Honourable senators, two years ago today, Hamas carried out the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, murdering 1,200 innocent men, women and children and taking over 200 others hostage, many of whom still remain in captivity today. Their immediate release and safe return home must be a united, urgent demand from all of us.

Among the murdered were fellow Canadians Shir Hana Georgy, Alexandre Look, Ben Mizrachi, Adi Vital-Kaploun, Judih Weinstein Haggai, Vivian Silver, Tiferet Lapidot and Netta Epstein. They were sons and daughters, friends and classmates — citizens of our great country. They were human beings cut down by a death cult that has never hidden its intentions, only acted on them.

The bullets and rockets may have been aimed at Israel, but the shock waves were felt around the world. In the years that have followed, we have witnessed a resurgence of anti-Semitism not seen in generations. Just days ago, the horrific terrorist attack in Manchester was only the most recent example.

Closer to home, we’ve seen it here in Canada: synagogues barricaded, Jewish schools under police protection, mobs threatening Jewish businesses and students harassed on campuses like Concordia University in Montreal, where rallies like the one organized today — of all days — openly glorify the murders of October 7 with chants like, “Glory to the martyrs!”

All this paints a shameful portrait of the current reality: Jews are no longer safe in Canada. Let us be clear: This is not just a failure of law enforcement or campus policy. It is a moral collapse across institutions — politicians, police, universities — and, most gravely, our own government. After October 7, instead of standing with the victims of terror, Canada rewarded it by recognizing a non-existent Palestinian state led by the very forces that committed these atrocities and turned the murder of Jews into a political bargaining chip.

We have been told that Israel must show restraint, that it must accept ceasefires that Hamas has no intention of honouring and that it must fight a genocidal enemy while meeting impossible moral standards no other nation on earth would be held to. That is not diplomacy; it is complicity.

Today, we find ourselves at an inflection point. Talks of potential negotiations for peace leave us hopeful that this could mark the beginning of a path forward. But, colleagues, let us not be lulled into false equivalencies or revisionist narratives. Hope is welcome, but it must not come at the expense of truth. And the truth is that this war ends tomorrow if Hamas does two simple things: Release the hostages and disarm. That’s it. The only obstacle to peace is Hamas. Every death since October 7 — Israeli or Palestinian — flows from their decision to pursue terror, and there can be no lasting peace while it remains in power.

Following the release of all hostages, the fundamental condition for peace is the total disarmament of Hamas. That’s not only what the people of Israel deserve — it is also what the people in Gaza deserve, who have suffered for decades under Hamas’ corrupt and brutal rule.

Today, we remember the victims. We pray for the immediate and safe return of all hostages, and we recommit ourselves to the only path that leads to justice and peace and a firm, united stand against the hate that has once again made Jews a target, both abroad and here in Canada. Thank you, colleagues.