By Minaz Kerawala, Communications and Public Relations Advisor
On Saturday, October 19, 2024, Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada organized a Webinar on Palestine that was attended by over 135 people from across Canada. Coming in the wake of the passage of a year of horrors in Gaza and beyond, the webinar sought to contextualize the ongoing conflict, which has already claimed over 42,700 lives in Gaza alone, as well as our response to it.
Webinar on Palestine: eminent speakers, invaluable insights
The webinar was anchored by our interim director of public engagement, Selina Hunt. The Most Rev. Albert LeGatt, the Archbishop of St. Boniface, offered the opening prayer.
The Jesuit scholar, Fr. David Neuhaus, provided an overview of the recent history of the Holy Land. He explained how the roots of the current conflict went back over a century to when injustices first perpetrated by British colonial authorities facilitated the continued subjugation and oppression of the Palestinian people and the ongoing illegal occupation of their lands by Israel. At the end, he declared, “107 years of conflict; that’s enough!”
Anton Asfar, the secretary general of Caritas Jerusalem, described the ongoing situation in Gaza; the privations faced by the people and especially the dwindling Christian community; and the valiant efforts of his organization to provide a measure of aid and relief to the besieged and bombarded populace.
Our international programs coordinator Nagui Demian provided insights into the work that some of our partners are doing to provide shelter, food and medical and psychosocial support to people in Gaza and to defend the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank.
Hélène Gobeil, our director of communications and campaigns, went over the advocacy work that we have done over the past year with our members, our Canadian civil society partners, international groups and others in the Caritas network.
Finally, interim executive director Luke Stocking and our president, Brenda Arakaza, thanked the panelists and participants and invited people to donate for Gaza and to write to their MPs to support our advocacy for an immediate ceasefire and a meaningful arms embargo.
In case you missed the webinar, you can watch the recording below:
Webinar on Palestine: answers from the experts
Due to time constraints, the panelists could not address all the questions posed by participants. We therefore forwarded them the questions for follow-up. Below are the responses provided by Neuhaus (DN) and Asfar (AA), which represent their personal views.
Could you tell us a bit more about the food aid going to Gaza?

AA: Before October 7, 2024, an average of 500 trucks entered Gaza daily, delivering essential goods, including food and non-food items. However, this number has dropped dramatically over the past year. Fewer than 30 trucks have been entering Gaza each day since the beginning of October 2024. This sharp decline has directly impacted Gaza’s food security. According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, approximately 1.84 million people in the Gaza Strip are facing severe levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or higher) between September and October 2024, including nearly 133,000 individuals experiencing catastrophic food insecurity (IPC Phase 5). The situation urgently requires international pressure to ensure the immediate entry of aid trucks into Gaza.
How can Jews and Palestinians, after what happened, live together, knowing that there are extremists on both sides?
DN: It is indeed difficult to believe that they can live in peace. The wounds are deep, and the extremists make use of them to spread more hatred and more violence. And so, they fester and cannot heal. It seemed like coexistence would never be possible between French and Germans, White and Black South Africans, etc. There was a before, when Jews lived with other Palestinians (before 1948), when Jews lived as Arabs throughout the Middle East (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon…). There can be a future very different from the present if the world is convinced that it can be and takes measures to ensure that it will be.
AA: The Holy Land holds deep significance for the three Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Islam and Christianity. While there are extremists on both sides of the conflict, there are also individuals in both communities who harbour genuine intentions for peace and reconciliation. Unfortunately, the ongoing crisis has deeply fractured both societies, allowing hatred and division to take root. To pave the way for meaningful dialogue and a peaceful future, it is crucial to focus on healing the wounds of both communities, fostering understanding and creating a foundation for mutual trust.
Would it help to flood the offices of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his very pro-violence ministers with mail and emails when they are not even listening to their own people?
DN: No, I am not sure it would help. We need to flood the offices of those supporting Netanyahu, the US administration in particular, but also the leaders of the West who still support the Israeli government. The demonstrations and marches, the protests and the boycotts must be strengthened. Israel is doing what it is doing with money and moral support coming from governments that are complicit in the war crimes that Israel is committing.
AA: The international community must urgently pressure the current Israeli government to implement an immediate and lasting ceasefire; establish secure humanitarian corridors; ensure the protection of civilians and aid workers; facilitate safe passage for the private commercial sector; and end military and settler aggression in the West Bank.
I understand that Israelis speak Hebrew and Palestinians speak Arabic. What is the language for communication between them?

DN: Yes, this is true. Educated Israelis and Palestinians communicate in English. Many Palestinians are forced to work for Israelis and therefore have learnt Hebrew. This was part of the tragedy. Before 1948, there were one million Jews in the Arab countries who spoke Arabic. When many of them moved to Israel, their Arabic identity was wiped out and their children cannot speak Arabic today. As for the millions of Jews who came to Israel, they were never encouraged to learn Arabic. Most of the Zionist groups did not see integration into the region as a goal. Many of the Jews coming from Europe looked down on Arabs and their culture. This arrogance ignored the fact that Arabic was a very important language for Jews and that some of their most important rabbis and philosophers wrote in Arabic (like Saadia Gaon and Maimonides).
AA: In many instances, English serves as a common language for communication between Israelis and Palestinians. However, a significant number of individuals from both communities have also learned each other’s languages. For example, many Palestinians, often referred to as “Israeli Arabs,” who reside in coastal cities like Haifa, Jaffa, Ramleh, Lod, Nazareth, Akko… are fluent in Hebrew. They are not only proficient in the Hebrew language but also possess a deep understanding of Israeli laws and systems, as they navigate both Palestinian and Israeli cultural and legal landscapes in their daily lives. This linguistic and legal knowledge plays a crucial role in fostering interaction and coexistence between the communities within these diverse regions.
Why was it that the British gave so much land to the Jews after 1917 when Jews were only one-tenth of the population at that time? That seems unfair, and might have triggered the Palestinians to start the war. Was there a political reason behind this seemingly unfair distribution of land?
DN: Indeed, it was unfair. There were three potential motivations behind the British preference for the Jews:
- Certain groups in Britain (particularly in the British government in 1917, like Prime Minister Lloyd George, Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour and others) were very concerned for Jews in Eastern Europe, who were facing very difficult circumstances, persecution and violence, especially in the Russian Empire.
- Those concerned were often Christians who read their Bibles and believed that God had given the land to the Jews (we could call them Evangelical fundamentalists).
- Jews seemed to them European and thus “civilized,” unlike the Indigenous population, most of which was Muslim and considered primitive.
Three words often still push people to support Israel: guilt (about anti-Semitism), faith (misguided readings of the Bible) and racism (Islamophobia and arrogance towards the Arabs in general).
How can we keep the faith and hope in the midst of this evil world?
DN: We, who live in the Holy Land, are faced with this question all the time. A group of us, gathered around our emeritus Patriarch, His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, have penned a letter on hope that shows a way.
AA: Hope is an inner force that springs from within, often rooted in one’s deepest beliefs, values, and faith. It is not something that can be imposed from the outside, but rather, it emerges from an individual’s internal sense of purpose, resilience and trust in a higher power or greater good. Living out your faith means embodying these beliefs in your daily actions, even in the face of adversity. It involves remaining steadfast in your principles and acting with integrity, compassion and hope, even when circumstances are challenging. Faith gives people the strength to persevere, while hope guides them forward, nurturing the belief that better days are possible. By living out your faith, you become a beacon of hope for others, showing that even in dark times, inner strength and conviction can light the way toward a brighter future. Our Motto at Caritas Jerusalem is “We put love into action.” This is how we live out our faith in these very dark times. This is how we live out our faith in the violent storm of the Sea of Galilee (Luke 8:24-25).
How can we ensure that the solution comes from within if the USA continues to support Israel?
DN: Pressure needs to be exerted from without so that people within can be motivated to make decisions about their future. If there is no pressure from without, but rather complacency at best and support for Israeli war crimes at worst, the Israelis will have no real motivation to change anything. South Africa faced boycotts, disinvestment and sanctions and then its government was pushed to decide that apartheid was too costly to keep afloat. This kind of pressure is necessary to push Israelis to decide against occupation and discrimination and decide for dialogue for justice, peace, freedom and equality for all!
AA: The path to dialogue and a lasting solution must emerge from within the communities themselves, rather than being imposed by external forces. True reconciliation and peace can only be achieved when both societies actively engage in the process and take ownership of their future. However, the international community plays a critical role in applying pressure on the leadership of both sides, urging them to seek a just and equitable resolution to this long-standing conflict. While outside involvement can help facilitate discussions, the ultimate responsibility for achieving sustainable peace rests with the leaders and people of both societies. It is essential that any solution honours the rights, aspirations and needs of both communities, paving the way for a shared and peaceful coexistence.