noticed, though, is that some of the loudest critics of his meetings with Muslims are non-Muslim supporters of the Palestinian cause.

“Who are they to tell me who I should meet with or shouldn’t meet with?” Carr said.

He meets regularly with Vancouver Granville Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed, who is Muslim.

Noormohamed, whose riding includes six synagogues and two Jewish schools, appreciates their regular conversations.

“It’s really important to speak to one another when things like this happen around the world and the community at home is affected,” he said. “It’s important for community leaders to engage each other, to stay in contact.”

Noormohamed said it’s important for MPs to fight hate, not each other. Such meetings on Parliament Hill can be an example for others, showing how people of different faiths can make an effort to get along.

Carr said it’s “maddening and perplexing” when people criticize him or other politicians for reaching out to build bridges to people from other faiths.

“It makes no sense for people to believe those who have differing views shouldn’t meet,” he said. “Those meetings should be held up and celebrated… we will not stop leveraging the principles of kindness and compassion towards one another as human beings as the building blocks for peace in our communities.”

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