March 16, 2026
The United Jewish People’s Order, now marking 100 years in Canada, condemns in the strongest possible terms the illegal war waged on Iran by Israel and the United States. We are part of a large network of Jews across Canada which has rejected the conflation of antisemitism with criticism of Israel’s wars of dispossession of Palestinians. We urge our Canadian government to condemn this war, which was started pre-emptively and in violation of International and human rights laws.
Our sympathies are with the Iranian people, oppressed by their own government and now bombed by two countries that at best pay the most cynical lip-service to their liberation.
War enriches only a few and devastates the lives of civilians who have no recourse or protections. War impoverishes many and maims and harms the innocent. War is devastating, harming not only human inhabitants of the land, but is also wreaking an environmental disaster, destroying animal life. This illegal war will have long- lasting effects for generations to come.
Many of our ancestors survived or escaped war for the safety we now enjoy. We are grateful to Canada’s First Nations, and multiple immigrant communities for welcoming us. Despite overt antisemitism from various governments in Canada, we have been able to build lives here and a place to flourish. We therefore cannot stay silent or turn away from the belligerent assaults we are witnessing, the needless death and destruction, the horrors and violations of international law. Israel and the United States must not be allowed to undo the safety and security of millions, and by extension of the whole world.
What we know:
Negotiations with Iran over the development of nuclear weapons were ongoing. Oman's Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi, a partner in the attempts to broker peace, had announced on February 27, 2026, that an agreement had been reached. Israel and the United States chose to attack Iran on the following day.
A number of mixed reasons for the assaults on Iran were provided. United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that President Trump, in fear that US assets would be targeted, chose to join Israel in a preventative or pre-emptive attack on Iran, with advisement that Israel was planning to attack Iran.
The attacks lacked U.S. Congressional approval and violated the UN Charter. Accordingly, a pre-emptive attack was illegal.
Canada, a signatory to the UN Charter, has a responsibility to protect and reinforce international law, and to challenge those who undermine its authority and power. And yet, Mark Carney has given cover to the war stating on February 28, 2026 that “Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security.”
The actions by Israel and the United States have weakened not only the efficacy of international law, and violate international laws of human rights. The war on Iran has now expanded into a regional war, with many surrounding countries affected and implicated, and the actual threat of a world war cannot be underestimated.
We therefore demand that the government of Canada:
Call for an end to this war.
Insist that the governments of the US and Israel are called to account for violating human rights and international law, codified under the UN Charter.
Refrain from sending financial support, munitions or military intervention that will prolong this illegal and dangerous mission that threatens even more innocent lives.